Beachcombers, Traders & Castaways in Micronesia

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Robert J. Abbott Yap (1870s-1880)

Abbott was a native of Tasmania. Abbott apparently had some legal training, for he served as the attorney for O'Keefe for a few years. He was also certified as a master in the British Merchant Service. He must have first arrived in Yap in the early or mid-1870s. He was the mate on the "Seabird" for a time, and returned from Palau on board the brig "Queen" in 1878. He died on Yap on June 4, 1880. A list of his personal effects is given in the testimony in the "Espiegle Papers".

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: judicial proceedings on the Estate of R J Abbott

Walter Amery, aka "George" Yap (c1882-1884)

Amery was an English attorney and agent for Capelle & Co on Yap. He was said to have been engaged in the Hawaiian labor trade before coming to Micronesia. The year of Amery's arrival in Yap is unknown, but he was there in 1882. In an incident that sparked an investigation by British authorities, Amery was almost drowned by Yapese for cheating them. He and two other traders (Shaw and Holcomb) retaliated by setting fire to two houses and shooting up a village. After an investigation by the British aboard the "Espiegle".

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: judicial proceedings on the case of Amery and Shaw

Boele Yap (1800-1814?)

Boele was one of six white men who landed on Yap in a small boat. After a stay of a few months, Boele's five companions went to sea again. Boele was adopted by a Yapese and chose to stay on Yap.

Sources: Kotzebue 1821: vol 3, 117.

William Bonar Ebon, Yap (1877-1878)

Bonar evidently resided in New Zealand. He was a trader on Ebon in the Marshalls for a short time, January-March 1977. He then was taken to Yap where he was an agent for Thomas Farrell for a little longer than a year. He returned to Auckland aboard the "Vision" in October 1878.

Sources: Young 1878: 13 Sept 1877; New Zealand Herald, 8 Oct 1878

Peter Bowens Woleai (c1878-1880)

Peter Bowens was living on Woleai in October 1880. He was trading for Capelle & Co. He might have been the "old Irishman" who was living on Woleai when Hernsheim visited in 1878. He was still there in October 1880, but this is the last we hear of him.

Sources: Hernsheim 1983: 40; Young 1881: 14 Oct 1880

Thomas Brown (aka Thomas van der Plann) Yap (c1872-1883)

Thomas Brown (born Thomas van der Plann) was born in Holland. He first arrived in Yap about 1872. He was mate on the trading vessel "Eagle" when the ship was attacked by Hermit Islanders, so Brown turned the ship around and headed for Yap. He seems to have remained there since. He was the agent for Hernsheim from 1879 to 1881, and was still residing there in 1883 at the arrival of the British naval ship "Espiegle".

Sources: Hernsheim 1983: 41-2; Swanston 1885: 10 Feb 1884 & 18 Mar 1884.

Arturo Bruggemann Yap (1896-1897)

He was an agent for Jaluit Co, headquartered on Ngingich Island near the port. In 1896 Bruggemann worked on Maap. He served a court summons against Sendker in 1897.

Sources: Christian 1967: 269; AHN Leg 5868, ff 413-6.

John Connelly Satawal (1797)

Connelly, an Irishman, was a convict who was dropped off at Tonga by the ship "Otter" in October 1797 with one other man (William Tucker). A year later he was taken off Tonga by the London Missionary Society ship "Duff" and brought to Satawal in October 1797. He was left on the island.

Sources: Wilson 1799: 298-305

Curley Yap (1884)

Curley came to Yap in January 1884 on the "Colonial." He worked as an agent for O'Keefe for a short time. A month after his arrival he became seriously sick and died on March 23, 1884.

Sources: Swanston 1885: 16 Mar 1884

Easson Yap (1880-1881)

Easson was the first mate of the "Lilla" on her voyage out of Britain in 1880. He arrived in Yap on June 1, 1880. He was the manager of O'Keefe's trading station at Terang for a time, but then moved to a smaller one in July 1880. He left Yap as mate of the "Fortuna" in January 1881 and sailed to the Anchorite Islands where he lived as a trader.

