![Benicia (ship, 1899) - lib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Benicia_%28ship%2C_1899%29_-_lib.WA_4092.jpg)
Matthew Turner (June 17, 1825 – February 10, 1909) was an American
sea captain, shipbuilder and designer. He constructed 228 vessels, of which 154 were built in the Matthew Turner shipyard in
Benicia. He built more sailing vessels than any other single shipbuilder in America,
and can be considered "the 'grandaddy' of big time wooden
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...
on the Pacific Coast."
Early life
Matthew Turner was born in
Geneva, Ohio
Geneva is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The area which would become Geneva was originally settled in 1805, and was incorporated as a city in 1958. It is named after Geneva, New York. The population was 6,215 at the 2010 cens ...
on June 17, 1825, the fourth child of George Turner and Emily Atkins. George Turner owned a sawmill on the shores of
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
and later launched his first ship, the
sloop ''Geneva'', in 1839, to ship lumber and building stone. Matthew, after watching the construction of the ''Geneva'' and a later vessel the ''Philena Mills'', designed his first ship, the
schooner ''G.R. Roberts''. His father was sufficiently impressed with the design to build the boat, which was launched in 1848. Matthew took on the command of the boat and later that year married Amanda Jackson.
Amanda died in childbirth with their first child. On a trip down the
Mississippi river
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
in late 1849 he heard about
gold mining in California and set off for the West Coast in 1850. He spent 3½ years mining gold in
Calaveras County
Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels C ...
and was quite successful.
Career as ship captain
Turner later travelled to New York where he bought the schooner ''Toronto'', sailing her back to California. There he went into business with Captain Richard Thomas Rundle and started
shipping timber to San Francisco from the
Mendocino coast. They were soon able to replace the ''Toronto'' with another larger schooner, the ''Louis Perry'', and a few years later they purchased the
brig ''Temandra''. When Turner took this larger vessel to the
Sea of Okhotsk he noticed the abundance of cod and so bought the ''Porpoise'' to capitalize on this, as cod were selling in San Francisco at a high price. Meanwhile, Turner also set up a company to trade with
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
.
During his career as a ship's captain he twice received recognition of his heroism and the services that he rendered to foreign governments. He was given a gold-mounted spyglass by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
in recognition of his part in saving the lives of British sailors. The Norwegian government presented him with a
silver service
Silver service (in British English) is a method of foodservice at the table, with waiter transferring food from a serving dish to the guest's plate, always from the left. It is performed by a waiter by using service forks and spoons from the din ...
for his rescue of a Norwegian vessel in danger of foundering at Honolulu.
[
]
Shipyard in Benicia
He designed his first ocean-going ship, the brig ''Nautilus'', in 1868, which was built at Eureka, in an attempt to get a faster ship for the Tahiti run. The hull of ''Nautilus'' was exactly the reverse of what was customary in the area at that time, being "long and sharp forward, lean and full on the waterline aft." Despite the predictions of sceptics that the ship would dive and pitch into the water, resulting in a very wet ride, ''Nautilus'' proved a great success. Turner decided to move into shipbuilding, setting up a yard near Hunter's Point with his brother Horatio. In 1876 he married for a second time, to Captain Rundle's widow, Ashbeline. The success of his first shipyard led him to search for another location, to allow the business to expand. He went into business with his brother and John Eckley, forming the Matthew Turner Shipyard at Benicia in 1883. This yard constructed at least 154 wooden-hulled ships.[
Turner was greatly admired by shipbuilder Henry Hall, of the Hall Brothers shipyard in Port Blakely. He described the "Turner Model" of sailing rig, using the Bermudan sail, a "fore and aft sail without gaff, being a large triangular sail." Eliminating the ]gaff
Gaff may refer to:
Ankle-worn devices
* Spurs in variations of cockfighting
* Climbing spikes used to ascend wood poles, such as utility poles
Arts and entertainment
* A character in the ''Blade Runner'' film franchise
* Penny gaff, a 19th- ...
made it much easier to bring the sail down during sudden Pacific squalls.
Prolific shipbuilder
During his career as a shipbuilder, Turner designed and built 228 sea going vessels in a period of 37 years, from 1868 to 1905, more sailing vessels than any other American shipbuilder.[ According to Gibbs, "although many esselswere small in size, this record was probably never equalled by any other individual shipbuilder in the American era of sail. He further, in all probability, built more vessels for foreign account than any other American since the Revolution."] Turner had business interests in the South Sea Islands, and many of his ships were built for owners in that region. He also specialized in vessels for pelagic sealing. "Turner also built some of the fastest racing yachts in the world, proven out during the famous races sponsored by the San Francisco Yacht Club, of which Turner was a charter member."
Later life
Turner was something of an invalid from 1904 onwards. Nonetheless, in 1906, at age 81, Turner, was still personally supervising work at his shipyard, and found himself suddenly swamped with work following the San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
. He decided to retire. He died on February 10, 1909, at the age of 83 years after a short illness at his home in Oakland.[
]
Legacy
Gibbs reports that Turner's influence on the South Seas schooner was still evident as late as 1941, when a two-masted schooner, ''Benicia'', built in Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
by a shipwright who had worked in Turner's yard, arrived in San Francisco under the French flag.
History in the Making: The legacy of Matthew Turner is being honored with the construction of a new wooden tall ship bearing his name. The 132-foot Brigantine Schooner, set to launch in 2016 is inspired by Matthew Turner's classic vessel, "Galilee"
Call of the Sea: When complete the "Matthew Turner" will join the fleet of "Call of the Sea" a non-profit organization started by Captain Alan Olson. "Call of the Sea" based in Sausalito, California is dedicated to preserving maritime traditions and teaching the skills of seamanship and teamwork through its experiential sailing programs.
