Voyages: 1859-1862
Ship: Nankin, Norseman, Almena
Hannah Ford was born in Duxbury to Joshua Ford and Sarah W. Sampson. She was the second wife of Capt. William Peterson (1820-1900) of Duxbury. Shortly after their marriage in 1859, the Petersons took a steamship to England, where Capt. Peterson took command of the bark, Nankin, bound for Hong Kong. While rounding Cape Horn, she gave birth to a son. She voyaged aboard the Nankin and then the Norseman and Almena for almost three years. They visited numerous Asian ports, including Yokohama, Saigon, and Singapore. The voyage eventually took her to Shanghai, where, in 1862, both she and her young son died of smallpox. Capt. Peterson brought their bodies back to the US, and they are buried in Kingston, MA.
Capt. Peterson’s three wives are all on this list, as is his daughter, Helen May Peterson Bailey.
Source:
“Early Voyages with My Father (1853-1863), and My Early Voyages with My Husband (1880-1890) by Helen May Peterson Bailey,” 1936. Drew Archival Library.