Easson complained that he was defrauded of his wages by O'Keefe. O'Keefe, in turn, claimed that Easson refused to work for him, went on a drunken spree with other whites, and left on the "Fortuna" without paying off his work debt to O'Keefe.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of O'Keefe

Robert Friedlander Yap (1883-c1903)

He was born around 1862 in Germany. Came to Yap in December 1883 on the "Montiara" as the principal agent for Hernsheim and remained there permanently. Was described in the mid-1880s as "about 23 years old--a Jew--a very pleasant young fellow." He had an office in Dulukan. After the Jaluit Company took over Hernsheim's holdings, he remained on Yap to serve as the agent for Jaluit Company until at least 1903. He married a Chamorro woman, Ana Garcia, in 1896. He lived in Rul at that time.

Sources: Christian 1967: 262; Furness 1910: 18,26-28, passim; Swanston 1885: vol 6, 30 Dec 1883; Yap church baptismal records

Grosser Yap (1884)

Grosser arrived in Yap on April 6, 1884 on the "Dora" to take up residence as a trader for Hernsheim.

Sources: Swanston 1885: 10 Apr 1884

Charles Henry Henderson Yap, Palau (1880-1884)

Henderson was an American citizen. At one time he was master of the schooner "Wrecker"

Sources: Swanston 1885: 7 May 1884; LeHunte 1883: statement of McGuinness

Edward Hernsheim Yap (1874-1880s)

Hernsheim was the German founder of Hernsheim & Co. He arrived in Yap in November 1874 and stayed until January 1875 searching for trepang. He may have left shortly after this, but he returned to Yap later and was there in the 1880s.

Sources: Kramer 1917: 161

Crayton Philo Holcomb Yap (1873-1885)

Crayton Philo Holcomb was born in Granby, Connecticut, on January 24, 1830. He signed on a whaleship in 850 at the age of 20 and for the next several years worked on whalers in the Pacific. For a short time he sailed a ship that he bought, but soon sold the vessel and became involved in the China trade. For a time he made Hong Kong his home port and sailed to Melanesia to find mother-of-pearl and other trade goods. In 1873 he moved to Yap, where he established his own trading operations. He married a Chamorro woman, Bartola Garrido, two years later. For the next ten years he competed with O'Keefe and the other trading firms based on Yap for copra. Together with his wife, he petitioned the Spanish to take possession of the Carolines in 1884. He was killed by the islanders of the St. Matthias Group in Melanesia on a trading voyage for pearl shell in 1885.

Sources: Hezel 1975: 3-19

Amos Holsen Holt Yap, Palau (1878-1882)

Holt was a German by birth, although sometimes known as a Dane. He was a naturalized American citizen. He arrived on Yap from Singapore aboard O'Keefe's trading brig "Queen" in 1878. For a time, as an employee of O'Keefe, he was sent to Palau to care for the trading station there, but then was brought back to Yap and put in charge of O'Keefe's trade station at Amun. In 1883 he charged British officials that O'Keefe had beaten him and defrauded him of his wages.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of McGuinness; Hong Kong Telegraph, 17 Apr 1885

Captain Keats Yap (1880)

Captain Keats was the master of O'Keefe's brig "Lilla" in 1880.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of McGuinness

John S. Kubary Pohnpei, Palau, Yap, Nukuoro, Mortlocks, Chuuk, Jaluit (1869-1896)

John S. Kubary was a native of Poland, but a naturalized British citizen. Since 1869 he travelled in the Pacific as a naturalist for Godeffroy Co. He lived in Samoa for six months at the end of 1869, then travelled to Marshalls on "Sofia" in April 1870. In August 1870, Kubary went to Yap, where he spent five months. In January 1871, he went to Palau, staying there for more than two years. In May 1873, he sailed on "Iserbrook" visiting Ulithi, Ngulu, Woleai, Nukuoro, and Mortlocks, arriving in Pohnpei in August 1873. He left Pohnpei a year later in August 1874 on "Alfred" which went aground and went down with many of his specimens. Kubary spent some weeks on Jaluit before sailing for New Zealand in December 1874. After spending some months in Europe during 1875, he sailed back to the Pacific. In late 1875, he stopped at Pohnpei, built a house and established a plantation.

