Applications

To apply for a Cuffe Fellowship, send C.V. or resume, a full description of the proposed project, a preliminary bibliography, brief project budget, and contact information for three references to:

The Munson Institute
Mystic Seaport
PO Box 6000
75 Greenmanville Ave.
Mystic, CT 06355-0990

Applications will be judged on the merits of the proposed research project, the qualifications of the applicant, and the use to be made of the scholarly resources of southeastern New England. Application deadline is March 30.

Additional college and graduate programs:

Munson Institute
A six-week summer graduate studies program in American maritime history.

Williams-Mystic
Spend a semester at Mystic Seaport studying the history, literature, science and policy of the world's oceans.

Paul Cuffe Memorial Fellowship

For the Study of Minorities in American Maritime History

Mystic Seaport invites applications for the annual competition for the Paul Cuffe Memorial Fellowship. Paul Cuffe, born in 1759 on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, was the son of a Wampanoag Indian mother and a former slave father. Active in the Quaker community, he founded a free school in Westport, Massachusetts. Before his death in 1817 he became a sea captain, shipowner, landowner, and respected community leader.

Since 1989, Mystic Seaport's Paul Cuffe fellowship has provided funds to thirty-five researchers from universities, colleges, and museums. The fellowships are offered to encourage research that considers the participation of Native and African Americans in the maritime activities of New England, primarily its southeastern shores. Fellowships support research and writing, a portion of which should normally be carried out in the Mystic area. The fellowships of up to $2,400 are made possible through the generosity of a local private foundation.

Cuffe fellows are requested to write a report on their research within one year.

Feedback from recent fellows:

"The Cuffe Fellowship motivated me to take chances and pursue avenues." - Kristen Kobialka, National Park Service, Salem

"The Cuffe Fellowship enhanced the quality of my research." - Lisa Y. King, Howard University

"After months of library research and establishing contacts with families of former Cape Verdean captains, I have only scratched the surface. My enthusiasm and commitment to advance this project have increased as it progressed." - Waltraud B. Coli, Providence College and Schooner Ernestina Foundation

Research Facilities

The research collection of the G. W. Blunt White Library has nearly one million documents pertaining to maritime history. These include 1,300 ships' logs and journals, ledgers, diaries, and documents from the whaling, fishing, and shipping industries. View hours of operation.

Nearby institutions with relevant research materials include:
* American Antiquarian Society - Worcester, MA
* John Carter Brown Library - Providence, RI
* Nantucket Historical Society & Athenaeum - Nantucket, MA
* Dukes County Historical Society - Martha's Vineyard, MA
* Old Dartmouth Historical Society - New Bedford, MA
* New Bedford Public Library - New Bedford, MA
* New Bedford Whaling Museum - New Bedford, MA
* Yale University - New Haven, CT