A serendipitous find: the Autumn 2020 issue of Sea History, publication of the National Maritime Historical Society of New York, with the article "Freedom and Whaling on Nantucket" by Skip Finley. It's all about Black and mixed race mariners, whalers, and shipowners on the island.
Sampson Dyer, early 19th century. A free man of Black and Wampanoag descent, he engaged in the China Trade and commissioned this portrait from the Chinese artist Spoilum, "who specialized in European-style paintings in oil of sea captains and both Chinese and Western merchants."
Captain Absalom F. Boston, by unknown artist c. 1835. A successful whaling captain and businessman, he also supported anti-slavery abolitionists and helped build a church and a school.
Arthur Cooper, portrait by Sally Gardner c. 1830. Cooper had been enslaved in Virginia and escaped to Nantucket between 1815 and 1818. When the Fugitive Slave Act threatened to send Cooper and his wife back to Virginia in 1822, the locals successfully drove away the slave catcher sent to retrieve him. In Skip Finley's words:
Francis Macy, a cousin of the prominent Rotch family, intervened along with “a large assemblage of persons,” including large numbers of both the black and white communities on the island, who had surrounded the house. Sylvanus Macy stepped up to suggest the power of attorney was a forgery and said, “We are not in Virginia now but in Yankee Town, and we want those colored people to man our whale ships and will not suffer them to be carried back to bondage.”
Well, this one is gonna be long considering you ask about all of my babies, and I have a lot of them <3
🎭 What is the one thing your OC regrets most? Would they undo it, considering how their life turned out?
Arthur- He's realistic person, he regrets things but knows if he'd redo them (if possible) it would lead to different fucked up scenarios. But the one thing he'll regret for rest of his life was how little time did he have with his lover at the navy.
Edith- The regrets she has are not her own, rather her dumb husband's (Henry's). She regrets he ever brought up the drug deal, she regrets he didn't come back home to her.
Maggie- She regrets the choices she was forced on, what to do, who to kill. Despite thinking and acting for herself brought her nothing but misfortune, she doesn't regret that.
Eugene- His whole childhood is one big regret, even tho he couldn't do anything to change it. Beside that, he regrets leaving Vito, but sometimes you gotta let people go :)
Natalie- So many regrets and redoes she'd love to do, especially when it comes to her family dynamics and what her father wants for her/what she wants for herself. Perhaps if she'd stay away from Empire Bay as her mother begged her to, she'd have less regrets.
🌌 If your OC has a nightmare, what’s it most likely about?
Arthur- Not nightmares, more like sad dreams of What if's and he always wakes into shitty mood after them (tho he's always in shitty mood)
Edith- Always reoccuring patern of nightmares- either Henry's messed up body she had to identify and bury, her daughter getting hurt because of her, or Vinci's people finding her to finish the job
Maggie- She has mostly dreamless nights, but one nightmare does occur once in a while- her family dead by her feet because of her.
Eugene- His.goddamned.father. His whole fucked up family actually, those pricks are his worth nightmares, even worse since they are not dead and constantly hanging over his head with possibility of finding him.
Natalie- There's no nightmares for her, thankfully. The only incident that used to haunt her, she turned around to own it
🌊 Has your OC ever seen the ocean? If not, do they want to? What do they think of it?
Arthur- Too many times and didn't exactly hate it, wasn't keen on it either. From his navy time he has ptsd so ocean now only brings back bad memories and he'd rather watch lake (at least he can be fishing there)
Edith- She came to America like most immigrants on ship, but she was very little so she doesn't remember it. Between her job, family and religious duties she had little time to see the ocean. And when she had the time, her fear of getting discovered prevented her from leaving her house.
Maggie- Before she settled down with Joe, she used to travel a lot. Seeing the endless horizon was her favourite part of any assigment, so she loves the ocean.
Eugene- Seen the ocean and like most of things, he doesn't have negative or positive feelings. He doesn't understand why anybody would be keen staying at beach, watch the ocean, swim or sunbathe. Tho it'd be pretty funny to see him all dressed up at beach with good old Vito :)
Natalie- Her dream was to travel the world, but it changed thanks to the trauma she went through, in the end she never saw ocean and never thought of going to see it, she's pretty happy with the life she made for herself at Empire Bay
🤝 Does your OC have someone they want at their side when they are scared? Who?
Arthur- He doesn't really get scared, but if he'd have to pick someone, he'd go for his SO. (That would be his deceased boyfriend or Henry later on)
Edith- She feels safe with Vito by her side, as Henr can no longer fulfill that job
Maggie- Pretty fearless woman, but she'd lie if she'd say Joe's presence doesn't soothe her nerves
Eugene- Always his mother, before his life was turned upside down he was total mama's boy
Natalie- Her sister, they have each other's backs always <3
From the Nantucket Historical Association, with the following caption: A fugitive from slavery, Cooper arrived in Nantucket with his family in 1820. Two years later when an agent for his former owner came to the island to claim him, Nantucket Quakers assisted their escape.
More about Arthur please. I love your Original Characters, especially old grumpy men. (´⌣`ʃƪ)
He's the type of man to ask you out on dinner and "forget" his wallet
He's the kind of person to laugh at you if you trip over something, rather than help you
He's the kind of person to buy you HIS favourite food, just so he could eat it
Something spicy?
His love language? Intellect insulting.. You know he's really into you if he calls you degrading name, he'd even use the R word and mean it seriously ("But you are my R***rd")
His hands can get really grabby and he loves to use his teeth ^¬^
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapter 2 of Pessimist’s manifesto <3
By 2 o'clock Arthur was already sat at the diner, cup of tea slowly cooling down in front of him, beside the case he was given the previous day. He was tapping his foot under the table, impatiently staring at the door. He purposely picked time that wasn't heavy on traffic, so Rusell wouldn't have problem with timeliness, or the diner's clientage so they'd have more privacy to talk. At least more than the day before.
The door finally opened and Rusell rushed in, only couple of minutes late but he still came in for cold treatment from Arthur. "You're late." He said harshly and had a sip from his tea