In February 1877 he set out for the Mortlocks where he spent a few months--until the end of May. In May 1878, a year later he left for Chuuk and remained there until August 1879.

He returned to Pohnpei and married Anna Yellot. When the company crashed, Godeffroy & Sons released Kubary, who turned to his plantation. His plantation was destroyed by a typhoon in 1882 and he worked in Tokyo for a few months. He returned to Pohnpei, visited Palau again in early 1883 and remained in the western Carolines until 1885. In September 1885 Kubary went aboard "Albatross" to New Britain and New Guinea. He remained at work in Melanesia until 1892 when he went to Germany for a few months.

He returned to New Guinea and worked there until 1895 when he settled again in Pohnpei. He found that his plantation had been devastated in the uprising against the Spanish. In October 1896, a few months after his return, Kubary committed suicide on the grave of his only son. A daughter was sent to Singapore to be educated in a convent school and later became a nun.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of Kubary; Spoehr 1963: 69-98; Paszkowski 1971

Lansome (Langren? Langham?) Yap (1875)

Lansome was German. He was a sea captain who worked with O'Keefe in the latter's early years on Yap (1875). He was formerly a partner in Webster & Cook, a concern owned by Celebes Trading Co of Singapore.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of David O'Keefe; Hong Kong Telegraph, 17 Apr 1885

Evan Lewis Jaluit, Palau, Yap, Pohnpei, Lamotrek (c1870-1895)

Evan Lewis was a Welshman, born in 1855. In the 1870s he served as an engineer on a steam launch that operated in Samoa under Captain Heinburger. He lived on Jaluit for a while. Came to Palau on the brig "Susannah" to trade for Capelle & Co, along with David Martens, his partner. After a quarrel with Martens, Lewis came to Yap where he settled for a time. His first arrival in Yap must have been during the late 1870s. He also spent time on Palau as an agent for Capelle & Co. He arrived in Palau on "Susannah", perhaps as early as 1876 but certainly before 1880. He left for Pohnpei aboard the "Matilda" in 1880. He returned to Yap later that year and went almost directly to Lamotrek, where he served as resident trader from 1880 to 1883. Lewis married a Chamorro woman and had a large family by the time F. W. Christian met him in the early 1890s. Lewis was living in Yap, working in Ngingich, but doing trading runs to the outer islands now and then.

Lewis was described in a statement given aboard the British naval ship "Espiegle" in 1883: "Lewis is aged 28, medium height, light build, dark hair, good looking, has some education, knows navigation, well behaved but drinks."

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of Charles Ingalls; Young 1881: 20 Oct 1880; Christian 1967: 238

K. Liddell Woleai (1880)

K. Liddell was trading for Capelle & Co on Woleai in Ocober 1880.

Sources: Young 1881: 14 Oct 1880

Andrew Lind Lamotrek (1797)

Andrew Lind was a Swede who was left on Lamotrek by the mission ship "Duff" in October 1797. Lind had previously lived in Tahiti, coming there in 1792 on the "Matilda." He was picked up there by the "Duff" in 1797 and brought to Lamotrek. Lamotrek was once known as "Swede's Island" in his honor.

