Manuscript Collections

Correspondence, accounts, receipts, bills of sale, ship’s papers, deeds, mortgages, ledgers, daybooks, printed materials, and other papers, relating to the West Indies and coastal trade, whaling, sailmaking, charter-parties, Mystic, Connecticut town affairs, probate court in Groton, Connecticut, and other family business and domestic matters. Persons represented include shipmasters Amos Clift (1768-1818), Amos Clift (1808-1878), Amos Clift (1830-1887), Nathaniel (1775-1837), Hiram, and Waterman Clift (1809-1890), sailmaker Isaac D. Clift (1824-1892), and Edmund, Horace H., Frederick D., Ira H., Lemuel, and Thankful Clift. Vessels mentioned include schooner POLLY, schooner AMELIA, brig LYON, smack ROVER, and clipper ship ANDREW JACKSON.

The Elihu Spicer papers document the maritime and civic activities of Capt. Elihu Spicer (1825–1893), a prominent shipmaster, businessman, and political figure from Noank, Connecticut. The collection spans the mid-19th century and includes correspondence, shipping documents, financial records, and civic materials relating to Spicer’s career as a sea captain, shipowner, and later as a state legislator and local leader.

The George Comer Collection contains a small number of letters, some printed matter, and numerous clippings (copies) relative to Comer’s voyages and activities. There are also seven whaling/sealing journals and two naval journals, along with four notebooks kept by Capt. Comer.

Papers, chiefly relating to the world wide voyages taken by Johnson and his wife, Electa, aboard their vessels: schooner YANKEE (sailed around the world 3 times before being sold in 1941), brigantine YANKEE (formerly a German North Sea pilot boat purchased in 1946 and used four additional circumnavigations in the next 11 years), and their dream ship, a 50′ ketch YANKEE, which cruised on Europe’s canals, waterways, and seas. Includes logbooks kept on brigantine Yankee, written by whomever was on watch, containing chiefly navigational and weather data, but also including comments on crew members, conditions on board, or stopovers; miscellaneous related documents (1930-1976) including account book for the 5th voyage, expense receipts for ketch YANKEE, provision lists (1947-1958), YANKEE surveys, charter parties, and newsletters written by Johnson; 364 items relating to Johnson’s early sailing career (1926-1931) including letters to his mother; and accounts of crew members, including Electa Johnson’s account of their circumnavigation.

The L. Francis Collection consists primarily of Mr. Herreshoff's correspondence between the years 1925 and 1971. In addition, there are drafts of Mr. Herreshoff's books, The Wizard of Bristol, Common Sense of Yacht Design, The Complete Cruiser, and Introduction to Yachting. Drafts of various articles written by L. Francis Herreshoff for Rudder magazine are present, as are miscellaneous types of information relative to many of his designs. Finally, there are numerous memos and monographs, etc., ranging from his World War I Naval career to "A Scheme for Remembering the Storm Signals" and a "Short Discourse on Barometer Indication," which illustrate the many interests and abilities of this talented man. The L. Francis Herreshoff Collection totals eighteen document cases containing approximately 15,000 pieces relative to the work of this American yacht designer. Most of the material is concentrated between the years 1940 and 1970, and is for the most part comprised of Mr. Herreshoff's correspondence, written and received.

Founded in 1933, the Off Soundings Club is a private sailing organization based in Connecticut and Rhode Island, dedicated to promoting offshore yacht racing and fellowship among sailors. The Club organizes two major regattas each year—one in early June and the other in mid-September—typically held along the New England coast, with courses that span the waters of Block Island Sound, Fishers Island Sound, and the surrounding areas. The Off Soundings Club draws members from across the northeastern United States and maintains a long tradition of advancing amateur sailing.

Correspondence, memos, printed material, and other papers, reflecting Duncan's yachting career.

The William F. Saunders Papers contains correspondence, diary copy, letter book and scrapbook of William F. Saunders and his career as a keeper of the Quonochontaug Life Saving Station during the late nineteenth century. The correspondence regards the combined efforts of lifesaving station keepers in lobbying for the passage of H.R. 12464, a House of Representatives bill to provide station keepers with pensions, compensation for disability or death. A copy of this resolution is included in the collection.The diary is a typed transcription of Saunders diary and includes details about daily life at the lifesaving station. The letterbook includes copies of letters sent by Saunders. The collection contains a typed transcription of the letterbook. The scrapbook contains clippings of events at the Quonochontaug Life Saving Station.