Mayhew Folger (March 9, 1774 – September 1, 1828) was an American

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

who captained the sealing ship ''Topaz'' that rediscovered the

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

in 1808, while one of 's mutineers was still living.

Early life and family

Mayhew was born on March 12, 1774, in

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, the second child of William Folger and Ruth Coffin. Mayhew was a member of the Folger whaling family of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, who were prominent Quakers. He was the great-great-great grandson of

Peter Foulger Peter Folger or Foulger (died 1690) was a poet and an interpreter of the American Indian language for the first settlers of Nantucket. He was instrumental in the colonization of Nantucket Island in the Massachusetts colony. He was the maternal ...

and Mary ''Morrill'' Foulger and, through them, is the first cousin, three times removed, of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. He married his second cousin, Mary Joy, on March 7, 1798, on Nantucket. Mayhew was the uncle of

Lucretia Coffin Mott Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin (surname), Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an Quakers in North America, American Quaker, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had for ...

, daughter of his sister, Anna Folger, and Thomas Coffin. Folgers grandson, William Mayhew Folger (1844-1928), became a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Rediscovery of the Pitcairn Islands

Mayhew Folger captained the ship ''Topaz'' that left Boston on April 5, 1807, hunting for seals. They rediscovered the

on February 6, 1808. At that time, only one of the original mutineers, Alexander Smith, whose real name was

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, was still alive. ''Topaz'' remained at the island for only ten hours.

The ''Bountys Chronometer

Captain Folger was given the ''Bountys

azimuth compass An azimuth compass (or azimuthal compass) is a nautical instrument used to measure the magnetic azimuth, the angle of the arc on the horizon between the direction of the sun or some other celestial object and the magnetic north. This can be compare ...

and

Larcum Kendall Larcum Kendall (21 September 1719 in Charlbury, Oxfordshire – 22 November 1790 in London) was a British watchmaker. Early life Kendall was born on 21 September 1719 in Charlbury. His father was a mercer and linen draper named Moses Ke ...

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...

by Adams. The K2 was the third precision marine chronometer made after the H4, designed by

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at s ...

. The chronometer was taken by the Spanish governor at Juan Fernandez Island. The chronometer was later purchased by a Spaniard named Castillo. When he died, his family conveyed it to Captain Herbert of HMS ''Calliope'', who had it conveyed to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

around 1840. The chronometer is now in Greenwich, London.

Accounts of the rediscovery

The discovery was reported by Folger to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1808, a report of which reached the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

on May 14, 1809, which was then published in the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River ...

'' in 1810. Captain Folger also related an account of the discovery to a friend, Captain

Amasa Delano ''Benito Cereno'' is a novella by Herman Melville, a fictionalized account about the revolt on a Spanish slave ship captained by Don Benito Cereno, first published in three installments in '' Putnam's Monthly'' in 1855. The tale, slightly revi ...

, who published it in his book, ''A Narrative of Voyages and Travels in 1817''; the narrative is also included in the book '' Pitcairn's Island'', written by Charles Nordoff and James Hall.

Later years

Folger and his family migrated to

Kendal, Ohio The plat for the town of Kendal, in Stark County, Ohio was entered on April 20, 1812. It was named by its founder, Thomas Rotch (1767–1823), after the town of Kendal, in Cumbria, England. Kendal was absorbed into the town of Massillon, Ohio in 1 ...

in 1813. He became the first postmaster of neighboring

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately west of Canton, Ohio, Canton, south of Akron, and south of Cleveland. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Mass ...

when the post office was created there in 1828.Footprints: Presbyterianism in Massillon, Ohio by R. Paul Hildebrand & Virginia Hildebrand He died September 1, 1828 in Massillon.

External links

Mayhew Folger's account of meeting the Bounty descendantsBook by Nordoff and Hall which includes Folger's account of the rediscoveryAnother link to Nordoff and Hall's book The Larcum Kendall Bounty Watch in the National Maritime Museum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folger, Mayhew 1774 births 1828 deaths People from Nantucket, Massachusetts Benjamin Franklin Sea captains Mutiny on the Bounty Sealers American people in whaling Explorers of the Pacific