Mayhew Folger

Mayhew Folger (March 9, 1774 – September 1, 1828) was an American whaler who captained the sealing ship Topaz that rediscovered the Pitcairn Islands in 1808. Only one of HMS Bounty's mutineers was still alive: John Adams, whose alias was Alexander Smith.

Folger's grandson, William Mayhew Folger (1844-1928), became a United States Navy rear admiral.

Mayhew was born on March 12, 1774, in Nantucket, Massachusetts to William Folger and Ruth Coffin. Mayhew was a member of the Folger whaling family of Nantucket, Massachusetts, prominent Quakers. He was the great-great-great grandson of Peter Foulger and Mary Morrill Foulger, through them he is the first cousin three times removed of Benjamin Franklin. He married his second cousin, Mary Joy on March 7, 1798 on Nantucket. Mayhew was the uncle of Lucretia Coffin Mott, daughter of his sister Anna Folger and Thomas Coffin. He was born as the second child of his family.

Mayhew Folger captained the ship Topaz that left Boston on April 5, 1807 hunting for seals. They rediscovered the Pitcairn Islands on February 6, 1808. Only one of the original HMS Bounty mutineers, Alexander Smith, whose real name was John Adams, was still alive. Topaz remained at the island for only ten hours.

Captain Folger was given the Bounty's azimuth compass and Larcum Kendall K2 marine chronometer by Adams. The K2 was the third precision marine chronometer made after the H4, designed by John Harrison. The chronometer was taken by the Spanish governor at Juan Fernandez Island. The chronometer was later purchased by a Spaniard named Castillo. When he died, his family conveyed it to Captain Herbert of HMS Calliope, who had it conveyed to the British Museum around 1840. The chronometer is now in Greenwich, London.

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