Joseph Ingraham (1762–1800) was an American sailor and maritime fur trader who discovered several islands of the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

while on his way to trade along the west coast of North America. He was also a prisoner in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Early life

During the War of Independence, Ingraham was a sailor captured by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. He spent part of the war on a prison ship. In 1787, he was second mate aboard the '' Columbia Rediviva'' under the command of John Kendrick when it sailed to the Pacific Northwest to engage in the fur trade.

Pacific voyages

On September 16, 1790, Ingraham set sail from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as captain of the brig . The owners and investors of the ship and venture were Thomas Handasyd Perkins, Russell Sturgis, James and Thomas Lamb, and James Magee. These investors also owned the ''

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

'', which, under Captain James Magee, frequently sailed in company with the ''Hope''. Ingraham's intention was to return to the northwest coast to partake in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. Ingraham and his ship sailed around

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

on January 26, 1791. Their next stop was at Madre de Dios Island in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on April 14. While in this Spanish port they took on some provisions before sailing north again. A few days later, on April 19, 1792, Ingraham discovered a small uncharted island group. These islands were situated roughly nine degrees south of the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

. Captain Ingraham named the group Washington Islands, and named many of the individual islands: Washington

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

for the president, Adams Island for the vice president, Federal Island, Franklin Island, Knox

and Lincoln Island for a general. The island are approximately at 9° 20' south of the Equator and 140° 54' west of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

. These islands are part of the

. From the Marquesas archipelago, Ingraham sailed north to the Sandwich Islands before sailing on to the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separ ...

on the northwest coast of North America. After arriving off the coast of North America, Ingraham set about trading for the fur pelts he was sent to bargain for from the natives. On September 26, 1792, Ingraham encountered his former captain, Captain Robert Gray, captain of the ''Columbia'', in Neah Bay off Cape Flattery. Gray was there to sell his small craft, , to the Spanish. ''Adventure'' was under the command of Ingraham's former shipmate Robert Haswell. The next day Ingraham and ''Hope'' set sail with the Spanish vessel '' Princesa'' that was sailing north to Nootka Sound to deliver Spain's new administrator to that outpost. After spending the summer trading for fur pelts from the natives along the coast, Ingraham sailed to China via the Sandwich Islands, and then back to Boston. On the journey to the Chinese mainland the ship log shows the crew passing by the island of

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

. This voyage was a commercial failure.

Later life

During the United States' undeclared

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the late 1790s, Ingraham served as a naval officer.US Navy Officers (1798-1900).
Naval Historical Center. Retrieved on February 26, 2008. He was a lieutenant, last appearing on Navy Department records on June 14, 1799. Joseph Ingraham was lost at sea in fall 1800 while serving on the USS ''Pickering''.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 124.

Legacy

Ingraham Bay and Ingraham Point, in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, are named for Joseph Ingraham.

References

External links

"Papers of Joseph Ingraham, 1790-1792: Journal of the Voyage of the Brigantine "Hope" from Boston to the North-West Coast of America"
from the

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