William DeKoven naval manuscripts

Collection

Identifier: 1000-377

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The first volume, "Book of all stations", is a log book from an early voyage that deKoven took in 1842 on the frigate Macedonia. The next two volumes are records of voyages on three more ships. The first was on the frigate Brandywine, which went to China. This journey spanned two years, 1843-1845. The next journey, 1846-1847, was to West Africa. DeKoven departed on the frigate United States and returned, due to illness, on the Montgomery. The final volume in this collection presumably served as a textbook. It appears to have been copied from a similar work, with the copying beginning in the middle. An alphabetical index at the end includes many references to pages which were never copied. The only title-page, called v.3, is at page 329.

Dates

Creation: 1842-1848

Creator

DeKoven, William, 1824-1851 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

In public domain - No Copyright - United States

Biographical / Historical

William DeKoven was born on May 9, 1824 in Middletown, Connecticut. After initially enrolling at Wesleyan University in his home town of Middletown, de Koven left the school during his freshman year to join the United States Navy and was appointed a Midshipman on September 9, 1841. From May 1843 until September 1845, de Koven sailed aboard U.S.S. Brandywine (Frigate) while that vessel operated in Chinese waters, including the transportation of Caleb Cushing on a diplomatic mission to the Court of the Emperor of China. Beginning in May 1846, de Koven was attached to U.S.S. United States (Frigate) on that vessel's cruise to West Africa. His duties cut short by illness, de Koven was sent home aboard the bark Montgomery in April 1847. A member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1847, de Koven was promoted to Passed Midshipman on August 10, 1847. After being attached to the receiving ship U.S.S. North Carolina, de Koven spent an additional three years serving off the coast of Africa. Duty aboard U.S.S. Massachusetts (Steamer) off the coast of California followed, where de Koven died on May 13, 1851.

From: https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/view.php?f=MS_042

Extent

1 Linear Feet (4 oversize ledgers)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of 4 oversize ledgers containing the journal entries and notes of midshipman William DeKoven, (1824-1851). William was a native of Middletown and entered Wesleyan with the class of 1843 although he never graduated. For the rest of his short life, he sailed the world, visiting ports in South America, India, China and West Africa. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy (then called the U.S. Naval School), and was there promoted to Passed Midshipman on August 10, 1847. He died on May 13, 1851 at the age of 27.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This material came to the library with the nearly six thousand volumes from the private library of Colonel Clarence S. Wadsworth of Middletown, received after his death in 1941. (Colonel Wadsworth’s mother was a deKoven.) It was found by former university archivist, Elizabeth Swaim, in the autumn of 1975 while she was doing an inventory of the Closed Stack oversize.