Because of Portsmouth's dependence on maritime activity, many Portsmouth men went away for extended periods at sea. Communication with female family members left behind in Portsmouth was often slow or nonexistent. During voyages at sea one captain from Portsmouth, Caleb Currier,
wrote letters to his young daughters expressing his desire to return to his family. Currier's letters show the strain that was placed on families in Portsmouth during long periods apart.
As the 19th century advanced, Americans increasingly challenged Britain's
dominance at sea. They sought trade with China and opportunities in the
lucrative opium business. But it seemed that wherever Americans sought
new trading partners, somebody was there before them. First it was the
Dutch and Portuguese, and then the British, who with their powerful Navy
controlled the seas and therefore global trade.
Following
the War of 1812, Portsmouth's maritime trade declined markedly. Although
new industries offered investment opportunities near home, some families
kept their money in shipping, believing it would flourish again. One believer
was Edmund Roberts (1784-1836), who inherited his uncle's shipping business
in Brazil and relocated it to Portsmouth.
Roberts married Catherine Whipple Langdon in 1808, shortly after his return from
Brazil. A happy marriage and eight children ensued. Roberts' business ventures
did not flourish, however, and he eventually lost most of the fortune he
had inherited. By the late 1820s he was scouting for a suitable government
position. His relative Levi Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy, got Roberts
a commission as special envoy to establish trade relations in the Middle
and Far East.
It is difficult for us to comprehend the difficulties of communication in
the early 19th century. Delivered to passing ships or picked up in ports
around the world, mail might take months to reach its destination. Catherine
Roberts died during one of Edmund's voyages, without having heard from
her husband in more than a year.
Roberts' trade negotiations were only intermittently successful, and he himself died
far from Portsmouth, after a short illness, in 1836. Roberts is buried in
the Protestant cemetery of Macao, but his family saved his clothes and accessories;
many of his letters, a memoir, and the treaties he negotiated belong to the
Society. This collection of Roberts' memorabilia tells a story of enterprise
and optimism balanced by absence, uncertainty, and sometimes tragedy.
