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Photograph Collection of the Revenue Cutters "Bear" and "Corwin" in Alaska: Finding
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photCL 131
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Title: Photograph Collection of the Revenue Cutters "Bear" and "Corwin" in Alaska
Dates (inclusive): 1880-1890s
Collection Number: photCL 131
Creator:
Healy, Michael A., 1839-1904;
Extent:
282 photographs in 8 boxes; photographs 19.5 x 24 cm (8 x 9 in) + 1 preservation microfilm copy reel.
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Photo Archives
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: 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.
Language: English.
Note:
Finding aid last updated on April 28, 2014.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
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.
Photograph Collection of the Revenue Cutters "Bear" and "Corwin" in Alaska. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Purchased from Michael Healy’s grandson, John K. Healy, on July 18, 1960. The collection also included the Michael A. Healy Papers
and Nome, Alaska, newspapers that were cataloged separately and listed below.
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.
Healy served aboard a number of ships, but his Arctic command with the "Thomas Corwin" began in 1882, and he rose to the position
of captain in March of 1883. While in command of the "Corwin",
Healy patrolled the Arctic to prevent illegal sale of guns and alcohol to the Alaskan natives and to control illegal fur seal
hunting. The captain was also concerned for the well-being of the Alaskan natives,
and ferried Siberian caribou to help reestablish the natives’ food supply, since many seals and walruses were killed by white
traders.
After the Revenue Cutter Service acquired the "Bear" in 1884, Healy became its commander and continued his mission of relegating
illegal activities and assisting the Alaska natives with their food
troubles. Also, the "Bear" became known for rescuing stranded sailors from whaling ships that had become stuck in the ice
near northern Alaska.
However, in the 1890s, Healy was charged for being drunk while on duty and for abusive treatment of his crew; he was found
guilty by a court-martial and placed at the bottom of the captains’ list. He was given
temporary command of two cutters before working his way back to the top of the list and receiving command of the cutter "Thetis".
Healy retired from the revenue cutter service in 1903 and died of a heart attack on August 30, 1904, in San Francisco.
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, his son Frank 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 while under the command of Healy.
The collection also depicts Alaskan native graves; missionaries; whaling ships; ice fields in the Arctic Ocean; J. B. Vincent,
a survivor of the shipwrecked “Napoleon”; Francis “Frank” Fuller, murderer of
Archbishop Charles John Seghers; Alaskan native umiaks and various artifacts; and reindeer stations.
Photographers who contributed to this collection include H. W. Bradley, Edward DeGroff, Lt. C. D. Kennedy of the USRC Maine,
Geoff Knight, William H. Rulofson, and I. W. Taber.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Papers of Michael A. Healy, 1881-1900 (mssHM 47577-47618).
- The following newspapers also came with the collection and are now filed in the Rare Book Department of the Huntington Library:
- Photograph Album of the Cruise of the Revenue Cutter "Corwin" in Alaska (photCL 97) contains related photographs concerning the "Corwin."
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Bear (Ship) -- Photographs.
Capes (Coasts) -- Photographs.
Corwin (Ship) -- Photographs.
Fur trade -- Photographs.
Indians of North America -- Alaska -- Photographs.
Missionaries -- Photographs.
Reindeer -- Photographs.
Sled dogs -- Photographs.
United States. Revenue -- Cutter Service.
Whaling -- Photographs.
Inuit -- Photographs.
Healy, Michael A., 1839-1904 -- Photographs.
Alaska -- Photographs.
Arctic Ocean -- Photographs.
Bering Sea -- Photographs.
Siberia (Russia) -- Photographs.
Unalaska (Alaska)-- Photographs.
Taber, I. W. (Isaiah West), 1830-1912, photographer.
Photographs.
Marine photographs.