We’d like to commemorate not one, but two individuals who sailed along the whaling vessel India. The first man we acknowledge is Gilbert Pettengill of Gardner, Maine. Gilbert started off his whaling life as a greenhand, meaning he possessed little experience. Though he was surrounded by fellow crewmen with more time on tdhe waters than him, Gilbert sadly was unable to stay out of harm’s way. On December 28th, 1844, the young twenty year old unfortunately passed away on board. Though the conditions of his death could not be disclosed due to the passage of time, it is assumed he succumbed to illness and disease. Of course Gilbert’s passing was heartbreaking, yet the India was sadly still accustomed to loss.
Just a month prior, tragedy had struck the crew of the India as well. On November 12th of 1844, another crewmember was unfortunately lost. The cenotaph reads the name “William Benchley” however there was no name listed amongst the crew. There was a William Beasley though who was twenty-one years old and another greenhand from New York. Sadly, William and the India were sailing in the Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde Islands when he fell overboard. The weather and sea at the time proved to be too much and unfortunately William was unrecoverable. Thus with heavy hearts, the India traveled back eventually and a cenotaph was erected in both Gilbert and William’s names.