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Nelson Cole Haley
Nelson Cole Haley (March 7, 1832 - 1900) was an American whaler and trader in the mid-nineteenth century.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, “Nelt” shipped on his first whaling v...view moreNelson Cole Haley (March 7, 1832 - 1900) was an American whaler and trader in the mid-nineteenth century.
Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, “Nelt” shipped on his first whaling voyage at the age of 12, and except for a winter at school in Maine, spent the next nine years at sea before returning to his mother and step-father’s home in Maine.
In his own words, “a capstan-head consultation being held by these different boat-headers, including the Colonel and mother, it was determined that yours truly should abandon the sea and go West to grow up with the country.” He set out for St. Paul by way of Lake Erie and worked variously in a general store, lumbering camp, and sawmill, but couldn’t escape the call of the sea.
Perhaps his best known voyage was on the Charles W. Morgan, 1849-1853, which is chronicled in Whale Hunt. The manuscript was donated to the museum at Mystic Seaport and published in 1948, and took its place as a whaling classic.
A few more whaling voyages, and Haley settled in Hawaii, married, and started a family. From there he engaged in the local whaling fleet and traded sandalwood and Hawaiian cloth in China and San Francisco.
He tried planting sugar, but failed and left for Seattle. Ultimately he endeavored to supply Alaskan miners in the gold rush of 1897.
He died of pneumonia at Sheep Camp Hospital in Alaska late in the winter of 1900.view less
Books by Nelson Cole Haley
Whale Hunt: The Narrative of a Voyage by Nelson Cole Haley, Harpooner in the Ship Charles W. Morgan 1849-1853