Simon F. Blunt
| Simon Fraser Blunt | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 1, 1818 Southampton County, Virginia |
| Died | April 27, 1854 Baltimore, Maryland |
| Occupation | Naval Captain |
| Spouse(s) | Ellen Lloyd Key |
Simon Fraser Blunt was a member of the Wilkes Expedition, Cartographer of San Francisco Bay and was Captain of the SS Winfield Scott when it shipwrecked off Anacapa Island in 1853. Two geographic features, Blunt Cove and Point Blunt are named for him.
Blunt joined the U.S. Navy and in 1838, he was assigned to the USS Porpoise, under the command of Captain C. Ringgold and passed midshipman on June 23. before the ship joined the Wilkes Expedition in early August. In March, 1839, at Orange Bay he transferred to the USS Vincennes. On January 16, 1840, the expedition sailed close enough to Antarctica to see the actual continent; Blunt Cove is named for him. Blunt took sick in April, 1841 in Honolulu, possibly from participating in the trip to the summit of Mauna Loa Volcano. The Expedition reached Oregon on April 28, and explored the coast from there to San Francisco Bay. He was promoted to Lieutenant on July 28, 1842, a few weeks after the expedition had arrived back in New York.
In 1844–45, Blunt was assigned to the USS Truxtun in activities off the coast of Liberia. When he returned, he attended the newly formed United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
On January 27, 1846, Blunt married Ellen Lloyd Key, daughter of Francis Scott Key, in Washington D.C. They had three children: Alice Key (1847–1927); John Yell (Young?) Mason (1848–1916); and Mary Lloyd (1850–).John Y. Mason named his son for Blunt in 1848.
In 1849, Blunt was appointed to a Joint Commission of Army and Navy Officers (Joint Commission) whose purpose was to identify potential sites for lighthouses and defense facilities along the Pacific Coast of the California and Oregon territories. The Joint Commission consisted of three army engineers: Maj. John L. Smith, Maj Cornelius Austin Ogden and 1st Lt. Danville Leadbetter; and three naval officers: Comdr Louis M. Goldsborough, Comdr. G.J. Van Brunt, and Blunt. and had assembled in San Francisco by early April 1849. Blunt, either on his own or with the rest of the members of the Joint Commission presumably joined his former Captain on the Porpoise, now "Commodore" C. Ringgold on the chartered brig Col. Fremont to chart the San Francisco Bay region, suddenly important because of the discovery of gold in the area. Ringgold named Point Blunt on Angel Island for him. Afterwards, Blunt assisted Commodore Ringgold in the creation of two charts:
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