1729-1926; bulk: 1729-1884
Guide to the Collection
Representative digitized documents from this collection:
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of naval officer and author George H. Preble, including personal and professional correspondence, ships' logs, literary and historical writings, genealogical material, diaries, scrapbooks, expense accounts, and other papers, primarily related to his naval career from 1835-1878.
Biographical Information
Timeline
25 Feb. 1816 |
George Henry Preble born in Portland, Me. to Enoch (1763-1842) and Sally (Cross) Preble (1777-1848). |
10 Oct. 1835 |
Appointed midshipman in the U.S. Navy. |
1836-1840 |
Cruised the Mediterranean and Caribbean. |
Jan. 1841 |
Attended Philadelphia naval school. |
Aug.-Oct. 1841 |
Explored the Florida coast, including a canoe expedition through the Everglades. |
1843 |
Appointed acting master, U.S. ship St. Louis. |
1844 |
Commanded the first American armed landing force in Canton, China. |
18 Nov. 1845 |
Married Susan Zabiah Cox (1820-1875) of Portland, Me. |
1846-1847 |
Served in the schooner Petrel during the Mexican War in the blockade service. |
5 Feb. 1848 |
Promoted to lieutenant. |
1849-1852 |
Served on coast survey duty and cruised the Gulf of Mexico on the Saratoga. |
1851 |
Shipped out on board the St. Louis bound for England and the World's Fair; ship transported some of the American exhibits to the fair. |
1853-1856 |
Accompanied Matthew Perry's mission to Japan in the ship Macedonian; commanded a steamer operating against Chinese pirates; prepared surveys and sailing directions for the Wusong River leading to Shanghai. |
Sep. 1856 |
Stationed in Portland, Me. as the inspector of lighthouses. |
1857-1858 |
Stationed in Boston (Charlestown) Navy Yard. |
1858-1861 |
Executive officer of the Narragansett in the Pacific. |
1861 |
Received his first regular command of the steam gunboat Katahdin; joined Admiral David Farragut (1801-1870) in the Gulf; was the fourth ship to pass the forts below New Orleans and was actively engaged in operations up to Vicksburg. |
16 July 1862 |
Promoted to commander. |
4 Sep. 1862 |
Allowed Confederate cruiser Oreto to break through the blockade of Mobile Bay; dismissed from service. |
1863 |
Restored to rank of commander in the U.S. Navy; sent to Lisbon, Portugal; cruised the Azores, Canary Islands, and Gibraltar. |
Nov. 1864 |
Ordered to the U.S. southeast coast blockade; found opportunity for distinction as the commander of the fleet brigade, which in November and December operated with the army preparing for Sherman's approach to the sea. |
Aug. 1865 |
Commanded the ship State of Georgia; protected commercial interests at Panama. |
Oct. 1865-July 1868 |
Served at the Boston (Charlestown) Navy Yard. |
Mar. 1867 |
Commissioned captain. |
1868 |
Served in the Pacific as chief of staff for Admiral Thomas Craven. |
1871 |
Promoted to commodore.* |
1872 |
Published Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America, with an Introductory Account of the Symbols, Standards, Banners and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations (Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell, 1872). |
1874 |
*Made commodore with a commission dating from 1871. |
1876 |
Promoted to rear-admiral; commanded the South Pacific Squadron. |
1878 |
Retired from the U.S. Navy to Boston, Mass., where he spent his time writing. |
1883 |
Published A Chronological History of the Origin and Development of Steam Navigation, 1543-1882 (Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co., 1883). |
1 Mar. 1885 |
Died in Boston. |
Preble Family Biographical Sketches
Benjamin Preble (1650s-1732), father of Jedidiah Preble, great-grandfather of George Henry Preble.
Brigadier-General Jedidiah Preble (1707-1784), grandfather of George Henry Preble.
Martha Preble (1714-1753), first wife of Jedidiah Preble.
Mehitable (Bangs) Preble (1728-1805), second wife of Jedidiah Preble, grandmother of George Henry Preble.
Commodore Edward Preble (1761-1807), fourth child of Jedidiah and Mehitable Preble, uncle of George Henry Preble.
Captain Enoch Preble (1763-1842), fifth child of Jedidiah and Mehitable Preble, father of George Henry Preble.
Statira Preble (1767-1796), sixth child of Jedidiah and Mehitable Preble, aunt of George Henry Preble.
Henry Preble (1770-1825), seventh child of Jedidiah and Mehitable Preble, U.S. consul at Palermo, uncle of George Henry Preble.
Eben Preble (1802-1848), first child of Capt. Enoch Preble, brother of George Henry Preble.
Adeline Preble (1805-1883), second child of Capt. Enoch Preble, sister of George Henry Preble, wife of John Cox.
