The Crew of the Ranger in The Tory Lover

Introduction

     There is no official list of the sailors, marines, and others who sailed with the Ranger upon its departure from Portsmouth in 1777 or of those who remained with or joined the ship after its various landings and encounters. Augustus Buell (1900) provides the list upon which Jewett probably relied, though he subsequently proved so unreliable that one dare not trust his list. For example, he appears unaware of Ezra Green's published diary. A more authoritative list appears in Joseph G. Sawtelle, editor, John Paul Jones and the Ranger (1994, pp. 193-7); this list is based on primary documents, and so lists only part of the crew of about 140.
     The list below names the crew-members included in Jewett and a few who do not appear in the novel, then indicates which ones are listed in Buell and in Sawtelle, along with other information that has been found about them. Those who appear in neither Buell nor Sawtelle seem likely to be the ones Jewett intended to be fictional, not based on any historical model.
     The York County Atlas of 1872 says Ichabod Lord and Aaron Goodwin from South Berwick served with John Paul Jones, and that Goodwin and seven others were captured and imprisoned in England (102). Both of these men appear in Charles Herbert's list of Berwick men captured with the Brigantine Dolton and committed to the Mill Prison in June 1777. It would appear, therefore, that they were among those released in the trading of prisoners in 1778 and that these two men served with Jones on the Bon Homme Richard.

Augustus Buell's Influence on Jewett
Important Ranger crew members not mentioned in The Tory Lover
 
 

The Crew of the Ranger in The Tory Lover

Chase, James (12): Jewett identifies him as an old Nantucket seaman, who served with Jones on the Alfred. Buell, Sawtelle.

Cooper (12): Not listed in Sawtelle or Buell, Cooper would appear to be an entirely fictional character, though Cooper is a common name, and there were many living in the Piscataqua region during the American Revolution. Jewett identifies him and Hanscom as from the South Berwick area. In 15, Cooper and Wallingford are said to be old friends who share many memories, and Jewett identifies the Wallingford servant, Susan, as Cooper's older sister.
     An Alexander Cooper (b. 1746) resident in South Berwick 1818, is listed as having served in the Revolution in Fisher & Fisher.

Dickson (12): He is said to be an officer in Ch. 24 and later, but which office is not specified. A Stephen Dickson is listed as an apprentice boy from Boston in Buell, but clearly this boy is not the model for Jewett's villain. Sawtelle lists no Dickson.  However, it is possible that Jewett used this name because it was familiar to people in late 19th-century South Berwick, Samuel Dickson / Dixon.  Samuel Dickson was a somewhat shady operator of a liquor shop in mid-century Salmon Falls.  His shop is associated with an 1854 murder, in which Dr. Jewett examined the body, and his name is mentioned in relation to the arson of a barn.  However details about the extent of his involvement have not yet been discovered.  (Research: Wendy Pirsig).

John Dougall (12): Dr. Green reports that a John W. Dangle was killed on 24 April 1778 in the capture of the sloop of war, Drake, near Carrickfergus, and Jones reports in his own narrative of the events that John Dougall died in the capture of the Drake (Sands 85). Dougall is on the list of petty officers and able seamen from Boston in Buell, but Dangle is not. Sawtelle list Dougall.

Johnny Downes (12): Named as a ship's boy in The Tory Lover. On the list of apprentice boys in Buell. Sawtelle lists John Downs.

William Earl (19): Acts as secretary for Captain Jones on the Ranger on the night that Wallingford notices Jones is wearing Mary's ring. Earl is not on Buell's list of the crew. According to the Chadbourne Family Association web site, the Hearl (sometimes spelled Earl) family had several members residing in the area of South Berwick during the era of the American Revolution. Fisher & Fisher list two William Hearle's from Berwick as serving in the Revolution (358), but neither is listed as a sailor.

Falls (12): A gunner who plays fiddle.
     Dr. Green reports that James Falls was wounded on 24 April 1778 in the capture of the sloop of war, Drake, near Carrickfergus. Sawtelle.
     Thomas M. Falls is listed by Buell as a gunner from Salem, but no James Falls appears on Buell's roster.

