Robert Haswell
| Robert Haswell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | November 24, 1768 Hull, Massachusetts |
| Died | 1801? at sea |
| Occupation | merchant sea-captain, naval officer |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Cordis |
Robert Haswell (November 24, 1768 – 1801?) was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe. Later during the Quasi-War he served as an officer in the United States Navy.
Robert Haswell was born November 24, 1768, probably at Hull, Massachusetts, eldest son of Lieutenant William Haswell, a Royal Navy Customs officer, and his second wife, Rachel Woodward. This family had a naval history, Robert's grandfather having been Master Attendant of the royal docks at Gibraltar, and uncle Robert Haswell served as a Royal Navy Post Captain in the early 1780s, while his first cousin was military engineer John Montresor. During the American Revolution, his father was placed under house arrest, at Hull, then detained at Hingham and Abington, and in 1778, the family was sent via Halifax, Nova Scotia back to England, where they took up residence near Kingston upon Hull, and scraped by on the father's half-pay until they received compensation from the British government for the loss of their American possessions.
Although the details are obscure, Robert went to sea and ended up in Boston, Massachusetts. There, in September 1787, he was enrolled as third mate on the Columbia Rediviva, a Boston vessel trading fur in the Pacific Northwest, under command of John Kendrick. At the Cape Verde Islands, Haswell's friend and mentor, first mate Joseph Woodruff, squabbled with Kendrick and was dismissed from the ship, but as a consequence Haswell became second mate. Haswell himself then ran afoul of Kendrick over the disciplining of a sailor, and he agreed to be sent home when they reached the Falkland Islands. However, no other ship was present, and Haswell agreed to move to the accompanying sloop, the Lady Washington (Captain Robert Gray). Although still second mate, the move to the much smaller vessel represented a demotion, which Haswell attributed to Kendrick's desire to promote his own son. In this role he cruised up and down the coast, trading for furs. In mid-1789, Gray and Kendrick exchanged ships, and Haswell accompanied Gray on the Columbia across the Pacific, stopping at the Sandwich Isles, and sailing on to Canton, China to sell the furs. They returned to Boston via the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena, the voyage being the first American circumnavigation of the globe.
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