Firstborn son of Vernon Taylor Beeby and Sarah Marie Rowe, early pioneers of Houston County, Minnesota. His younger brothers and sisters were William, Mahala, Lena, Mildred, and Sadie.
He grew up in the country near Riceford, Minnesota. During his early years, he lived in the stone house that his father and grandfather built (1864-1869). He then lived with his family at the Crystal mill where his father, who was a millwright, had prepared a new home for the family.
In 1873, when he was 11 years old, his mother died only two days after giving birth to his sister Sadie. He and his sister Mahala went to live with their aunt, Charlotte Taber, and her family on a farm in Newburg township. According to family history stories, he ran away from home at some point. If this is true, it may have been while he lived with the Tabers. He was not listed with the Taber family in the 1880 census, but his sister, age 15, was listed.
By 1885, when he was 22 years of age, he was living with his father and sisters Lena, Mildred, and Sadie at Riceford. He apparently went to Oregon not long after that.
He rented a room in a boarding house in Astoria, Oregon that was run by a woman named Mrs. Grant. She befriended him and asked him to go aboard the ship "Xenia" and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland on the steamboat, but she never sent him. He did not know until it was too late that Mrs. Grant was being paid $60 by the ship's captain to "recruit" men for his crew and was doing so under false pretenses.
When he found out what happened, Carroll went to the ship's captain and explained that he was tricked into boarding the ship by Mrs. Grant. He said he was no sailor and wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it.
The second mate of the ship, John Williams, treated him poorly. One night, another crew member saw Williams strike him on the head with a belaying pin hard enough to leave a mark. Two days later, on the morning of February 12, he was ordered by the second mate to loosen the sail. Sometime after he climbed to the topgallant yard of the ship, he missed his hold, fell overboard, and drowned.
The Beeby family never would have known what had happened to him if another crew member had not sent the following letter to his cousin, Vernon H. Gilmore:
Barque Elizabeth
Santa Fe, N. M.
June 20th, 1887.
Dear Sir:
I sit to inform you that your cousin, Carrel [Carroll] Bebby [Beeby], was drowned off Cape Horn, from the American Barque, Xenia, of Boston, of which Captain Reynolds was master. Your cousin fell from the fore Topgallant yard on the morning of February 12, he being sent up by the second mate to loosen the sail. He missed his hold, fell overboard and was drowned. Dear sir I shipped on board the Xenia with your cousin in Astoria, on a voyage from there to Bueones Ayres, S. M. Dear sir your cousin was put on board under false pretences, by Mrs. Grant, who keeps a sailor's boarding house in Astoria, and Portland, Oregon. She asked him if he would go aboard and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland in the steamboat but she never sent him. So I being going to sea for a number of years, I told your cousin what kind of a woman Mrs. Grant was. He had been what us sailors call "shanghied" by her, so he went to the captain and told him his story and said he was no sailor, and he wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go ashore, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it. Dear sir I am very sorry to inform you that your cousin received a great deal of ill treatment from the second mate, John Williams. The night before he was drowned the second mate struck him with a belaying pin on the head, which mark he carried to his grave. The second mate always called him vulgar names which I do not like to mention here. Dear sir, excuse me for not writing to you sooner, but I did not know his father's nor your address. The other day I was looking through my chest and I found your name on a card. I being the only friend he had on board, I kept his papers in my chest. All the papers your cousin had the captain took from me, so I could not write sooner as I had no address 'till I found your name on a card. I write you this letter as I am afraid the captain has not informed you of his death. If you want to know any thing about your cousin I will be very glad to tell you what I know.