Joseph Fernal (12): Named as an old Portsmouth sailor in The Tory Lover. Buell, Sawtelle.

Gardner (23): Sawtelle lists a John Gardin.

Grant (12): Buell [Ephraim], Sawtelle [Ephram].

Dr. Ezra Green (1746-1847), ship surgeon (13): After five years service in the American army and navy, Green became a merchant and public servant in Malden, Massachusetts. For details and pictures, see Diary of Ezra Green.

[John] Grosvenor (12): Buell.

Lieutenant [Elijah] Hall (24): Dr. Green reports that Lieutenant Hall and he signed a petition for the release of the imprisoned Lieutenant Simpson on 29 May 1778. Listed in Buell. Sawtelle notes that Hall's biography appears in G. D. Foss's Three Centuries of Free Masonry in New Hampshire (1972): "Lost sight of an Eye and taken prisoner in battle off Charleston, S.C. He returned to Portsmouth and married Elizabeth Stoodley, daughter of the owner of Stoodleys Tavern (moved to Hancock Street in Strawbery Banke Museum in 1964.) After the war Elijah purchased the tavern and made it his residence for the remainder of his life. He was elected to the state senate in 1807-09, the Governors council in 1809-17. Died June 22, 1830. Was an incorporator of the Portsmouth Savings Bank. The Halls had three sons who were all killed in the War of 1812."

[Reuben] Hanscom (12): Jewett indicates that he is a "river" man, like Cooper, from the South Berwick area. Buell, Sawtelle. Fisher & Fisher list a Reuben Hanscom (1754-1831) who enlisted at Kittery, who married Lucy and then Alice, and who died in North Berwick (337). There is no indication that this Reuben Hanscom served on the Ranger.

Midshipman [Benjamin] Hill (26): Buell lists Charles Hill of Barnstable as a midshipman, and notes that he also served with Jones on the Providence and the Alfred (1;51). Buell also says that Hill authored "The Song of the Ranger" quoted in Chapter 12, but S. E. Morison indicates that Buell made up this document (427). Sawtelle lists Benjamin Hill, but not his position.
     Dr. Green says that Mr. Hill accompanied Lieutenant Wallingford in the Whitehaven attack. Sawtelle lists Benj. Hill, and S. E. Morison points out that during the Whitehaven attack, Benjamin Hill, a friend of Jones, also was serving as a volunteer officer on the Ranger (119).

Solomon Hutchings (13): Named by Jewett as the first victim of voyage -- a broken leg; This also is in Buell (1;86), but not, as one would expect, in the Diary of Ezra Green. Sawtelle notes that Solomon Hutchins "came down with smallpox, recovered" (194). Fisher & Fisher list Solomon Hutchins (b. 1760) as a navy sailor from Kittery serving on the Ranger (400).

John Paul Jones, Jr.: Captain of the Ranger.
     John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was an American naval officer during the Revolutionary War. He was born John Paul on July 6, 1747, in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. He began his sailing career at the age of 12 as a cabin boy, and served on a slaver and then as captain of a merchant ship. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "In 1773, as commander of a merchant vessel in Tobago in the West Indies, he killed the leader of a mutinous crew. Rather than wait in prison for trial, he escaped from the island and later returned to Fredericksburg, [Virginia]. The British thereafter considered him a pirate and a fugitive from justice. To hide his identity he added the surname Jones." At the beginning of the American Revolution, Jones joined the Continental navy. Britannica says "He was commissioned a lieutenant and attached to the first American flagship, Alfred. In 1776 he was promoted to captain and given command of the sloop Providence. During his first cruise on the Providence he destroyed the British fisheries in Nova Scotia and captured 16 British prize ships. In 1777 he commanded the sloop Ranger, and after sailing to France, he cruised along the coast of Britain, destroying many British vessels."  More materials on John Paul Jones.

Humphry Lord (6): A young man who boards the Ranger as it is about to embark. The Lord family history web page lists a person who might fit this description, Humphrey Lord (c. 1744 - c. 1797) of South Berwick, Maine. He married Olive Hill in 1772. Not on rosters of Buell or Sawtelle. Fisher & Fisher list a Humphrey lord of Berwick serving in the militia (487).

