Brig

Sometime in 1814, Samuel married a widow, Maria M. Taney/Brown, whose maiden name was Maria M. Taney. She had been the wife of John Henry Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, who was prominent socially. In 1801, a miniature (watercolor on ivory) was painted of Maria, while she was married to John, by the illustrious Philadelphia artist, James Peale (1749-1831). That she had a portrait painted of her by such a prominent artist reveals John’s and Maria’s social status and economic level.

John and Maria had several children. Henry Stephen Brown (1804-1868) was their last. John died in 1813 or 1814. When Samuel, Jr. married Maria, not long after John died, Samuel became Henry’s stepfather. Samuel and Maria had their own child on July 26, 1815, whom they named Maria M. Bassett. Their daughter later married Ephraim Scudder Green (1810-1868) from Newark, New Jersey in 1832, settled in Quincy, Illinois in 1850, and later gave birth to my great grandfather, Louis Bassett Green (1855-1941).

One disconcerting fact recorded in the Maritime Records is the number of time lags between the sailings for Samuel Jr. There are no sailings for him for the years 1800-1804, 1806-1812, 1814, 1817-1818, and 1820-1825. What did he do during those years when he was not at sea? A search through the Philadelphia city directories does not provide any clues. Strangely, there is no Samuel Bassett listed in the directories until 1813, even though we know he was living there. The following is a tabulation of what is in the directories. The tabulation continues beyond the year of Samuel’s death and until Maria, his wife, is listed finally in 1854. Maria probably died sometime around this last listing.

Unfortunately, the directories do not provide us with any more information about what Samuel, Jr. might have been doing during the gaps between sailings. If Samuel, Jr., the “sea captain,” is the same Samuel Bassett as the one in the 1813-1814 directories, he is listed as an “inn and ferry keeper,” which is not too far away from maritime activity. Ferry work does indeed use some kind of boat. However, according to the directory, he is only listed in this way for two consecutive years.

One thing that should be noted is that the directories list Samuel, Jr. as a “sea captain.” According to the Maritime Records, he was not referred to as captain, but as “mate,” the rank just below a captain. A mate on a sailing ship – sometimes called a first mate, chief mate, or chief officer – is an extremely responsible job. In the absence of, or during the incapacitation of, the ship’s captain, the mate assumes complete control of the ship. In the Philadelphia directories, Samuel, Jr. is described as a sea captain rather than mate, since “mate” would have been a term less understandable to the general public.

One fact that the directories do corroborate is the Marine Records’ 1827 year of Samuel Jr.’s death, based on Maria M. Taney/Brown Bassett being declared a widow in the 1829 directory. Let us assume that it was too late to have the widow information published in the 1828 edition. Therefore, the earliest possible date for the declaration of her widowhood would be the next year, 1829 – the year the directory indeed included that information.

As for Samuel, Jr.’s widow, Maria M. Taney/Brown Bassett, she outlived him by almost 30 years, and continued to occupy the same house -- 81 Green Street -- which she and her husband moved into in 1825, according to that year’s Philadelphia city directory.  We assume that she died around 1854, the last year that her name appears in the Philadelphia city directory.