The first person we acknowledge is William S. Jay who was the 1st mate of the Bark Governor Carver. In 1860, his family had moved to New Bedford at 177 County Street and was surrounded by the fishing and whaling industry. Eventually he found himself on one of the countless ships leaving New Bedford’s harbor at the age of 29. Sadly after many months onboard due to the many hardships faced out at sea, William passed away on February 7th, 1863.
Another soul who was lost too soon was Gilbert Jay who sailed on the ship Peru. Gilbert was born on Nantucket Island on January 10th, 1803. In 1822, the 19 year-old was sailing in the south Atlantic Ocean near Cape Horn when unfortunately he was lost overboard. The boat had been in pursuit of a whale yet the choppy waves thrown him over and he was lost to the sea. Although such a loss was heartbreaking for the crew, that did not mean the end of the local whalemen’s bad luck.
Ten years later, Franklin Jay was traversing on the ship Pioneer. Through the course of his life, Franklin decided to board the Pioneer but sadly he never returned home. Sadly the 27 year-old had tragically fell overboard on November 22, 1832 while they were pursuing yet another whale in the Atlantic Ocean.
William H. Swasey and the entire crew of the Schooner T. Cash were also poor souls who never safely returned home. William was another native of Nantucket, born in 1811 to Jonathan and Elizabeth Cleaveland Swasey. The brave individual was only 39 years old when he and the rest of the crew perished.
Last but not least we remember Henry A. Swasey who was the uncle of William S. Jay. William sadly died of yellow fever in Alabama but had strong ties to New Bedford and thus his name was added to this cenotaph as well.