[Daniel] Sargent (21): Sawtelle
     Nathan Sargent serves as Master at Arms according to Buell. In Fisher & Fisher, Daniel Sargent / Sargeant (b. 1749) is listed as serving with John Paul Jones, but the Ranger is not specified (689). The entry appears scrambled, but he seems to have married several times and to have died in 1828.

[Daniel] Sherburne (12): Named as an old Portsmouth sailor in The Tory Lover. Buell, Sawtelle. Fisher & Fisher list Andrew Sherburne as having served on the Ranger and moving to Ohio after the war (708).

Simpson, Lieutenant Thomas (12): Buell and Sawtelle. Molly Elliot Seawell's biographical essay -- which probably isn't to be relied upon wholly -- says "Simpson was cousin to the Quinceys, the Wentworths, the Wendells, and, above all, to President Hancock, who had it in his power to remedy that burning injustice of rank which Paul Jones declared to be 'no trifle.'" She goes on to say that Jones was less insistent upon disciplining Simpson because of the mate's influence ("Paul Jones," Century 49:6 p. 879). S. E. Morison confirms that Simpson was Colonel John Langdon's brother-in-law, and points out that most of the officers appointed to serve under Jones were friends and relatives of John Langdon and William Whipple, both of whom were Portsmouth politicians and businessmen. None of these officers had naval experience. Simpson was experienced in the merchant marine and was nine years older than Jones (107-8). Such factors led to conflict between Jones and his men and to Simpson's eventual arrest for mutiny.
     This arrest is mentioned in Green's diary notes; Green took Simpson's part and later served under Captain. See Sawtelle and also Morison Chapter 10 for a detailed accounts of this affair.

Simon Staples (12): Jewett implies that he is a Berwick area sailor. Buell, Sawtelle.

[Owen or Matthew] Starbuck (12): Both are on the list of petty officers and able seamen from Nantucket in Buell, but not on Sawtelle's list. Buell says that Owen Starbuck served with Jones as well on the Providence and the Alfred (1;51).

Roger Wallingford: Lieutenant of Marines, Samuel Richard Wallingford, whom Morison characterizes as "courteous," served on the Ranger. He appears on Buell's "Roster of the Ranger" as from Philadelphia. He appears on Sawtelle's list.
     Wallingford was killed during the capture of The Drake on 24 April 1778, the day after the attack on Whitehaven. The historical Wallingford was not left behind at Whitehaven, though another sailor was. See David Smith, below.
     According to Walter Green, son of the ship's doctor, Samuel Wallingford was a Lieutenant of Marines, and he left an infant son at his death, George Washington Wallingford, who was born at Somersworth, N.H. and became a distinguished lawyer (Preble and Green, Diary of Ezra Green, 1875).
     William H. Teschek's biographical sketch of Samuel Wallingford can be found at the Wallingford family web site: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~teschek/wallingford/i0000113.htm

