the humblest as well as the highest.” The motto of their
Irish arms — depicting two hands, a lion, and three swords— is
Indignante Invidia Florebit Justus
(Despising envy, the just shall flourish). The English arms display three rams and the motto Liberty Under Thy Guidance,
the Guidance of the Lamb of God. Bing preferred the Irish emblem, sporting it on the breast pockets of his blazers.
Captain Nathaniel, known as Nathaniel Jr. or Nathaniel II, was the fourth Crosby of that name in a line that produced three
or four more. 10 Born in 1810, in East Brewster, Massachusetts, he and his brothers, Clanrick and Alfred, were tutored in the seaman’s life
by their father, who commanded a vessel out of Cape Cod. In his twenties, Nathaniel moved to Wiscasset, Maine, where he married
Mary Lincoln and raised a family. By 1844 his reputation for daring had earned him a commission from a U.S. government agent
to command the brig O. C.
Raymond,
charged with taking emergency supplies from Boston to immigrants who poured into the Oregon Territory seeking their fortunes.
Reaching the mouth of the Columbia River, he continued to Portland, an outpost of log cabins, and put his crew ashore to build
a warehouse for his cargo. That cabin survived as the settlement’s post office.
Crosby took to the community, enchanted by the vitality of the frontier and the commercial promise it held, discerning for
himself a role amid the burgeoning industries and direct trade routes to Hawaii —still known as the Sandwich Islands — and China. He decided to transport his family and made one last visit to New England
to outline his plan. Over the next few years, Captain Crosby traded along the West Coast and Hawaii, ferrying supplies at
government behest to secure the territory and earning enough money to enable his brothers to purchase the
Grecian,
a 247-ton brig. In September 1849, with twenty-four people on board, all but five of them relatives, the
Grecian
left New York. 11 Clanrick and Alfred served as captain and second officer. On board were their wives, children, in-laws, housekeeper, and
their retired father, Captain Nathaniel Crosby Sr.
Within five months the Crosby brig rounded the Horn and docked in Portland. The party continued to the small settlement of
Tumwater. That town, incorporated three years earlier, consisted of little more than a blockhouse and a few one-room cabins.
It became home to Clanrick and his family. In partnership with a man named Gray, Clanrick bought a gristmill and land along
the river, eventually building a general store and emerging as a prominent citizen, a leader and philanthropist. His father
also lived there a couple of years but returned to Cape Cod shortly before his death. Alfred moved his family to Astoria,
Oregon.
The man responsible for the emigration, Captain Nathaniel Crosby Jr., soon tired of sedentary life. Early in 1852 he transported
his family — and the first cargo of spars (poles used in the rigging of ships) ever sent from the Pacific Coast — to China.
After establishing a home in Hong Kong, he returned for a second consignment of spars, this time from Olympia, the growing
settlement at Tumwater’s northern border, soon to be designated capital of Washington Territory. He died in Hong Kong four
years later, leaving a widow; two daughters, Mary and Martha; and a son, Nathaniel. All but Martha quickly returned to Tumwater. 12
Clanrick helped young Nat get on his feet, selling him a parcel of land at Tumwater’s north end and employing him at the mill.
Nat took a wife, Cordelia, and prospered for a time, building a spacious, two-story A-frame house with a small cherry orchard
out front. But a bad investment in steamships annihilated his savings, and he was forced to relocate to Olympia, where he
found employment as postmaster. (Although they lived in the Tumwater house only a few years, it continued to be known as “the
old Crosby home,”
Irish arms — depicting two hands, a lion, and three swords— is
Indignante Invidia Florebit Justus
(Despising envy, the just shall flourish). The English arms display three rams and the motto Liberty Under Thy Guidance,
the Guidance of the Lamb of God. Bing preferred the Irish emblem, sporting it on the breast pockets of his blazers.
Captain Nathaniel, known as Nathaniel Jr. or Nathaniel II, was the fourth Crosby of that name in a line that produced three
or four more. 10 Born in 1810, in East Brewster, Massachusetts, he and his brothers, Clanrick and Alfred, were tutored in the seaman’s life
by their father, who commanded a vessel out of Cape Cod. In his twenties, Nathaniel moved to Wiscasset, Maine, where he married
Mary Lincoln and raised a family. By 1844 his reputation for daring had earned him a commission from a U.S. government agent
to command the brig O. C.
Raymond,
charged with taking emergency supplies from Boston to immigrants who poured into the Oregon Territory seeking their fortunes.
Reaching the mouth of the Columbia River, he continued to Portland, an outpost of log cabins, and put his crew ashore to build
a warehouse for his cargo. That cabin survived as the settlement’s post office.
Crosby took to the community, enchanted by the vitality of the frontier and the commercial promise it held, discerning for
himself a role amid the burgeoning industries and direct trade routes to Hawaii —still known as the Sandwich Islands — and China. He decided to transport his family and made one last visit to New England
to outline his plan. Over the next few years, Captain Crosby traded along the West Coast and Hawaii, ferrying supplies at
government behest to secure the territory and earning enough money to enable his brothers to purchase the
Grecian,
a 247-ton brig. In September 1849, with twenty-four people on board, all but five of them relatives, the
Grecian
left New York. 11 Clanrick and Alfred served as captain and second officer. On board were their wives, children, in-laws, housekeeper, and
their retired father, Captain Nathaniel Crosby Sr.
Within five months the Crosby brig rounded the Horn and docked in Portland. The party continued to the small settlement of
Tumwater. That town, incorporated three years earlier, consisted of little more than a blockhouse and a few one-room cabins.
It became home to Clanrick and his family. In partnership with a man named Gray, Clanrick bought a gristmill and land along
the river, eventually building a general store and emerging as a prominent citizen, a leader and philanthropist. His father
also lived there a couple of years but returned to Cape Cod shortly before his death. Alfred moved his family to Astoria,
Oregon.
The man responsible for the emigration, Captain Nathaniel Crosby Jr., soon tired of sedentary life. Early in 1852 he transported
his family — and the first cargo of spars (poles used in the rigging of ships) ever sent from the Pacific Coast — to China.
After establishing a home in Hong Kong, he returned for a second consignment of spars, this time from Olympia, the growing
settlement at Tumwater’s northern border, soon to be designated capital of Washington Territory. He died in Hong Kong four
years later, leaving a widow; two daughters, Mary and Martha; and a son, Nathaniel. All but Martha quickly returned to Tumwater. 12
Clanrick helped young Nat get on his feet, selling him a parcel of land at Tumwater’s north end and employing him at the mill.
Nat took a wife, Cordelia, and prospered for a time, building a spacious, two-story A-frame house with a small cherry orchard
out front. But a bad investment in steamships annihilated his savings, and he was forced to relocate to Olympia, where he
found employment as postmaster. (Although they lived in the Tumwater house only a few years, it continued to be known as “the
old Crosby home,”
Similar Books
The Swamp Boggles
Linda Chapman
Assassin
Lady Grace Cavendish
Scandal of the Year
Olivia Drake
The Hunt for the Yeti Skull: Nepal
Elizabeth Singer Hunt
Without Reservations
Alice Steinbach
The Pattern Scars
Caitlin Sweet
Hometown
Marsha Qualey
Parade of Shadows
Gloria Whelan
Waking Nightmares
Christopher Golden
