George Comer
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Captain George Comer (April 1858 – 1937) was considered the most famous American whaling captain of
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...
, and the world's foremost authority on Hudson Bay
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
in the early 20th century. Comer was a polar explorer,
whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
/ sealer,
ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...
,
cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
, author, and photographer. He made 14
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
and three
Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...
voyages in his lifetime. These expeditions (ca. 1875–1919) commonly began in
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
or
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...
. Comer's circle of friends and colleagues included other notable explorers of the time, such as
Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...
and Capt.
Frederick Cook Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician and ethnographer, who is most known for allegedly being the first to reach the North Pole on April 21, 1908. A competing claim was made a year l ...
, and his mentor,
Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...
, the "Father of American Anthropology".


Personal life

Comer was born in
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
,
Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...
in 1858. His father was English, and his mother was Irish. The family immigrated to the United States in 1860 and Comer grew up in East Haddam, Connecticut. He attended school for only two years. After Comer's father was lost at sea, his mother couldn't support the children. Subsequently, Comer spent time in an orphanage and an East Haddam foster home. In 1877, Comer (age 19), married Julia Chipman (age 20; born in Pennsylvania) and they made their home on Mount Parnassus Road in East Haddam. They had two children: daughter, Nellie G. (born April 1878), and son, Thomas L. (April 1886 – 1930), a seaship officer.


Arctic expeditions

Comer made the first of his Arctic voyages at age 17 on the
whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
''Nile'' bound for Cumberland Sound,
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
in 1875. From 1889 to 1891, he made three cruises on the
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
''Era'' to southeastern Baffin Island. These were followed by 15 months whaling on the ''Canton'' during 1893–1894. After 20 years of seafaring, Comer became captain of his first ship in 1895. From 1895 to 1912, Comer was the master on six whaling cruises to the Hudson Bay, including wintering in Roes Welcome Sound, on the ''Era'' (wrecked off
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
in 1906) (Eber, 1989, pp. 25), and the '' A. T. Gifford''. While wintering in the Hudson Bay, Comer became acquainted with and concerned for the Aivilingmiut, Netsilingmiut, and Kivallirmiut (also known as Qaernermiut or Caribou Inuit. Comer hired the Caribou Inuit men as whaling hands and they supplied
caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...
meat for his crew saving them from developing
scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...
. The Inuit women made caribou clothing for Comer's men, vital for survival through Arctic winters. Comer photographed the Inuit on many occasions and for that he was given the
Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
name "
Angakkuq The Inuit angakkuq (plural: ''angakkuit'', Inuktitut syllabics ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ or ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ; Inuvialuktun: '; , pl. ''angakkut''; Iñupiaq: ''aŋatkuq'') is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a med ...
" (meaning, "the
shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
"), as the images were not a reality easily understood by the Inuit. Comer developed a bond with an Aivilik woman named Niviatsianaq (or Nivisanaaq), referred to amongst Inuit as "Shoofly Comer". She was Comer's traveling companion on his ships for several years, bringing her son Oudlanak, referred to as "John Ell", who was rumored to be Comer's biological son,(Eber, 1989, pp. 178) with her. Comer fathered at least one other child while in Hudson Bay with an Inuk woman named Ooktok, Laurent Pameolik (1911–?). Pameolik was adopted by Shoofly and the shaman Angutimarik after the death of his birth mother. In 1906, New York City furrier F. N. Monjo purchased the ''Era'' and hired Capt. Comer as its captain, but Comer wrecked the vessel on the island of Miquelon, off
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
, later that year. Comer then became captain of Monjo's next purchase, the schooner ''A. T. Gifford'', which he commanded from 1907 until 1912. This whaler operated out of
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
, for the 1907 voyage and New Bedford, MA, for the 1910 voyage, hunting for whales and furs, and wintering at Cape Fullerton. His 1907 Anthony Fiala expedition was chartered to establish supply bases in the Arctic in preparation for a second team who would attempt to the reach the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
. Comer retired from whaling in 1912. In 1915, Comer served as ice master on the ''George B. Cluett'', chartered by the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
to bring back Donald MacMillan's men from the Crocker Land Expedition at Etah, in northern
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. En route, the ''Cluett'' became ice trapped for two years, giving Comer opportunity to perform archaeological excavations at Mount Dundas (Umánaq, Uummannaq or Umanak), a hill near Pituffik, where he unearthed evidence of what is now referred to as the
Thule people The Thule ( , ) or proto-Inuit were the ancestors of all modern Inuit. They developed in coastal Alaska by 1000 AD and expanded eastward across northern Canada, reaching Greenland by the 13th century. In the process, they replaced people of the ...
, ancestors of the Inuit. His find is called " Comer's Midden" as it included a kitchen-midden. Comer's last Arctic trip occurred in 1919, in part as a farewell to his Inuit friends. It was a charter by Arctic explorer/ethnologist Christian Leden to study amongst the Inuit. But the schooner, the ''Finback'', grounded at Cape Fullerton and was lost. An investigation was made into the grounding, and the circumstances were found to be suspect. For Comer, the benefit of the accident was the time extension he had with his long-time Inuit friends.