Sources: Wilson 1799: 298-305

John McGuiness Yap (1880-1883)

John McGuiness was born in Ireland in 1864. He was working for O'Keefe on Yap in the early 1880s. He brought one of O'Keefe's ships to Palau in 1880 to take four of his men off his schooner "Lilla" after it was wrecked off Palau. In 1883 he served as the mate of the English vessel "Beatrice" under Captain Williams, and was accused of mistreating his Yapese crew on this voyage.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of David O'Keefe

John Nash Yap (1873-1878)

John Nash was an agent for Godeffroy on Yap, one of the first on the island. He may have begun trading there as early as 1869. He was assigned to another island in 1872, but returned to Yap in 1873 on "Iserbrook." After a brief trip to New Britain on a trading voyage that year, he returned to Yap. He left Yap in January 1878 on "Pacific" and took up a trading station in Melanesia.

Sources: Young 1878: 15 Jan 1878; Wawn 1974: 95; Hernsheim 1983: 57, 119

David Dean O'Keefe Yap (1872-1901)

David Dean O'Keefe was born in Ireland in 1828 (or 1824). He immigrated to the US in 1848 and made his home in Savannah. He captained ships in the off-shore trade. In 1871, he set sail on the "Belvedere" for Manila. In 1872, he first arrived on Yap aboard the junk "Wrecker". He worked in Yap until at least 1875 for Webster & Cook of Singapore. After this he began trading on his own. O'Keefe established a string of trade stations on Yap, Palau and Mapia. He acquired several small vessels during this period which he used to visit his stations and bring his copra to Hong Kong. He came to dominate the copra trade on Yap through his strategy of providing Yapese with transportation to Palau for the quarrying of the stone cylinders that were used as money. O'Keefe was married to a woman on Mapia, but his second wife (Dalibu) lived with him on Yap and ran his home and headquarters at Terang Island in Yap Harbor. O'Keefe, always the center of controversy, was charged by other traders with a vast array of crimes, but most of the charges were dismissed by British authorities. O'Keefe had several children, who lived with him on Yap. He died while at sea in a typhoon in 1901, leaving a fortune of at least half a million dollars.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of David O'Keefe; Hezel 1983: 263-268, 277-278.

Peter Olsen Yap (1880)

Peter Olsen was a Norwegian sailor who arrived in Yap with John McGuiness aboard the "Lilla" in 1880. Olsen was a young man at the time. He was reported to have been forcibly detained on Yap by Henderson, who was a trading agent on Mapia.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of John McGuiness

Parish Yap (1883)

Parish was the supercargo of the "Fluellen," which was at Yap sometime during 1883. Although Parish was probably on the island for only a short time, he was charged with firing on some Yapese after having been assaulted by the brother of a man he struck.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: report of the cruise, 49

John Rees Kapingamarangi, Chuuk, Faraulep, Nukuoro, Marshalls, Yap (1877-1883?)

John Rees, a Welshman, first came to Micronesia in 1877 as mate of the "Tetuila." He had been in Samoa previous to this. He may have stayed with the ship in the Marshalls for the first year, but in 1878 he moved to Pohnpei as an agent for Capelle & Co. He stayed on Pohnpei for an indefinite period of time before moving to Nukuoro in June 1880. There he found a wife, Nuli, whom he took with him to his other posts. He may have also visited Kapingamarangi at this time. He supposedly also spent two months in Yap--September to November 1880. In June 1881, he moved to the Mortlocks to work as an agent at the same time that George Barrows was trading on Namoluk. In 1882 Rees left the Mortlocks and returned to Kapingamarangi. While there he reputedly had his trading rival, George Barrows, drowned by the local people and Barrows' two Gilbertese helpers killed. Rees left Kapingamarangi for Pohnpei on the "Beatrice" and then shipped aboard the "Caroline" as its mate. He was wrecked in Faroulep in 1883 and forced to remain on that island for a time. There is no word of him after that.

