Joanna Amanda Hatch Baker (1829-1917)

Telephone: 781-934-6106
Fax: 781-934-5730
Postal Address: P.O. Box 2865, Duxbury, MA 02331
Street Address: 479 Washington Street, Duxbury
E-mail: clalonde@duxburyhistory.org

Voyage: 1853, 1854

Ship: Amanda

Joanna Amanda Hatch, who went by the name Amanda, was born in Marshfield, MA to Luther and Abigail Hatch. In 1853, she set sail on a honeymoon voyage with her husband, Capt. Daniel D. Baker of Duxbury, aboard the ship Amanda. The journey took her to the Mediterranean for fruit. The following year, she had a harrowing experience when the Amanda wrecked off the coast of Marshfield. Her brother-in-law, Ned Baker, who was a crew member, recounted in his journal that it was, “a night of the greatest hardship that I have ever endured.” While the sailors were able to jump from the stranded vessel onto the frigid beach, Mrs. Baker was lowered in a chair to a wagon backed into the surf. The Amanda was not able to be salvaged, but some of the cargo, including 6000 drums of figs from Smyrna, was saved.

When Daniel Baker retired from the sea to become a merchant, he and Amanda moved to Brooklyn, NY. Their one daughter, Ada, died in 1879 at the age of 21.