Starbuck family

The Starbuck family was a prominent Nantucket, Massachusetts, family associated with American and British whaling during the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Several family members operated in the Pacific, where whaling voyages connected Nantucket with the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia, and remote island groups. Their significance rests less on a unified commercial enterprise than on the maritime activities, geographical observations, and historical work of individual family members. Valentine Starbuck, born in Nantucket in 1791, commanded several whaling vessels in the Pacific. In 1823 he served as master of the British whaleship L'Aigle, which had been chartered by Hawaiian King Kamehameha II for a voyage to Britain. The royal party included Queen Kamāmalu and other Hawaiian nobles. Both the king and queen died in London from measles. Valentine was subsequently sued by his employers over the incomplete whaling voyage, an episode that illustrates the commercial and legal risks attached to long-distance whaling expeditions. Valentine had previously sighted a Pacific island that became known as Starbuck Island, or Volunteer Island. When Captain George Anson Byron later encountered the island while returning the bodies of the Hawaiian monarchs to Hawaii aboard HMS Blonde, he applied the name Starbuck in Valentine's honor. Historical accounts also credit Valentine's cousin Obed Starbuck with sighting the island earlier, making attribution uncertain. Obed Starbuck, born in Nantucket in 1797, became one of the family's most consequential navigators. He made multiple Pacific whaling voyages and commanded the Hero, Loper, Rose, and Zone. During the Hero voyage of 1822–1824, the ship returned to Nantucket with 2,173 barrels of sperm oil. On September 5, 1823, Obed reported sighting an island at approximately 5°32' south latitude and 155°5' west longitude, later identified with Starbuck Island, also called Hero Island. Between 1824 and 1826, Obed commanded the Loper. He visited and named islands in the Phoenix and central Pacific regions, including an island he called New Nantucket, later known as Baker Island after its rediscovery by Michael Baker in 1835. He also used the names Loper Island for Niutao and Tracy Island for Vaitupu. Some other islands associated with his reports cannot be identified with certainty because nineteenth-century navigational positions and bearings were imprecise. His work contributed to the mapping of Tuvalu, building on earlier observations by other Nantucket whaling captains. The family’s later historical importance included Alexander Starbuck, who was born in 1841. He initially worked in watchmaking, then entered newspaper publishing and historical research. His 1878 book, History of the American Whale Fishery, became a substantial reference work on the development of American whaling. The Starbuck name also entered literary culture through Starbuck, the chief mate of the Pequod in Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick. The fictional character is not itself evidence of a family-owned brand or company, but it helped give the surname a lasting association with the whaling world. The historical family should therefore be distinguished from modern businesses using the name Starbuck or Starbucks. It is best understood as a maritime family and historical subject rather than as an operating consumer brand.

The Starbucks were descendants of early English settlers on Nantucket and became associated with the island's maritime economy. From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, Nantucket was one of the principal centers of the American whaling industry. Members of the family participated in this industry as shipmasters and navigators, undertaking long voyages through the Pacific and maintaining the commercial links between New England, the Hawaiian Islands, and other Pacific destinations. Valentine Starbuck was born in Nantucket on May 22, 1791. He commanded several whaling ships and became involved in one of the period's notable voyages linking whaling and Hawaiian diplomacy. In 1823, he was captain of the British whaleship L'Aigle, chartered by King Kamehameha II for a journey to Britain. The passengers included the king, Queen Kamāmalu, and members of the Hawaiian nobility. The royal couple died of measles in London. Valentine later faced legal action from his employers, who alleged that he had failed to complete the intended whaling voyage. The date of his death is unknown, although he died in England. Valentine's name became associated with Starbuck Island, a remote Pacific island also called Volunteer Island. He had reported sighting it before the voyage to Britain. Captain George Anson Byron encountered the island while returning the bodies of the Hawaiian king and queen to their homeland aboard HMS Blonde and named it Starbuck. Other historical accounts credit Valentine's cousin Obed with an earlier sighting, so the precise origin of the name and discovery attribution is not entirely settled. Obed Starbuck was born on May 11, 1797, and died on June 27, 1882. He spent many years whaling in the Pacific and made voyages that generated both commercial returns and geographical information. As captain of the Hero from 1822 to 1824, he participated in a voyage that brought 2,173 barrels of sperm oil back to Nantucket. On September 5, 1823, he sighted an island at about 5°32' south latitude and 155°5' west longitude. This island later became known as Starbuck Island or Hero Island. Because reports differ over whether Valentine or Obed first sighted the island, historical references preserve competing claims. Obed's most important exploratory command was the Loper voyage of 1824–1826. He was among the first Europeans recorded as visiting an outlying island in the Phoenix group, which he named New Nantucket. The island was later rediscovered by Michael Baker in 1835 and became known as Baker Island. Obed also named Loper Island, now identified as Niutao, and Tracy Island, now identified as Vaitupu. Other islands mentioned in accounts of the voyage may correspond to Birnie Island or Sydney Island, although the available navigational descriptions do not permit certain identification. His observations helped complete contemporary charting of Tuvalu, extending work previously begun by Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler Independence II. Obed subsequently undertook additional voyages, commanding the Loper from 1829 to 1830, the Rose in 1831, and the Zone from 1843 to 1846. The Rose ran aground during its career. These voyages illustrate the dual role of nineteenth-century whaling captains: they were commercial operators seeking sperm and other whale products, but they also served as observers who recorded coastlines, islands, currents, and maritime routes. Alexander Starbuck, born in 1841 and deceased in 1925, extended the family's contribution into historical scholarship. After working in watchmaking, he entered newspaper publishing and became a historian of American whaling. His History of the American Whale Fishery, published in 1878, documented the industry that had supported Nantucket and placed the family's maritime experience within a broader national history. The surname acquired an additional cultural association through Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, published in 1851. In the novel, Starbuck is the chief mate of the Pequod. The fictional character is part of the literary representation of the whaling industry and should not be confused with a documented corporate activity of the historical family. Overall, the Starbuck family is a historical maritime lineage rather than a continuously operating company, product label, or modern consumer brand.

• 1878

  Alexander Starbuck publishes a whaling history

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Alexander Starbuck published History of the American Whale Fishery, a major historical account of American whaling.

• 1851

  The surname appears in Moby-Dick

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Herman Melville's Moby-Dick featured Starbuck as the chief mate of the Pequod, giving the surname a durable literary association with whaling.

• 1835

  New Nantucket becomes Baker Island

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  The island Obed had called New Nantucket was rediscovered by Michael Baker and subsequently became known as Baker Island.

• 1824

  Loper exploration voyage

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Obed Starbuck began his 1824–1826 command of the Loper, during which he recorded and named islands in the central Pacific.

• 1823

  Valentine Starbuck commands L'Aigle

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Valentine Starbuck commanded the British whaleship L'Aigle during its chartered voyage carrying the Hawaiian royal party to Britain.

• 1823

  Obed Starbuck reports Starbuck Island

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Obed Starbuck reported sighting an island later known as Starbuck Island or Hero Island, although accounts differ over priority with Valentine Starbuck.

• 1822

  Obed Starbuck begins the Hero voyage

  [1]Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org

  Obed Starbuck served as captain of the Hero on a Pacific whaling voyage lasting from 1822 to 1824.

Not a conventional commercial brand. The Starbuck family is historically associated with Nantucket whaling, Pacific navigation, island discovery and naming, Hawaiian royal travel, and the documentation of American whaling.

1. 1Starbuck (whaling family)en.wikipedia.org