A Vanished Port | Slave Ship Logbooks | Programs & Events | Acknowledgments | Sources | Survey
In January of 1757, 18-year-old Dudley Saltonstall boarded the Africa in New London. Saltonstall was charged by his father, the ship’s owner, with keeping a log of its voyage to the coast of Sierra Leone. The Africa was commanded by John Easton, a resident of Middletown.
Once there, Saltonstall transferred to the sloop Good Hope, commanded by Alexander Urqhart, carrying enslaved people to the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean.
The next year Saltonstall recorded his voyage aboard the Fox, another ship involved in the ‘triangle trade’ between New England, Africa, and the Caribbean.
These logs are contained in a book now at the Connecticut State Library. Many thanks to the Library and to Christine Pittsley who digitized the pages of the logbook for this exhibit.
This short video (3:45 minutes) outlines the 1757 voyages of the Africa and the Good Hope, as described in Saltonstall’s log.
- January 18-19, 1757, on board the snow Africa, John Easton commanding.
- January 20-21, 1757
- January 22-23, 1757
- January 24-25, 1757
- January 26-27, 1757
- January 28-29, 1757
- January 30-31, 1757
- February 1-2, 1757
- February 3-4, 1757
- February 5-6, 1757
- February 7-8, 1757
- February 9-10, 1757
- February 11-12, 1757
- February 13-14, 1757
- February 15-16, 1757
- February 17-18, 1757
- February 19-20, 1757
- February 21-22, 1757
- February 23-24, 1757
- February 25-26, 1757
- February 27-28, 1757
- March 1-2, 1757
- March 3-4, 1757
- March 5-6, 1757
- March 7-8, 1757
- March 9-10, 1757
- March 11-12, 1757
- March 13-14, 1757
- March 15-16, 1757
- March 17-18, 1757
- March 19-21, 1757
- March 22-26, 1757
- March 27-April 1, 1757
- April 2-10, 1757
- April 11-17, 1757, on the sloop Good Hope, commanded by Alexander Urqhart.
- April 18-25, 1757
- April 26-29, 1757
- April 30-May 2, 1757
- May 3-5, 1757
- May 6-8, 1757
- May 9-11, 1757
- May 12-14, 1757
- May 15-17, 1757
- May 18-20, 1757
- May 21-23, 1757
- May 24-26, 1757
- May 27-29, 1757
- The log book of the snow Fox, commanded by William Taylor, out of New London.
- April 3-5, 1758
- April 6-8, 1758
- April 9-11, 1758
- April 12-14, 1758
- April 15-17, 1758
- April 18-20, 1758
- April 20-22, 1758
- April 23-25, 1758
- April 26-28, 1758
- April 30-May 2, 1758
- May 3-5, 1758
- May 6-9, 1758
- May 9-11, 1758
- May 12-14, 1758
- May 15-17, 1758
- May 18-20, 1758
- May 21-25, 1758
- May 26-31, 1758
- June 1-6, 1758
- June 7-13, 1758
- June 14-23, 1758
- June 24-July 3, 1758
- July 4-13, 1758
- July 14-23, 1758
- August 7-10, 1758