Sylvester Manor reported this week that more details have emerged in the story of William Pharoah, a Montaukett boy placed in servitude there in the early 1800s who dreamed of going to sea.
William Pharoah and his brother Issac were brought to Sylvester Manor by their mother for indentured servitude with Samuel Smith Gardiner. They grew up at the Manor working and carving the drawings of sailing ships on the walls and rafters while living in the attic.
A few years ago, a letter was found in an old trunk written by Mary Catherine L’Hommedieu to Gardiner explaining how William ran away on August 22, 1840, after being seen talking with a ship’s captain of a sloop bound for New London. That marked the end of the story about William Pharoah, Sylvester Manor said, until now.
“Just last week, we found William’s name listed as a crew member on whaling ships out of New London,” Sylvester Manor wrote in a social media post.
Using the database whalinghistory.org, Sylvester Manor staff discovered that William served on two whaling voyages out of New London from September 1840 until May 1844. Upon arriving in New London after running away from Shelter Island, William signed onto the crew of the ship Superior.
He lied about his age, saying he was 21 years old instead of 19 and spelled his name phonetically as William Faro. The records describe him as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, an Indian, and from Long Island. The Superior’s whaling voyage was bound for the South Atlantic, and when it returned to New London in July 1842, William signed up as crew aboard the ship Jason.
A month later, it left port to hunt whales in the South Atlantic, off the tip of South Africa and the Indian Ocean. Ship logs show that the Jason went as far as the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius. Jason returned to New London in May 1844 when William would have been 23 years old.
“This new information about William Pharaoh and the proof that he was able to follow his dream of going to sea was an incredible finding,” the Manor said. “It’s evidence that there are many great stories just waiting to be told!”
For more on the second voyage of William Pharaoh aboard the Jason visit WhalingHistory.org.
