The John K. Stickney papers document the 1852 journey of the cargo ship Bowditch from Boston, Massachusetts, to Calcutta, India, and back to Boston.
The Correspondence and Documents series is comprised of letters that John K. Stickney wrote and received regarding the Bowditch's 1852 journey between Boston and Calcutta. Two sets of instructions to Stickney from Theodore Chase, owner of the Bowditch, outline the intentions of the voyage and indicate specific amounts of goods to be taken aboard in India. Stickney composed a set of instructions for his wife in his absence; one note concerns money owed to Stickney's father for her room and board. On June 1, 1852, Stickney wrote Chase about the ship's progress and his intentions for the ship's cargo. While in India, Stickney received numerous items pertaining to repairs after the Bowditch suffered severe weather damage in July 1852. In his reports to Chase about the matter, he often enclosed receipts and other documents. The series also has a document certifying Stickney's membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Financial records in the Bills and Receipts series concern the Bowditch's cargo and repairs made during its time in India. One document lists information about goods shipped on the Bowditch during its return from Asia (summer 1852), and another records the ship's disbursements (June 14, 1852). A summons for John Stickney to appear before the Calcutta court of Small Causes (September 25, 1852) and a memorandum about the weight of sheet copper are also included. The Emma Stickney bundle contains receipts pertaining to the cost of her room and board during her husband's journey.
The Bowditch Papers series is made up of various documents related to the ship's Calcutta voyage. These include a bill of health for the ship's passengers, consular documents, accounts, a hospital discharge form, receipts from an auction, and a "Manifest Oath on Outward Cargo."
The Photographs of Stickney and Chase Artifacts series contains 6 photographs of the trunk in which the Stickney papers were originally housed, one photograph of a plank model of the Bowditch, a silhouette photograph of several Chase family members, and a black and white reproduction of a portrait of Theodore Chase.
The Artifacts series consists of a portable writing desk.
The Typescripts are transcriptions of items in the collection's Correspondence and Documents series.
The Bowditch was built in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1837-1838. In 1851, Theodore Chase, the ship's owner and a wealthy Boston merchant, hired John K. Stickney to captain the boat on a trading voyage to Calcutta, India. Stickney departed with the Bowditch in January 1852, after arranging for his wife Emma to stay with his father. After sailing through difficult weather, the ship safely reached Calcutta on May 10. Just before its scheduled July 18 departure, the Bowditch suffered damage in a flood, which delayed its return to Boston. Following the necessary repairs, the ship made a safe return journey to the United States. On this trip, the Bowditch carried ice and other goods, returning with a variety of exotic items including indigo, seersucker, saltpeter, and ginger. Little else is known of Stickney, though he may have owned land in San Francisco prior to 1852. Theodore Chase sold the Bowditch in 1856, and its new owners eventually re-christened the ship Martha A. Nott. The ship's final journey took place in 1860, when it sailed to France and was stranded in the Gironde River.