     The following summary is based on this web page.
     He was born in Berwick, York County, Maine on February 4, 1755, the son of Judge Thomas Wallingford and his third wife, Elizabeth (see below). He died in battle on the Ranger on April 24, 1778. He married Lydia Baker (1759-1828) at First Church in Dover on July 22, 1775, when he was 20 and she was 15. Their only child, George, was born 19 February 1776, seven months after the wedding.
     According to this web site, Samuel's "military service during the Revolutionary War began in 1775. On 5 November 1775 Samuel was 1st Lt. in Capt. Moses Yeaton's 12th Co., stationed on Pierce's Island amongst forces guarding Portsmouth's Piscataqua Harbor from attack by sea. On 2 December of that year General John Sullivan, who was stationed at "Winter Hill" in Charlestown, Mass., asked for reinforcements to his force surrounding the British in Boston. 2058 men from N.H. went down, including now 2nd Lt. Samuel Wallingford, part of Capt. David Copps' 25th Co. They remained at Winter Hill until the British evacuated Boston the following March." Since his marriage took place shortly after hostilities commenced at Concord and Lexington in April 1775, and he was already a first lieutenant by November of that year, it would appear that Wallingford was a reasonably willing soldier rather than a reluctantly converted Tory as Jewett presents him.
    By December of 1776, Wallingford was a captain in the fourth company of a regiment under Colonel David Gilman.
     "On 15 July 1777 John Paul Jones wrote to Samuel from Portsmouth the following: "Sir You being nominated as Lieutenant of Marines in the Service of these States, are hereby Authorized and directed forthwith to Enlist as many Able Bodied Men as possible to Serve in the Navy under my Command -- You are to enter All the good Seamen who present themselves -- as Sundry petty Warrant Officers will be Appointed from Among them. I will shortly send you with hand Bills for your Government -- and in the Meantime the men will be intitled to wages from the date of Entry -- their reasonable Travelling expences will be Allowed -- and a bounty of Forty Dollars for every Able Seaman will be Paid on their Appearance at the Ship."
     Wallingford sailed with the Ranger in November of 1777 and remained in this service until his death the following spring. One account of the attack on Whitehaven that probably was familiar to Jewett suggests some opposition between Wallingford and Jones, mentioning Lieutenant [Samuel] Wallingford as a crew-member who opposed the attack and resisted setting the fires as ordered: "Lieutenant Wallingford thought it wrong to destroy the private property of the poor people...." ("John Paul Jones." Harper's Monthly, July 1855, 152).

William Young (12): a Dover man according to The Tory Lover; he appears on the list of petty officers and able seamen from Portsmouth in Buell. Sawtelle lists a Jonathan Young, Armorer.
 
 

More on Buell's influence on Jewett

     Jewett writes in a letter to Annie Fields:

I wish to tell you one thing, dear, that I knew Lieutenant Wallingford was killed, none better, but how could I write about him unless I kept him alive? -- There is something so strange now, that I can hardly believe it myself. I thought about him and his house and the members of the family whom I have known, and made him a Tory and had Mary W. -- challenge him to his duty, all out of my own imagination; and on Saturday I got a package of notes from Mr. Buell in which it is proved that Wallingford was a Tory and his lady love declined to marry him for that reason; at last he took her challenge and went to sea. He confessed to Paul Jones that he had come for a lady's sake and not from his principles. Part of this is told almost in my words of the story, as you shall see. Now how could I have guessed, at his character, and what was likely to happen, and better? Imagination is the only true thing in the world!

Jewett's correspondent was Augustus C. Buell (1847-1904), author of Paul Jones, Founder of the American Navy: a History (1900). And it is probable that Buell fabricated the documents he sent Jewett -- as is indicated by the information in Green's Diary above and the Wallingford web site -- and that he based his inventions upon her own words.
     See selections from Buell in Related Materials for more information on how Buell influenced Jewett's telling of this story.
    Buell's letters to Jewett can be read in Other Letters (1900-1901).
 
 

Crew members not mentioned by Jewett, but important to her novel

David Freeman / alias David Smith: Walter Green, in his notes to Ezra Green's Diary, says that David Smith was the man left behind at Whitehaven. He says "In the Ranger's logbook the man left on shore is named David Smith, and it was thought he remained on shore voluntarily, and that under the name of Freeman, he gave information at several houses that fire had been set to the ships." Sawtelle lists David Smith. Freeman / Smith does not appear on Buell's "Roster of the Ranger"; indeed, he seems to have made up a completely different version of this story involving Jonathan Wells, whom he lists as on the crews of both the Ranger and Bon Homme Richard.

Jonathan Wells: He is on Buell's list of the Ranger's petty officers and able seamen from New Bedford. Buell also asserts that Wells was really the man left behind at Whitehaven, but that he remained loyal to the U.S., and by a kind of romantic adventure returned to Jones's service on the Bon Homme Richard, where he is listed as a crew member by Buell. However, Dr. Green reports in his Diary that Nathan Wells from Portsmouth, N.H. died of wounds on 4 May 1778, and Jones confirms his death in his narrative, calling him Wills (Sands 85). Sawtelle lists Nathaniel Wells based on these authorities. Buell also lists as a crew-member, Nathaniel Willis, but as from New Bedford; Willis is not mentioned in Sawtelle.