Captain Ralph Erksine Peasley "Captain Matt" (May 30, 1866 – December 13, 1948) is a
sea captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...
from the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
who became famous due to a popular series of short stories by
Peter Bernard Kyne called
Cappy Ricks or the Subjugation of Matt Peasley'.
Family life
Peasley was born to Henry Clay Peasley a
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
veteran and Elizabeth Rose of
Jonesport, Maine
Jonesport is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,245 at the 2020 census. Jonesport is a fishing and lobstering town. It contains the villages or hamlets of Jonesport, Mason Bay, Monsapec, and West Jonesport. ...
in 1866. He left home at age 14 to learn seamanship. At age 22, he captained his first ship. He came to
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
about 1888.
[Follansbee, Joe. ]
Celebrity Sea Captain
' (http://www.washingtonhistory.org : accessed 25 Feb 2020) COLUMBIA The Magazine of Northwest History, Summer 2006: Vol. 20, No. 2
In 1903, he married Emily Burrows "Burrie" Dalton, daughter of Captain James Dalton.
'. Saltwater People Historical Society. 6 Nov 2015 (https://saltwaterpeoplehistoricalsociety.blogspot.com : accessed 25 Feb 2020)
Peasley died in 1948.
Career highlights
*While captain of the Louis he brought it into the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
after a typhoon, even though he had never been there. He brought it safely to port and set a passage record.
*In 1903, Peasley and Captain Smith saved a sailor from drowning.
Ships
:Louis (schooner)
:
Wawona (schooner)
:Mary E Foster
:Melancton
:Kennewick (steamer)
:Omega
:Fred G Wood (schooner)
Timberman The Timberman
' (Miller Freeman Publications Portland, Oregon)
:Vigilant 1919-1930 (schooner)
:Linda 1931 (auxiliary sloop)
[''Captain Peasley, Scientific Party to Study Wales'' The Seattle Sunday Times 24 May 1931]
References
See also:
*Kyne, Peter Bernard.
Cappy Ricks, or, The subjugation of Matt Peasley'. New York: The H.K. Fly Company, 1916
Sources
*
Naval Militia Takes Cruise'. Aberdeen herald. (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.), 16 Sept. 1913. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Tales of The Town Tersely Told'. Aberdeen herald. (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.), 27 Apr 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
* "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6DW-7LF : 16 July 2019), Ralph E Peasley in entry for Henry Peasley, 1870.
*"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFQ4-Q8F : 15 August 2017), Ralph Peasely in household of Henry C Peasely, Jonesport, Washington, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district ED 188, sheet 373A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,490.
*"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMGQ-JYS : accessed 25 February 2020), Ralph E Peasley in household of Henry Peasley, Jonesport town, Washington, Maine, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 209, sheet 8B, family 180, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,601.
*"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGV8-7YK : accessed 25 February 2020), Head Ralph E Peasley, Aberdeen Ward 5, Chehalis, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 6, sheet 9B, family 161, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1653; FHL microfilm 1,375,666.
*"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHFR-P2W : accessed 25 February 2020), Ralph Peasley, Aberdeen Ward 4, Grays Harbor, Washington, United States; citing ED 69, sheet 1B, line 77, family 23, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1923; FHL microfilm 1,821,923.
*"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCSY-746 : accessed 25 February 2020), Ralph E Peasley, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 7, sheet 5A, line 8, family 113, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2488; FHL microfilm 2,342,222.
*"United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K99K-CZG : 27 July 2019), Ralph E Peasley, Ward 4, Aberdeen, Aberdeen Election Precinct 2, Grays Harbor, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 14–14, sheet 4B, line 70, family 113, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4340.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peasley, Ralph Erksine
1866 births
1948 deaths
People from Washington County, Maine
Sea captains
American sailors