Yours truly,
Donald McGregor
The "Mrs. Grant" mentioned in McGregor's letter was the notorious Bridget Grant, married to Peter Grant, of Clatsop County, Oregon. They ran boarding houses in San Francisco, Portland, and Astoria, where they resided, and made a fortune off of "crimping" or "shanghaing" men for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means. Even her adult children engaged in the practice, being taught the "business" from a very young age. Curiously, Bridget Grant was touted admirably as a successful, ambitious, remarkable business woman in the book "Women of the Western Frontier in Fact Fiction, and Film" (1997). However, the details about how exactly this admirable, successful, remarkable "business woman" obtained her fortune are not provided in the book and apparently were never researched. Bridget Grant received as much as $175 a man for delivering each sailor into servitude when her "business" was at its peak. In addition, the author of the book wrote with sympathy that Mrs. Grant was "forced into retirement" in 1905, but does not give the reason why: the practice of crimping had finally been outlawed. A riot broke out after the story of a man's death caused by being shanghaid and jumping ship was published in "The Astorian." People were outraged, and lawmakers officially made the practice illegal. Notorious crimpers began to get arrested and the "remarkable Mrs. Grant" could no longer do "business" without risking arrest and imprisonment..
Unfortunately, it was far too late for Carroll Beeby. The captain, second mate, and Mrs. Grant and her family were never held accountable for the actions that led to Carroll Beeby's death. (bio by: Cindy Coffin,
(c) 2009)
The tragic story of Carroll Beeby's death is now published in Barney Blalock's book The Oregon Shanghaiers, Chapter 8, "The Unfortunate Mr. Beeby"; The History Press, Charleston, SC, 2014.
He grew up in the country near Riceford, Minnesota. During his early years, he lived in the stone house that his father and grandfather built (1864-1869). He then lived with his family at the Crystal mill where his father, who was a millwright, had prepared a new home for the family.
In 1873, when he was 11 years old, his mother died only two days after giving birth to his sister Sadie. He and his sister Mahala went to live with their aunt, Charlotte Taber, and her family on a farm in Newburg township. According to family history stories, he ran away from home at some point. If this is true, it may have been while he lived with the Tabers. He was not listed with the Taber family in the 1880 census, but his sister, age 15, was listed.
By 1885, when he was 22 years of age, he was living with his father and sisters Lena, Mildred, and Sadie at Riceford. He apparently went to Oregon not long after that.
He rented a room in a boarding house in Astoria, Oregon that was run by a woman named Mrs. Grant. She befriended him and asked him to go aboard the ship "Xenia" and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland on the steamboat, but she never sent him. He did not know until it was too late that Mrs. Grant was being paid $60 by the ship's captain to "recruit" men for his crew and was doing so under false pretenses.
When he found out what happened, Carroll went to the ship's captain and explained that he was tricked into boarding the ship by Mrs. Grant. He said he was no sailor and wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it.
The second mate of the ship, John Williams, treated him poorly. One night, another crew member saw Williams strike him on the head with a belaying pin hard enough to leave a mark. Two days later, on the morning of February 12, he was ordered by the second mate to loosen the sail. Sometime after he climbed to the topgallant yard of the ship, he missed his hold, fell overboard, and drowned.
The Beeby family never would have known what had happened to him if another crew member had not sent the following letter to his cousin, Vernon H. Gilmore:
Barque Elizabeth
Santa Fe, N. M.
June 20th, 1887.
Dear Sir:
I sit to inform you that your cousin, Carrel [Carroll] Bebby [Beeby], was drowned off Cape Horn, from the American Barque, Xenia, of Boston, of which Captain Reynolds was master. Your cousin fell from the fore Topgallant yard on the morning of February 12, he being sent up by the second mate to loosen the sail. He missed his hold, fell overboard and was drowned. Dear sir I shipped on board the Xenia with your cousin in Astoria, on a voyage from there to Bueones Ayres, S. M. Dear sir your cousin was put on board under false pretences, by Mrs. Grant, who keeps a sailor's boarding house in Astoria, and Portland, Oregon. She asked him if he would go aboard and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland in the steamboat but she never sent him. So I being going to sea for a number of years, I told your cousin what kind of a woman Mrs. Grant was. He had been what us sailors call "shanghied" by her, so he went to the captain and told him his story and said he was no sailor, and he wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go ashore, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it. Dear sir I am very sorry to inform you that your cousin received a great deal of ill treatment from the second mate, John Williams. The night before he was drowned the second mate struck him with a belaying pin on the head, which mark he carried to his grave. The second mate always called him vulgar names which I do not like to mention here. Dear sir, excuse me for not writing to you sooner, but I did not know his father's nor your address. The other day I was looking through my chest and I found your name on a card. I being the only friend he had on board, I kept his papers in my chest. All the papers your cousin had the captain took from me, so I could not write sooner as I had no address 'till I found your name on a card. I write you this letter as I am afraid the captain has not informed you of his death. If you want to know any thing about your cousin I will be very glad to tell you what I know.