Ellen Bangs Preble (1808-1867), third child of Capt. Enoch Preble, sister of George Henry Preble.
Susan Zabiah (Cox) Preble (1820-1875), wife of George Henry Preble. Susan and George Henry Preble had four children, two girls and two boys: Henry Oxnard Preble (1847-1871), Susan Zabiah Preble (1850-1927), Mildred Preble (1857-1857), and George Henry Rittenhouse Preble (1859-1912).
Collection Description
The papers of Rear-Admiral George Henry Preble, U.S.N., consist of personal and professional correspondence, ships' logs, literary and historical writings, genealogical material, diaries, scrapbooks, expense accounts, and other papers, primarily related to his naval career from 1835-1878. Subjects include Preble's appointments in the Mediterranean; the south of Florida, including an expedition through the Everglades; the Boston (Charlestown) Navy Yard; China; Japan; Portugal; and many other locations. Preble's diaries cover a voyage to the World's Fair in the U.S. frigate St. Lawrence (1851); a cruise to China and Japan as part of Matthew Perry's mission to open Japanese ports (1853-1856); and a naval voyage (1863-1868). During the Civil War, Preble served at the Battle of New Orleans (1862) and as a blockader against Confederate raiders. The collection contains a significant amount of material related to the escape of the Confederate cruiser Oreto in 1862, for which Preble was initially censured. Also included is correspondence related to Preble's writings on the Charlestown Navy Yard, ships and shipping, the U.S. flag, and Preble family history, as well as copies of his various publications.
Among the family members represented in the collection are Preble's grandmother Mehitable (Bangs) Preble, uncle Commodore Edward Preble, father Captain Enoch Preble, sisters Adeline and Ellen Bangs Preble, and wife Susan (Cox) Preble. Family papers include correspondence, legal documents, and a diary of Enoch Preble.
Acquisition Information
The bulk of this collection was donated to the MHS by Susie Z. Preble in January 1919, October 1925, and October 1926. The final addition to the collection, a commemorative pamphlet entitled Our Banner (1843), was contributed by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1965.
Other Formats
George Henry Preble's diary of his cruise to China and Japan (Cased Vol. 2) has been published as The Opening of Japan: A Diary of Discovery in the Far East, 1853-1856 (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962). Also available on microfilm (P-498, 1 reel) and as digital facsimiles in the MHS library (DF-006).
Digital facsimiles of this diary and of Preble's ships' logs, Vol. I and II (Cased Vols. 5 and 6), are available on China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This resource can be accessed onsite at the MHS library and at other subscribing libraries.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose papers, 1732-1926
A. Personal and family papers, 1732-1920
Arranged chronologically.
The bulk of the loose correspondence consists of letters received by George Henry Preble. Correspondence dating from early in his naval career is personal in nature. As Preble's career advanced and his circle of acquaintances within the service grew, his letters increasingly pertained to the whereabouts and situations of mutual friends and the progress of ship repairs. Much of his correspondence concerns the search for prints and plates to illustrate his writings. Once a work was published, Preble received numerous acknowledgments from libraries and individuals who received a copy. His work Genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America (Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1868) also generated a vast amount of interest and inquiry among his extended family and friends.
Letters from Preble to family members include descriptions of naval expeditions. For example, in an 1841 letter to his sister-in-law Agnes (Archer) Preble from the U.S. brigantine Jefferson in Key Biscayne, Florida, Preble describes one of his trips into the Everglades. This subseries also contains papers of family members, including Jedidiah Preble, Martha Preble, Enoch Preble, Ebenezer Preble, Commodore Edward Preble, Henry Preble (U.S. consul at Palermo), Ellen Bangs Preble, Susan (Cox) Preble, and Adeline Preble.
Original photographs have been photocopied and removed to the MHS photograph collection. See Materials Removed from the Collection below for a complete list.
This guide, prepared by the Works Progress Administration in 1942, includes item-level descriptions of loose letters and papers dated 1732-1866.
B. Historical research materials, undated, 1876-1878
Arranged chronologically.
C. Papers gathered by family members, 1901-1926
Arranged chronologically.
II. Bound volumes, 1729-1885digital content
A. Personal and family volumes, 1729-1885digital content
This subseries contains family volumes, including genealogical material and papers of George Henry Preble's father Enoch; personal volumes of George Henry Preble, primarily letters and diaries; and scrapbooks.
Family volumes, 1729-1885
Arranged chronologically.
Family volumes include legal papers, letters, and biographical and genealogical information; the diary of Enoch Preble; and autograph books collected by Henry Oxnard Preble.
This volume contains genealogical and biographical information, autographs, calling cards, and clippings. Included is a biography by J. Fenimore Cooper, "Sketches of Naval Men: Edward Preble," published in Graham's Magazine. Also included are deeds and other early legal documents of the family; an estimate of loss by Jedidiah Preble, Esq. from the burning of the town of Falmouth (now Portland, Me.) by Capt. Mowat (1775); the estate inventory (1805) and will (1804) of Mehitable Preble; and papers, receipts (1806, 1826), and a photograph of Enoch Preble.