Antarctic expeditions

Comer visited Antarctica on several sealing voyages, including:
South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...
(October 9, 1885 – February 11, 1886) and Kerguelen Island (November 24, 1887 – February 5, 1888). On his third voyage, he was
Second Mate A second mate (2nd mate) or second officer (2/O) is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship holding a Second Mates Certificate of Competence, by an authorised governing state of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). ...
on the American schooner, the ''Francis Alleyn'' that sealed at
Gough Island Gough Island ( ), also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, is a rugged volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan d ...
(August 22, 1888 – January 23, 1889). Comer is noted as having written the first account of the island's endemic flightless moorhen, the species '' Gallinula comeri'', named after him. Comer wrote of them:
They cannot fly and only use their wings to help them in running ... They are quite plentiful and can be caught by hand. Could not get on a table three feet high. The bushes grow on the island up to about , and these birds are found as far up as the bushes grow ... Tip of bill bright yellow, scarlet between the eyes. Legs and feet yellow, with reddish spots.


Ethnologist and cartographer

Comer was highly regarded for his Arctic anthropology, ethnology, natural history, geography, and cartography work. Lacking formal training, Comer was mentored by anthropologist
Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...
. In return, Comer provided Boas with information that was used by Boas's in his 1888 book, ''The Central Eskimo''. Comer published papers in 1910 and 1913 in the ''Bulletin of the American Geographical Society of New York'' providing improved maps and charts of
Southampton Island Southampton Island (Inuktitut: ''Shugliaq'') is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of t ...
. In appreciation for his cartography, the government of Canada named the narrow strait around the bend of Roes Welcome Sound that separates northern Southampton Island from White Island " Comer Strait" () in his honor. Comer also published notes in ''
American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 m ...
'' (1923) about Southampton Island's isolated Sadlermiut who became extinct in 1902. Subsequent to their extinction, Comer attempted to repopulate Southampton Island at the exceedingly flat Cape Kendall on the island's western shore, northwest of the Bay of Gods Mercy, with Aivilik. Shoofly's only child, Oudlanak ("John Ell"), was the Aivilik group leader. However, within a year, the Aivilik moved to South Bay (an inner cove on the south side of Southampton Island) and they occasionally crossed to Repulse Bay when weather permitted. In November 1903, Comer recorded Aivilingmiut and Qaernermiut songs on a phonograph while in northwestern Hudson Bay, notable as some of the earliest recorded voices of Inuit. Frozen in the ice at Cape Fullerton during the winters of 1910–1912, he made phonograph records of local Inuit, and preserved Adelaide Peninsula's Iluilirmiut folklore and legends. On board the ''Era'', Comer made plaster casts of their faces. The 300 masks can be found in museums in Germany, Canada, and New York. The
Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...
bought a large collection of Comer's artifacts in 1913, including a group of animal ivories (fox, musk ox, narwhal, polar bear, wolf), most of which, if not all, were created by "Harry" Ippaktuq Tasseok (or Teseuke), Chief of the Aivilingmiut, and Comer's chief Inuit shipmate while wintering at Cape Fullerton. Commissioned by the American Museum of Natural History, Comer also collected Arctic and Antarctic animal skins, birds, bird's eggs, and geological specimens now at the museum's Comer Collection.


Later years

Comer retired in East Haddam, but he continued to send presents to his Inuit friends. He remained active, serving in the Connecticut State Legislature. He was in ill health in his latter years, and died in East Haddam in 1937 at the age 79.


Vessels

* Green mate, ''Nile'' (whaler), 1875 * Mate, ''Era'' (whaler), 1889–1892 * Mate, ''Canton'' (whaler), 1893–1894 * Master, ''Era'' (schooner), 1895–1906 * Master, '' A. T. Gifford'' (whaling/sealing schooner of New Bedford), 1907–1912 * Master, ''George B. Cluett'', 1915–1917 * Lt. J. G. George Comer, navigation officer, ''U.S.S. Radnor'' (freighter) and ''U.S.S. Wyska'' (freighter), 1918–1919 * Lt. George Comer, 2nd officer, ''U.S.S. Elinor'' (steamship), 1919 * Master, ''Finback'' (auxiliary schooner), 1919 * Master, ''Blossom'' (schooner), 1923–1924


Partial bibliography

* * *


Awards and honors

* Fellow in the council of the
American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...
* Named in his honor: **Comer Strait, off Southampton Island, Nunavut **'' Gallinula comeri'', flightless bird on Gough Island


References


External links

* * *
The Papers of George Comer
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Comer, George 1858 births 1937 deaths 20th-century American explorers American people in whaling Anglophone Quebec people American explorers of Antarctica Explorers of Canada American explorers of the Arctic Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from East Haddam, Connecticut People from Quebec City Sea captains United States Navy officers Emigrants from pre-Confederation Quebec to the United States