Irving and Electa Johnson Collection (Coll. 240)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

Biography of Irving Johnson

Scope and Content

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Detailed Description of the Collection

Biography of Irving Johnson

The voyages of Irving and Electa Johnson aboard YANKEE are well known by everyone familiar with the sea.

Irving McClure Johnson was born on July 4, 1905 on the family farm in Hadley, Massachusetts and began training for a sailor's life as a teenager. Irving Johnson began his early career as a mariner, both in the Merchant Marine and as a private yacht captain during the summer.

Johnson worked as Captain on board the SQUAW, a New York 40, for two years and then in 1926 on the CHARMIAN, a seventy foot Seawanhaka, for the next four summers. In order to fulfill his quest for adventure, Johnson joined the Merchant Marine in 1926 when he signed on as quartermaster on board the Grace Lines' 360 passenger steamer, S.S. SANTA TERESA, for a three month voyage. In November of 1927 he shipped out on the S.S. STANLEY DOLLAR, a 401 foot freighter. After this voyage he signed on with the Dollar Steamship Line on their flagship the U.S.S. PRESIDENT WILSON as a cadet. On board he made his first voyage around the world from January 6, 1928- April 26, 1928. The following year he sailed with the Cunard Line on the R.M.S. AQUITANIA. This passage left him in Europe where he would set sail for his famous trip around the Horn on board the 345 foot barque PEKING in late November 1929, a voyage documented in a film entitled "Around Cape Horn." In 1930 he made another exciting voyage across the Atlantic as First Mate on board SHAMROCK V. His last job as mate came when he signed on the WANDERBIRD.

While aboard the WANDER BIRD, he met Electa. After their marriage in 1933 they began a unique way of life. Sailing around the world in their own vessel the Johnsons shared their skill and knowledge of the sea with a hand-picked crew of interested and enthusiastic amateurs. With Gloucester, MA as their home port the YANKEE alternated between 18 month circumnavigations and 18 months of sailing trips on the Eastern Seaboard. With a crew generally composed of 4 girls, 16 men, 1 doctor, and a mate, the Johnsons sailed around the world seven times.

Their first vessel, the schooner YANKEE, made the voyage three times and was sold in 1941 prior to WWII. During the war Capt. Irving Johnson was called into the Navy when Admiral Kimmel insisted on having the foremost expert on the South Seas areas. Johnson's sailing experience among the numerous atolls and treacherous coral reefs made him a natural choice in identifying and planning bases in the South Pacific. Captain Johnson was in Pearl Harbor on that fateful day, December 7, 1941. He was later assigned to the naval survey ship, U. S. S. SUMNER. The SUMNER surveyed, charted and blasted channels through coral reefs throughout the Pacific, in advance of the U.S. fleet.

In 1946 the Johnsons purchased the German North Sea Pilot Boat, DUHNEN. After her conversion to a Brigantine by the J.W. and A. Upham yard in Brixham, England, they resumed their sailing activities, in their new YANKEE, completing four additional circumnavigations (voyages four through seven,) during the next eleven years. The book "YANKEE's People and Places" by Irving and Electa Johnson and Lydia Edes (a crew member) details the sixth voyage of the Brigantine YANKEE.

In 1959, they built their dream ship, the 50' ketch YANKEE. Designed by Irving Johnson and Olin Stephens and built by Scheepswerf, Westhaven, Zaandam Holland, and with a hailing port of Mystic, CT, the Johnsons cruised on her throughout Europe's canals, waterways and seas. The books, "YANKEE Sails Across Europe" and "YANKEE Sails the Nile" both by Irving and Electa Johnson, documents these travels.

In 1984 the Johnsons were featured in a National Geographic special entitled, "Irving Johnson, High Seas Adventurer." Capt. Johnson also served as Trustee Emeritus of the Mystic Seaport Museum and South Street Seaport.

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Scope and Content

The Irving and Electa Johnson collection contains 23 phase boxes and 56 volumes. It is organized into nine different series.

The first series, found in boxes 1-4, relates to papers involving only Irving Johnson. It is arranged chronologically and falls into three different time periods of Irving's life, before he met Electa, while he was in the Navy and during his extensive lecturing career. In total this series includes correspondence, articles, diaries, journals, notebooks, expenses and ephemera.

The second series, found in boxes 5-8, relates to papers that correspond to the Schooner YANKEE. This series is arranged primarily chronologically but further grouping papers by correspondence, expenses and papers for the first three world cruises. Business papers and charter parties between the world cruises on the Schooner can also be found in this series. In total this series includes correspondence, provision lists, charter parties, crew lists, newsletters, business papers and articles.

The third series, found in boxes 9-11, relates to papers that correspond to the Brig YANKEE. Like series two, this series is arranged primarily chronologically but is furthered grouped by correspondence, expenses and papers. These papers however relate to the fourth through the seventh world cruise as well as the summer charter parties between these cruises. In total this series includes correspondence, charter parties, provision lists, newsletters, articles and business papers.

The fourth series, found in boxes 12-15, relates to papers that correspond to the Ketch YANKEE. This series is arranged chronologically and is also further grouped by correspondence, expenses, papers and business correspondence with Arthur Johnson.

The fifth series, found in boxes 16-17, contains miscellaneous papers that relate to this collection but not to one of the other specified series. Items that can be found are personal correspondence to Irving Johnson, undated expenses, checks and bank statements of Irving and Electa Johnson, screenplays, and articles written about Irving or the YANKEEs.

The sixth series, found in boxes 18-23, contains accounts from the crew of the various YANKEE voyages. These are usually complete day to day descriptions of one of the crew member's or other highlights of the voyages. Items that are included are logs, diaries, journals, correspondence home to family members, scrapbooks and articles.

The seventh series contains logs, volumes 1-29, kept on board the Schooner YANKEE May 14, 1933-April 27, 1941 and the Brigantine YANKEE, from July 14, 1947-February 23, 1958. Kept by whomever was on watch, the logs contain mostly navigational and weather data, but are highlighted by occasional editorial comments about other crew members, conditions on board, or stopovers. These logs describe all seven circumnavigations as well as the sail of the Schooner YANKEE from Harwich to her home port in Gloucester, Ma and the Brigantine YANKEE from Brixham to Gloucester, Ma.

The eighth series contains account and expense books, volumes 30-35, from 1933-1955. The account books primarily record expenses aboard the Brig YANKEE, however volume 30 describes accounts of Yankee Cruises, Inc. during the first voyage of Schooner YANKEE.

The ninth series contains scrapbooks, volumes 36-56, of Irving and Electa. Spanning from 1920 to 1991, these volumes contain numerous pictures, articles, etc. of Irving and Electa's life together at sea.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Available for use in the Manuscripts Division

Restrictions on Use

Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division. See also: Mystic Seaport's copyright notice.

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Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Persons:

Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):

Places:

Subjects:

Document Types:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Coll. 240, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

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