This volume was disbound but left in its original order. Early legal and family papers are located at the end of the volume, pp. 233-268, and are not arranged chronologically.
Also included are letters from Jedidiah to his son Edward, 1781, and letters to Madam Preble, 1795-1798. See the index at the front of the volume for a brief description of each letter.
Included is George Henry Preble's A Genealogical Sketch of the Preble Families, Resident in Portland, Me., A.D. 1850 (printed but not published); letters to Preble from his sisters Ellen and Adeline, 1843-1854, and cousin Harriet, 1846-1854; correspondence to Preble, 1850-1865; Enoch Preble's invoices for goods shipped on board the ship Caroline (formulas for the rate of foreign exchange given), 1800; a letterbook of Enoch Preble, 1822-1839; and Enoch's letters to his son George Henry Preble, 1830-1840. The volume also contains a self-portrait pencil sketch of Preble, 1842. The letters are not in chronological order.
This diary describes Enoch Preble's 1803 trip to France and his life at home in Portland, Me., 1803-1839. The volume also contains notes of different voyages taken, remarks on gardening, and memoranda by his son George Henry Preble, including distribution lists for books printed, 1873-1884; cash expenditures, 1847-1885; and lists of births and deaths.
Personal volumes, 1830-1865
George Henry Preble's personal volumes contain incoming and outgoing correspondence, printed material, personal accounts, watercolors, and poetry. Letters include information about his naval career.
This volume also includes The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, 1770, and reprints of The New-England Courant, 1723, and The New-Hampshire Gazette, 1756.
George Henry Preble's letters to his wife Susan, and some extracts from his private diary, contain descriptions of his personal and naval activities.
Included are published articles and letters to and from George Henry Preble; photographs of Preble and Capt. J. N. Maffitt; clippings; and Preble's The Chase of the Rebel Steamer of War Oreto, Commander J. N. Maffitt, C.S.N. into the Bay of Mobile, by the United States Steam Sloop Oneida, Commander Geo. Henry Preble, U.S.N. September 4, 1862 (Cambridge, Mass.: Printed for private circulation, 1862). The volume also contains official Navy publications about the proceedings pertaining to the Oreto incident.
Diaries, 1851-1868digital content
Arranged chronologically.
This narrative was compiled in 1868 from George Henry Preble's daily diary and letters to his wife written from 20 Jan.-11 Aug. 1851. The purpose of the St. Lawrence cruise was to convey U.S. contributions to the World's Fair. The diary continues in England while the ship is in port, 14 Mar.-2 June 1851. Included are engravings, facsimile photographs, newspaper clippings, and invitations.
NOTE: Use of this volume is restricted. Color digital facsimiles (DF-006) and microfilm (P-498) are available in the MHS Reading Room. Digital facsimiles are also available at the MHS as part of China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc.
This diary was kept by George Henry Preble during a voyage on the sloop of war Macedonian from New York to China, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, and eventually around the world back to Boston, Mass., with stops in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo, Canton, and Manila. Included are drawings, engravings, and extracts of letters from Preble to his wife Susan.
Published as The Opening of Japan: A Diary of Discovery in the Far East, 1853-1856, edited by Boleslaw Szczesniak (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962). Also available on microfilm (P-498, 1 reel) and as digital facsimiles in the MHS library (DF-006). Digital facsimiles are also available on China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This resource can be accessed onsite at the MHS library and at other subscribing libraries.
This diary of George Henry Preble contains daily entries from Oct. 1863 through Dec. 1865 and encompasses his time in Portugal and Spain; excursions to the Azores, Canary Islands, and Gibraltar; and his duty during the U.S. southeast coast blockade in 1864 and to Panama in 1865. Entries describe Preble's daily activities on and off the ship, inspections and musters, other ships in close proximity, visitors to the ship, social and official calls made on and off board, and occasional ships' bearings. Early diaries contain descriptions of landscapes or seascapes. Frequent subjects include weather conditions and letters received, written, and sent. Entries from 1866-1868 are brief and sporadic.
Scrapbooks, 1835-1884
B. Writings of George Henry Preble, 1800-1885
This subseries contains an undated, unpublished manuscript by George Henry Preble entitled "Privateer History of the U.S.," as well as copies of his published works. Subjects include the history of steam navigation, the American flag, and ships and shipping. Preble frequently published in magazines, in particular The United Service, an official naval magazine. Cased Vols. 3 and 4 contain many of these publications.
George Henry Preble's copy, with engravings.
George Henry Preble's copy, with engravings and a letter from printer J. Munsell regarding the printing costs of the book.
