Engraved Ship's Passport on vellum, filled out in ink, signed by President Andrew Jackson and Secretary of State Martin van Buren. Two engravings at top, of a sailing ship and a lighthouse; indentured at top which affects a portion of the engraving of the ship. For the Schooner 'Charlotte' of Boston Captain John Wilson. In black stick frame, double glazed, 16" x 11 1/2' overall. Minor toning, wrinkling, paper seal gone.
From "The History of Cohasset": "Captain John Wilson was born in 1788, and died in 1861. In the possession of his grandson are a sextant inscribed, "John Wilson, 1809," one or two old log books, now almost indecipherable on account of age and water stains, an old cutlass left by an English officer on board the Cohasset packet during the War of 1812, a certificate of American citizenship from the collector of the port of New York, and a water-color picture of the Cohasset schooner Charlotte (hermaphrodite brig) in the harbor of Marseilles in 1830. From the first volume of the Cohasset history we learn that he was captured in the Cohasset packet in the War of 1812, and that his vessel was redeemed by her owner, Levi Tower, by the payment of a ransom. Hence the cutlass. In 1819 he is mentioned as captain of the fishing schooner Lydia. The records of the Boston Custom House show him to have been captain of the Almira in 1823. From the log book we learn that the voyages made at this time were from Norfolk, Va., to Malaga and back to Boston, and from Philadelphia to St. Thomas. November 17, 1827, he is recorded as captain of the schooner Charlotte, and we know from the picture referred to above that he was still captain of the same craft in 1830." The 'Charlotte' was lost off Gloucester in the infamous gale of Dec 1839.