Bypassing the petroleum era and embracing new technologies: No fossil fuels will be used for normal operations of the new "Matthew Turner”. Wind Power will provide basic propulsion. Wind Power will also generate power for the DC electric motors to be used when winds are insufficient. The new "Matthew Turner" will be the "greenest" wooden tall ship ever built. Every aspect of construction, from the FSC certified lumber to the latest non-toxic paints, has been scrutinized to minimize negative environmental impacts.
The ''Matthew Turner'' was completed in March 2017, built entirely by volunteer workers and funded by private donations. It will be used primarily as an educational aid.
The Matthew Turner was launched April 1, 2017 in Sausalito.
Notable ships built by Turner
* ''Anna'', a schooner with a ten-day run from Honolulu to San Francisco in 1886, and eight round trips, San Francisco to Kahului in 357 days
* ''Amaranth'' - Four-masted barquentine
A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.
Modern barquentine sailing ...
that broke the record for the Astoria, Oregon to Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
run (23 days). Wrecked at Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island (; formerly known as Bunker Island or Bunker's Shoal) is an uninhabited coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. It is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the Un ...
on August 30, 1913.
* ''Ariel'' - Four-masted schooner built by Matthew Turner in 1900. She was wrecked at Inuboyesaki, Japan, in 1917.
* ''Benicia'', a barquentine with a fast passage from Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
to Kihei
Kihei ( haw, Kīhei, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
Geography
Kihei is located at (20.759122, −156.45722 ...
, Hawaiʻi, of 35 days
* ''Equator'' - Schooner that was chartered by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
and helped inspire his book '' The Wrecker''
* ''Emma Claudina'', 126 ft., 266 ton brigantine, the first ship of the Matson Line
Matson, Inc. is an American shipping and navigation services company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1882, Matson, Inc.'s subsidiary Matson Navigation Company provides ocean shipping services across the Pacific to Hawaii, Alaska, G ...
, named for the daughter of John D. Spreckels[
]
* ''Galilee'' - Brigantine that holds the record for the Tahiti-San Francisco run in a wooden-hulled sailing vessel (22 days), converted to magnetic observatory when under charter to the Carnegie Institution of Washington
The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
Department of Terrestrial Magnetism for three years
* ''Geneva'', a brigantine with a passage of 2 days between Launceston, Tasmania and Newcastle, New South Wales
* '' ''John D. Spreckels'', a 266 ton brigantine with "at least three ten day voyages on the San Francisco-Hawaiian Island run"
* HMCS ''Karluk'' - Brigantine whaler that was acquired by the Canadian government as flagship to the Canadian Arctic Expedition
* ''Lurline'', a 135-foot brigantine made for Claus Spreckels
Adolph Claus J. Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) (his last name has also been misspelled as Spreckles) was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also i ...
in 1887, who sold immediately 75% to William Matson as an expansion of Matson Lines
Matson, Inc. is an American shipping and navigation services company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1882, Matson, Inc.'s subsidiary Matson Navigation Company provides ocean shipping services across the Pacific to Hawaii, Alaska, G ...
. They resold the vessel in 1896. The brig was lost in 1915.
* ''Nautilus'', 104 t., 173 ton brig, fast passage from Tahiti to San Francisco of 20 days
* ''Papeete'', schooner with a 17 day passage from San Francisco to Tahiti
* ''Pitcairn'', schooner built by Turner for the Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and i ...
* ''Solano'', fast passage from Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
to Port Townsend, Washington
Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census.
It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition t ...
of 24 days in April 1902. Wrecked on North Beach (the ocean side of Long Beach Peninsula), February 5, 1907.[Hobbs and Lucero, ''The Long Beach Peninsula'', at 70 (reprinting wreck site map)]
* '' William G. Irwin'', a sugar packet built in 1881 for J.D. Spreckels. Launched as a brigantine, later re-rigged as a three masted schooner. Fast passages from San Francisco to Kahului, Hawaiʻi, 8 days 17 hours, 1881, Honolulu to San Francisco, 9 days [
]
* ''W.H. Dimond'', a brigantine with a 9-day, 10-hour passage from San Francisco to Honolulu
References
External links
Park
Map of Matthew Turner Shipyard Park
California State Historic Landmark 973. "The yard sways, and the Whaler ''Stamboul'', used as a shipyard work platform, are visible at low tide."
Photograph of plaque at site of Turner Shipyard
Mission Bay location of first Turner Shipyard
School
Who was Matthew Turner, and Why Was a School Named After Him?
Matthew Turner Elementary School
Benicia, CA
Ships
''Herman'', Matthew Turner Built Sealing Schooner
codfish schooner involved in a collision off Pt. Reyes
The Matson Brigantine ''Lurline''
first ship of the Matson Line, purchased from J.D. Spreckels
1891 fishing schooner
Turner-built schooner shipwrecked at Santa Cruz Island, 1913
Matthew Turner
Currently under construction in Sausalito, CA, 2015
Further reading
*. Contains a chapter on Turner.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Matthew
American shipbuilders
Ships built in Benicia, California
Sea captains
Merchant ships of the United States
Maritime history of California
History of Tahiti
History of Solano County, California
People of the California Gold Rush
People from Geneva, Ohio
1825 births
1909 deaths