Rees was described as "a middle-aged man, nostrils affected by syphilitic cancer, tattoed with an elephant dancing girl, has the appearance of a heavy drinker--swaggering gait--wear rings--ears pierced...usually dressed in shirt, trousers and monkey jacket--slouched straw hat without ribbon--shirt open at the breast." [Deryck Scarr, "Fragments of Empire," 118]

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: 28, 55, statement of James Curry, statement of Ilaisa Mativa; Westwood 1905: 135-139

Sanders Yap (1880)

Sanders was trading on Yap in 1880, pssibly working for Hernsheim.

Sources: Hernsheim 1983: 125

Captain Schroeder Yap (1880?)

Captain Schroeder was on Yap for at least a short time before 1883. He was said to have been defrauded of his nautical instruments by O'Keefe, according to charges raised with the British naval ship that visited in 1883.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of John McGuiness

Thomas George Shaw Yap (1875-1899)

Shaw was born in Liverpool, England, in 1820. He first came to the Pacific in the early 1850s. He was living in Hermit Islands as a trader for Godeffroy & Sons in 1874 when he was hired by Hernsheim. He first came to Yap with O'Keefe in June 1875. He worked there for Hernsheim until 1880, perhaps even longer. He was generally friendly to O'Keefe, swearing an affidavit against Holcomb in May 1885 over a dispute between the traders. In 1886 he was living in Guror at the southern end of the island. He had a 28-year-old son. Married a woman by the name of M. Emma, a woman from another island,in 1888. Shaw died in 1899.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement by Thomas Shaw; Hernsheim 1983: 21-22, 41; AHN Leg 5353, ff 556-562

Joseph Silva Faraulep, Pohnpei (1880)

Joseph Silva arrived in Yap in April 1880 from Pohnpei. He came aboard the "Beatrice" to act as a trading agent for Capelle & Co. By October 1880 he was trading on Faraulep.

Sources: Young 1881: 11 Oct 1880

James Simpson Palau, Yap (1863-1866?)

James Simpson was living on Palau in late 1863. He traded for Andrew Cheyne occasionally but also was an independent agent. He remained in Koror until Cheyne's murder in early 1866. He went to Yap soon after this with Davy and Gibbons, but does not seem to have ever returned to Palau.

Sources: Stevens 1867

Andrew Spiers Yap (1883-1890s)

Andrew Spiers was born in Hamburg, Germany. He arrived in Yap in November 1883 as supercargo of the cargo ship "Agnes Edgell" for Deutsche Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft. He stayed on Yap to oversee the trade stations there for DHPG. Spiers was involved in DHPG's claim of Obi Islands in Tomil Harbor from 1886 to 1888. He continued living and working on Yap after this, we may presume.

Sources: Costa y Martinez 1886: 54; Swanston 1885: 26 Nov 1883; AHN Leg 5354, ff 675-736.

R. S. Swanston Yap, Jaluit (1882-1884)

R. S. Swanston was born on December 16, 1825. Swanston shipped about the Pacific when he was young. He spent at least two years (1856-1857) in Samoa. In June 1882 he came to Jaluit "to get as far as possible from civilization". He worked there as an agent of Capelle & Co. until Feb. 12, 1883. He left for Yap at this time on the "Maria Louisa" and lived there for over a year as a trader for Capelle & Co. He departed Yap in May 1884.

Sources: Swanston 1885: Feb 1883-May 1884

W. Tennant Yap, Majuro (1878-1881)

W. Tennant was a Scotsman who practiced carpentry. He was brought from Singapore to Yap by O'Keefe in 1878. He remained on Yap only three months before leaving on the brig "Vision." His rapid departure was blamed by other traders on O'Keefe, who was said to have stolen his carpentry tools. He must have gone to the Marshalls from Yap, since he was working on Majuro as a trader for Hernsheim Co. in June 1881.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of John McGuiness; Hong Kong Telegraph, 25 Apr 1885; Maxwell 1881

Harry Terry Yap, Mapia, Nauru, Banaba, Kosrae (1874-1882?)