Yours truly,
Donald McGregor
The "Mrs. Grant" mentioned in McGregor's letter was the notorious Bridget Grant, married to Peter Grant, of Clatsop County, Oregon. They ran boarding houses in San Francisco, Portland, and Astoria, where they resided, and made a fortune off of "crimping" or "shanghaing" men for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means. Even her adult children engaged in the practice, being taught the "business" from a very young age. Curiously, Bridget Grant was touted admirably as a successful, ambitious, remarkable business woman in the book "Women of the Western Frontier in Fact Fiction, and Film" (1997). However, the details about how exactly this admirable, successful, remarkable "business woman" obtained her fortune are not provided in the book and apparently were never researched. Bridget Grant received as much as $175 a man for delivering each sailor into servitude when her "business" was at its peak. In addition, the author of the book wrote with sympathy that Mrs. Grant was "forced into retirement" in 1905, but does not give the reason why: the practice of crimping had finally been outlawed. A riot broke out after the story of a man's death caused by being shanghaid and jumping ship was published in "The Astorian." People were outraged, and lawmakers officially made the practice illegal. Notorious crimpers began to get arrested and the "remarkable Mrs. Grant" could no longer do "business" without risking arrest and imprisonment..
Unfortunately, it was far too late for Carroll Beeby. The captain, second mate, and Mrs. Grant and her family were never held accountable for the actions that led to Carroll Beeby's death. (bio by: Cindy Coffin,
(c) 2009)
The tragic story of Carroll Beeby's death is now published in Barney Blalock's book The Oregon Shanghaiers, Chapter 8, "The Unfortunate Mr. Beeby"; The History Press, Charleston, SC, 2014.
Firstborn son of Vernon Taylor Beeby and Sarah Marie Rowe, early pioneers of Houston County, Minnesota. His younger brothers and sisters were William, Mahala, Lena, Mildred, and Sadie.
He grew up in the country near Riceford, Minnesota. During his early years, he lived in the stone house that his father and grandfather built (1864-1869). He then lived with his family at the Crystal mill where his father, who was a millwright, had prepared a new home for the family.
In 1873, when he was 11 years old, his mother died only two days after giving birth to his sister Sadie. He and his sister Mahala went to live with their aunt, Charlotte Taber, and her family on a farm in Newburg township. According to family history stories, he ran away from home at some point. If this is true, it may have been while he lived with the Tabers. He was not listed with the Taber family in the 1880 census, but his sister, age 15, was listed.
By 1885, when he was 22 years of age, he was living with his father and sisters Lena, Mildred, and Sadie at Riceford. He apparently went to Oregon not long after that.
He rented a room in a boarding house in Astoria, Oregon that was run by a woman named Mrs. Grant. She befriended him and asked him to go aboard the ship "Xenia" and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland on the steamboat, but she never sent him. He did not know until it was too late that Mrs. Grant was being paid $60 by the ship's captain to "recruit" men for his crew and was doing so under false pretenses.
When he found out what happened, Carroll went to the ship's captain and explained that he was tricked into boarding the ship by Mrs. Grant. He said he was no sailor and wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it.
The second mate of the ship, John Williams, treated him poorly. One night, another crew member saw Williams strike him on the head with a belaying pin hard enough to leave a mark. Two days later, on the morning of February 12, he was ordered by the second mate to loosen the sail. Sometime after he climbed to the topgallant yard of the ship, he missed his hold, fell overboard, and drowned.
The Beeby family never would have known what had happened to him if another crew member had not sent the following letter to his cousin, Vernon H. Gilmore:
Barque Elizabeth
Santa Fe, N. M.
June 20th, 1887.
