Nickerson made his first sea voyage in 1819 on the ill-fated whaler Essex. When the ship was struck and sunk by a whale on November 20, 1820, he joined the boat of the first mate, Owen Chase, who later wrote about the incident in the "Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex", the book that would inspire Herman Melville to write "Moby Dick". Nickerson returned to sea after his rescue and eventually worked his way up to captain of a merchant vessel. Upon retiring he ran a boarding house in Nantucket. Writer Leon Lewis stayed at the house, and encouraged Nickerson to write down his story of the three months he was lost at sea. Nickerson did and sent the manuscript to Lewis for editing. Lewis was having a personal crisis, and the manuscript was abandoned. When Lewis later journeyed to England, he left a trunk containing the manuscript in the care of a neighbor at his summer cottage on Lake Keuka, New York. The trunk was later given to James M. Finch, Jr., and the contents were finally inspected in 1980. Ann Finch, James' wife, recognized the manuscript's importance and contacted the Nantucket Whaling Museum. After authentication, the manuscript was donated to the Museum. An abridged version was published by the Nantucket Historical Association in 1984 under the title "The Loss of the Ship 'Essex' Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats".
In 2001, author Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a non-fiction book "In the Heart of the Sea" about the sinking of the Essex. The book was turned into a film of the same name by director Ron Howard.
In 2001, author Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a non-fiction book "In the Heart of the Sea" about the sinking of the Essex. The book was turned into a film of the same name by director Ron Howard.
Nickerson made his first sea voyage in 1819 on the ill-fated whaler Essex. When the ship was struck and sunk by a whale on November 20, 1820, he joined the boat of the first mate, Owen Chase, who later wrote about the incident in the "Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex", the book that would inspire Herman Melville to write "Moby Dick". Nickerson returned to sea after his rescue and eventually worked his way up to captain of a merchant vessel. Upon retiring he ran a boarding house in Nantucket. Writer Leon Lewis stayed at the house, and encouraged Nickerson to write down his story of the three months he was lost at sea. Nickerson did and sent the manuscript to Lewis for editing. Lewis was having a personal crisis, and the manuscript was abandoned. When Lewis later journeyed to England, he left a trunk containing the manuscript in the care of a neighbor at his summer cottage on Lake Keuka, New York. The trunk was later given to James M. Finch, Jr., and the contents were finally inspected in 1980. Ann Finch, James' wife, recognized the manuscript's importance and contacted the Nantucket Whaling Museum. After authentication, the manuscript was donated to the Museum. An abridged version was published by the Nantucket Historical Association in 1984 under the title "The Loss of the Ship 'Essex' Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats".
In 2001, author Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a non-fiction book "In the Heart of the Sea" about the sinking of the Essex. The book was turned into a film of the same name by director Ron Howard.
In 2001, author Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a non-fiction book "In the Heart of the Sea" about the sinking of the Essex. The book was turned into a film of the same name by director Ron Howard.
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