COLLECTION GUIDES

1829-1977

Guide to the Collection

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society records is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.


Collection Summary

Abstract

This collection consists of the records of the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, 1829-1977, a charitable society that operated Seamen's Bethel, a church for sailors, and Mariner's House, a sailor's boardinghouse. The records of the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, 1832-1977, include annual reports, minutes, committee records, accounts, and rent records. Seamen's Bethel records, 1829-1879, include church records, minutes, membership records, and vital records including marriage, birth and death records. Mariner's House records, 1852-1973, include registration records, a baggage check, cashbooks, comparative cash statements, a credit ledger, a floor plan, and miscellaneous volumes.

Historical Sketch

The Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society is an organization devoted to charitable activities that benefit sailors and their families, including the operation of Mariner's House, a sailor's boarding house, at 11 North Square, Boston.

Mariner's House originated from the work of Methodist minister Edward Thompson Taylor (1793-1871), known simply as Father Taylor. A former sailor himself, Father Taylor became the first minister of Seamen's Bethel, founded in 1829 by the Port Society of the City of Boston and Its Vicinity (the Boston Port Society). The Seamen's Bethel ministered to the many seamen who were prey to the temptations and dangers of the nineteenth-century Boston waterfront. Father Taylor's unique sermons, delivered in the language and imagery of a sailor, garnered him a widespread reputation and the Seamen's Bethel a sizeable attendance.

The Seamen's Aid Society, organized in 1833 as an auxiliary by women associated with the Boston Port Society, complemented their efforts by undertaking the task of assisting wives and daughters of sailors who were at sea. After sewing garments to be donated proved an inefficient form of relief, the Society undertook the operation of an outfitters shop in order to employ wives and daughters of sailors so that they could earn a livable income.

In response to growing concern over the moral and criminal effects of the boardinghouses populated by sailors in port, Father Taylor and the Boston Port Society, with the support of the Seamen's Aid Society, opened Mariner's House in a building on Ann St. in May 1837. Mariner's House provided affordable rooms on a daily or weekly basis, meals, a library, and daily morning and evening prayers. Father Taylor was the primary person responsible for the operation of Mariner's House during its initial years.

After its first edifice was condemned by the city in 1845, Mariner's House sought a new location. Temporarily relocating to a small, unsuitable building, the Boston Port Society acquired two adjoining lots in North Square, on which the present Mariner's House was built. The structure was dedicated on 24 March 1847.

In 1867, the Boston Port Society and the Seamen's Aid Society merged to form the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society. With attendance declining after the retirement of Father Taylor and the rise of the Catholic population of the neighborhood, the Seamen's Bethel was sold in 1884.

Source

Leehey, Patrick M. A History of the Mariner's House. Boston: Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, 1995.

Collection Description

Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society records consist of 69 volumes and other records in 15 record cartons and 2 oversized cartons, as well as 3 reels of microfilm, spanning the years 1829 to 1977. The collection is divided into three series: Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, Seamen's Bethel, and Mariner's House.

The first series, Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society records, contains annual reports, minutes, committee records, accounts and rent records. Annual reports include those for the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, as well as its two predecessors, the Boston Port Society and the Seamen's Aid Society. The primary activity documented by the records is the management of Mariner's House and Seamen's Bethel.

The second series, Seamen's Bethel records, contains minutes, membership records, birth and death records, and marriage records for the church of Father Taylor and his successors. Of particular interest are marriage records, some of which provide personal and demographic information on sailors in Boston, including country of origin and race.

The third series, Mariner's House records, contains registration records, a baggage check, cashbooks, comparative cash statements, a credit ledger, a floor plan, and miscellaneous volumes. Personal and demographic information on sailors in Boston can be found in registration records, the baggage check, most cashbooks, and the credit ledger.

Acquisition Information

The Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society deposited their records with the MHS in April 2001.

Treatment

Eight volumes of Mariner's House records were treated for mildew damage and microfilmed at the Northeast Document Conservation Center. Treatment included cleaning, deacidification, repair, and removal of text blocks from their bindings. The eight volumes are on three reels of microfilm, P-717. The original volumes are stored in conservation phase boxes with the remainder of the Mariner's House records. However, researchers should use the microfilm.

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society records is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.

Other Formats

Digital facsimiles of some of the annual reports in this collection are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.

Detailed Description of the Collection

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I. Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society, 1832-1977

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III. Mariner's House, 1852-1973

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Preferred Citation

Boston Port and Seamen's Aid Society records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Taylor, Edward Thompson, 1793-1871.

Organizations:

Mariner's House (Boston, Mass.).
Port Society of the City of Boston and Its Vicinity.
Seamen's Aid Society (Boston, Mass.).
Seamen's Bethel (Boston, Mass.).

Subjects:

Account books--1881-1973.
Boardinghouses--Massachusetts--Boston.
Boston (Mass.)--Church history.
Boston (Mass.)--Statistics, Vital.
Charities--Massachusetts--Boston.
Church charities--Massachusetts--Boston.
Sailors--Massachusetts--Boston.

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