Dear Sir:
I sit to inform you that your cousin, Carrel [Carroll] Bebby [Beeby], was drowned off Cape Horn, from the American Barque, Xenia, of Boston, of which Captain Reynolds was master. Your cousin fell from the fore Topgallant yard on the morning of February 12, he being sent up by the second mate to loosen the sail. He missed his hold, fell overboard and was drowned. Dear sir I shipped on board the Xenia with your cousin in Astoria, on a voyage from there to Bueones Ayres, S. M. Dear sir your cousin was put on board under false pretences, by Mrs. Grant, who keeps a sailor's boarding house in Astoria, and Portland, Oregon. She asked him if he would go aboard and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland in the steamboat but she never sent him. So I being going to sea for a number of years, I told your cousin what kind of a woman Mrs. Grant was. He had been what us sailors call "shanghied" by her, so he went to the captain and told him his story and said he was no sailor, and he wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go ashore, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it. Dear sir I am very sorry to inform you that your cousin received a great deal of ill treatment from the second mate, John Williams. The night before he was drowned the second mate struck him with a belaying pin on the head, which mark he carried to his grave. The second mate always called him vulgar names which I do not like to mention here. Dear sir, excuse me for not writing to you sooner, but I did not know his father's nor your address. The other day I was looking through my chest and I found your name on a card. I being the only friend he had on board, I kept his papers in my chest. All the papers your cousin had the captain took from me, so I could not write sooner as I had no address 'till I found your name on a card. I write you this letter as I am afraid the captain has not informed you of his death. If you want to know any thing about your cousin I will be very glad to tell you what I know.
Yours truly,
Donald McGregor
The "Mrs. Grant" mentioned in McGregor's letter was the notorious Bridget Grant, married to Peter Grant, of Clatsop County, Oregon. They ran boarding houses in San Francisco, Portland, and Astoria, where they resided, and made a fortune off of "crimping" or "shanghaing" men for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means. Even her adult children engaged in the practice, being taught the "business" from a very young age. Curiously, Bridget Grant was touted admirably as a successful, ambitious, remarkable business woman in the book "Women of the Western Frontier in Fact Fiction, and Film" (1997). However, the details about how exactly this admirable, successful, remarkable "business woman" obtained her fortune are not provided in the book and apparently were never researched. Bridget Grant received as much as $175 a man for delivering each sailor into servitude when her "business" was at its peak. In addition, the author of the book wrote with sympathy that Mrs. Grant was "forced into retirement" in 1905, but does not give the reason why: the practice of crimping had finally been outlawed. A riot broke out after the story of a man's death caused by being shanghaid and jumping ship was published in "The Astorian." People were outraged, and lawmakers officially made the practice illegal. Notorious crimpers began to get arrested and the "remarkable Mrs. Grant" could no longer do "business" without risking arrest and imprisonment..
Unfortunately, it was far too late for Carroll Beeby. The captain, second mate, and Mrs. Grant and her family were never held accountable for the actions that led to Carroll Beeby's death. (bio by: Cindy Coffin,
(c) 2009)
The tragic story of Carroll Beeby's death is now published in Barney Blalock's book The Oregon Shanghaiers, Chapter 8, "The Unfortunate Mr. Beeby"; The History Press, Charleston, SC, 2014.
He grew up in the country near Riceford, Minnesota. During his early years, he lived in the stone house that his father and grandfather built (1864-1869). He then lived with his family at the Crystal mill where his father, who was a millwright, had prepared a new home for the family.
In 1873, when he was 11 years old, his mother died only two days after giving birth to his sister Sadie. He and his sister Mahala went to live with their aunt, Charlotte Taber, and her family on a farm in Newburg township. According to family history stories, he ran away from home at some point. If this is true, it may have been while he lived with the Tabers. He was not listed with the Taber family in the 1880 census, but his sister, age 15, was listed.
By 1885, when he was 22 years of age, he was living with his father and sisters Lena, Mildred, and Sadie at Riceford. He apparently went to Oregon not long after that.
He rented a room in a boarding house in Astoria, Oregon that was run by a woman named Mrs. Grant. She befriended him and asked him to go aboard the ship "Xenia" and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland on the steamboat, but she never sent him. He did not know until it was too late that Mrs. Grant was being paid $60 by the ship's captain to "recruit" men for his crew and was doing so under false pretenses.
