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Photograph Collection of the Revenue Cutters "Bear" and "Corwin" in Alaska: Finding Aid
photCL 131  
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Collection Overview
 
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Description
The 282 photographic prints in this collection document voyages of the United States Revenue Cutters “Bear,” “Corwin,” and “Richard Rush” to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean in the 1880s and 1890s. The images depict the boats, Captain Michael A. Healy, and the crewmen, as well as Alaskan natives and their homes; and various views of the Alaskan wilderness and towns. The collection provides insight into the people and events the “Bear” and “Corwin” encountered on their voyages.
Background
Michael A. Healy was born September 22, 1839, in Georgia to an Irish cotton planter, Michael Morris Healy, and a mulatto woman, Eliza Clark. Even though his father sent him and his brothers north to be educated (and hence escape slavery), Healy always ran away from the schools he was enrolled in, and eventually joined the clipper ship "Jumna" in 1855. For the next ten years, he sailed on merchant vessels until he was commissioned as a Third Lieutenant in the United States Revenue Service in 1865; that same year, Healy married Mary Jane Roach, the daughter of Irish immigrants to Boston.
Extent
282 photographs in 8 boxes; photographs 19.5 x 24 cm (8 x 9 in) + 1 preservation microfilm copy reel.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Availability
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.