Commemorative volume, annotated by George Henry Preble. Included is Preble's "The Soldiers O'Wry, A Ballad," p. 22.
See Box 19 for loose materials removed from this volume.
Miscellaneous writings, 1800-1885
Includes engravings. See also OS Folder 3 for Massachusetts Bay coast charts annotated by George Henry Preble.
Includes a photograph of George Henry Preble, 1829. See also OS Folder 2 for a map of Florida with Preble's annotations about the expedition, 1842.
C. Naval/official volumes, 1830-1878
This subseries contains two volumes of official ships' logs (Cased Vols. 5 and 6) kept by George Henry Preble during his long naval career; a volume of watch, quarters, and stations bills of the U.S. ship Macedonian; and correspondence and other papers of Preble related to naval administration.
Ships' logs, Vol. I, 1836-1852
Arranged chronologically.
NOTE: Use of this volume is restricted. Digital facsimiles are available at the MHS as part of China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc.
This volume contains logs kept by George Henry Preble while serving as midshipman, lieutenant, and acting master in the U.S. Navy on various ships traveling around the world. Included are officer and crew lists for each voyage. The last page contains an officer list for the following U.S. ships: Legace, 1849; Nautilus, 1849-1850; Madison, 1851-1852; and Gallatin, 1852. Attached to the back of the volume are notes for the journal of Preble's tour from Pensacola, Fla. to Portland, Me., 1849.
Digital facsimiles of this volume are available on China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This resource can be accessed onsite at the MHS library and at other subscribing libraries.
Included are lists of ports visited and deaths on board, as well as a stowage chart of the United States.
Included is a watercolor of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico.
Included are watercolors, a map of the coast near the Cape of Good Hope (p. 232), and a map of Singapore Island (p. 184).
Included are pencil drawings.
Ships' logs, Vol. II, 1852-1863
Arranged chronologically.
NOTE: Use of this volume is restricted. Digital facsimiles are available at the MHS as part of China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc.
This volume contains logs kept by George Henry Preble while serving as lieutenant and acting master in the U.S. Navy on various ships traveling around the world. Included are officer and crew lists; daily diary entries written in Washington, D.C., 1862, and England, 1863; and a newspaper print of "Bradshaw's New Map of the Railways in Great Britain," 1863 (p. 141).
Digital facsimiles of this volume are available on China, America and the Pacific, a publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This resource can be accessed onsite at the MHS library and at other subscribing libraries.
This voyage was undertaken to transport prisoners and passengers and to cruise for pirates. Many day trips are noted, and the volume includes a map of the Yellow Sea (p. 90 in front).
Included are engravings and newspaper clippings.
The Katahdin served as a blockader against Confederate commerce raiders during the Civil War.
The Oneida served as a blockader in the Gulf of Mexico during the Civil War.
Correspondence, 1830-1878
Arranged chronologically.
Naval/official correspondence includes letters to and from George Henry Preble, as well as copies of letters, orders, releases, circulars, and other materials related to naval administration.
Included is a plan of the hold of U.S.S. gunboats, 1861.
III. Oversize materials, 1844-1883
This series consists of oversize items removed from Series I and II of the collection.
Preferred Citation
George Henry Preble papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs
The following photographs from this collection have been removed to the George Henry Preble family photographs (Photo. Coll. 182):
Cabinet card of Charles S. Preble, surgeon general, by C. E. Peterson, Carson City, Nev., 3 May 1884
Cabinet card of Mrs. Charles S. Preble by Elite Photographic Studio, San Francisco, Calif., 1884
Cabinet card of Dinah Preble (b. 23 Mar. 1869) by R. Wolstenholme, Blackpool, England, 13 Aug. 1883
Paper print of George Henry Preble, rear-admiral, U.S.N., 1879
Carte de visite of Philip Preble (b. 2 Aug. 1865) by R. Wolstenholme, Blackpool, England
Carte de visite of Thomas Preble (b. 16 Mar. 1863) by R. Wolstenholme, Blackpool, England, 27 Aug. 1883
Carte de visite of William Henry Preble (b. 23 May 1857) by R. Wolstenholme, Blackburn, England, Nov. 1883
Cabinet card of Benjamin Trefethen (b. 1790), 18 Oct. 1882
Gelatin silver print of the launching of the U.S.S. Preble, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., 8 Mar. 1920
Gelatin silver print of an unidentified woman holding a bouquet of roses at the launching of the U.S.S. Preble, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., 8 Mar. 1920
Carte de visite of a drawing of a Chinese junk (ship)
Museum Objects
The following items from this collection have been removed to the MHS artifacts collection:
Grosgrain ribbon for a sailor's hat, U.S.S. Preble
Commodore Edward Preble's flintlock pistols and two "Before Tripoli" medals