When he found out what happened, Carroll went to the ship's captain and explained that he was tricked into boarding the ship by Mrs. Grant. He said he was no sailor and wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it.
The second mate of the ship, John Williams, treated him poorly. One night, another crew member saw Williams strike him on the head with a belaying pin hard enough to leave a mark. Two days later, on the morning of February 12, he was ordered by the second mate to loosen the sail. Sometime after he climbed to the topgallant yard of the ship, he missed his hold, fell overboard, and drowned.
The Beeby family never would have known what had happened to him if another crew member had not sent the following letter to his cousin, Vernon H. Gilmore:
Barque Elizabeth
Santa Fe, N. M.
June 20th, 1887.
Dear Sir:
I sit to inform you that your cousin, Carrel [Carroll] Bebby [Beeby], was drowned off Cape Horn, from the American Barque, Xenia, of Boston, of which Captain Reynolds was master. Your cousin fell from the fore Topgallant yard on the morning of February 12, he being sent up by the second mate to loosen the sail. He missed his hold, fell overboard and was drowned. Dear sir I shipped on board the Xenia with your cousin in Astoria, on a voyage from there to Bueones Ayres, S. M. Dear sir your cousin was put on board under false pretences, by Mrs. Grant, who keeps a sailor's boarding house in Astoria, and Portland, Oregon. She asked him if he would go aboard and answer to another man's name. She said she would send the other man aboard that night when he came down from Portland in the steamboat but she never sent him. So I being going to sea for a number of years, I told your cousin what kind of a woman Mrs. Grant was. He had been what us sailors call "shanghied" by her, so he went to the captain and told him his story and said he was no sailor, and he wanted to go ashore again. The captain refused to let him go ashore, saying he had paid Mrs. Grant $60 for him, and that he would have to make the best of it. Dear sir I am very sorry to inform you that your cousin received a great deal of ill treatment from the second mate, John Williams. The night before he was drowned the second mate struck him with a belaying pin on the head, which mark he carried to his grave. The second mate always called him vulgar names which I do not like to mention here. Dear sir, excuse me for not writing to you sooner, but I did not know his father's nor your address. The other day I was looking through my chest and I found your name on a card. I being the only friend he had on board, I kept his papers in my chest. All the papers your cousin had the captain took from me, so I could not write sooner as I had no address 'till I found your name on a card. I write you this letter as I am afraid the captain has not informed you of his death. If you want to know any thing about your cousin I will be very glad to tell you what I know.
Yours truly,
Donald McGregor
The "Mrs. Grant" mentioned in McGregor's letter was the notorious Bridget Grant, married to Peter Grant, of Clatsop County, Oregon. They ran boarding houses in San Francisco, Portland, and Astoria, where they resided, and made a fortune off of "crimping" or "shanghaing" men for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means. Even her adult children engaged in the practice, being taught the "business" from a very young age. Curiously, Bridget Grant was touted admirably as a successful, ambitious, remarkable business woman in the book "Women of the Western Frontier in Fact Fiction, and Film" (1997). However, the details about how exactly this admirable, successful, remarkable "business woman" obtained her fortune are not provided in the book and apparently were never researched. Bridget Grant received as much as $175 a man for delivering each sailor into servitude when her "business" was at its peak. In addition, the author of the book wrote with sympathy that Mrs. Grant was "forced into retirement" in 1905, but does not give the reason why: the practice of crimping had finally been outlawed. A riot broke out after the story of a man's death caused by being shanghaid and jumping ship was published in "The Astorian." People were outraged, and lawmakers officially made the practice illegal. Notorious crimpers began to get arrested and the "remarkable Mrs. Grant" could no longer do "business" without risking arrest and imprisonment..
Unfortunately, it was far too late for Carroll Beeby. The captain, second mate, and Mrs. Grant and her family were never held accountable for the actions that led to Carroll Beeby's death. (bio by: Cindy Coffin,
(c) 2009)
The tragic story of Carroll Beeby's death is now published in Barney Blalock's book The Oregon Shanghaiers, Chapter 8, "The Unfortunate Mr. Beeby"; The History Press, Charleston, SC, 2014.