Harry Terry was an Englishman from Worwich. He was said to have served as a sailor at HMS "Seringapatam". He left England in 1832, probably bound for Australia. He may have been sent to Australia as a convict. It is said that Terry, along with 15 other escape convicts from Australia arrived at Nauru on a whaleship in 1845. Many of Terry's companions met violent deaths in Nauru, and after 3 or 4 years, Terry and five others moved to Banaba. One source (Mallard) claims that they cut off the whaleship "Inga" of New Bedford and masaccred the crew in December 1852.

Terry was living on Kosrae in 1874 at the visit of the HMS "Rosario". He was married to a woman from Nauru. Terry may have spent some time in the Marshalls. He may be the "Harry" who was brought from the Marshalls to the Western Carolines aboard the "Agnes Donald" in March 1877. Terry was the resident trader on Mapia for Capelle & Co. in the late 1870s when O'Keefe met him and took him into his employment. Terry reported brought thirty Nauruans with him to Mapia. O'Keefe married Terry's daughter, Charlotte. Terry presumably continued trading as O'Keefe's agent in Mapia for years afterwards.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of John McGuiness; Young 1878: 19 Mar 1977; Bowles 1854: 22 Nov 1853; Goodenough 1875

Alfred Tetens Yap, Palau (1862-1867)

Alfred Tetens was a German sea captain from Hamburg. Andrew Cheyne met him in Manila and hired him to serve as a master of his ship "Acis". Tetens also served as a captain of another of Cheyne's vessels, the "Perseverancia" in 1862-1863. Tetens was homeported in Palau and spent most of his time there during this period. Tetens oversaw the cotton and tobacco plantations in Palau. In 1865, he went to work with Godeffroy & Son and was put in command of the brig "Vesta". He traded throughout the Carolines at this time visiting Palau frequently. In 1867 he left the Pacific to return to Hamburg.

Sources: Tetens 1958

William Tucker Satawal (1797)

Wiliam Tucker was left on Satawal by the missionary ship "Duff" in October 1797. The island was named Tucker's Island for him.

Sources: Wilson 1799: 298-305

Williams Woleai (1875)

Williams was an Englishman living on Woleai in 1875 at the visit of the "Rupak".

Sources: Robertson 1877: 50

C.H. Winter Yap (1878-1879)

C.H Winter was described as a "countryman of Amos Holt." Holt was a German by birth but a naturalized US citizen. O'Keefe brought Winter, along with Holt and Tennant, from Singapore to Palau and Yap in 1878. Winter and Holt were stationed at Amun on Yap. In 1879 Winter left O'Keefe to join another firm on Yap. Eventually, he left Yap on the German schooner "Pacific".

Sources: AHN Fil 5354; clippings from Hong Kong Telegraph

Thomas Wyllie Yap, Palau (1882)

Thomas Wyllie was a British subject. He came to Yap in early 1882, at the age of 16, aboard a British bark "Fluellen". With him came a Spaniard by the name of Antonio. Wyllie remained in Yap 3 months before leaving for Palau.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of Thomas Wyllie

Ernst Yonnginger (Zonnginger?) Yap (1880-1882)

Yonnginger, was a German who came to Yap on the schooner "Lilla" in April 1880. He served as O'Keefe's bookkeeper in 1880-1881. He left Yap aboard the American schooner "Pearl" in late 1881 or early 1882, purportedly because of disgust at O'Keefe alleged atrocities. O'Keefe, however, claimed that he obsconded with a large sum of money that he had embezzled.

Sources: LeHunte 1883a: statement of John McGuiness

? Woleai (1878)

An unnamed Englishman was put ashore on Woleai as a resident trader in early 1878. He was a trader for Hernsheim. Another resident trader was already living on the island.

Sources: Hernsheim 1983: 40

John ? Woleai (1804)

An Englishman by the name of John was brought from Guam on the "Maria" in 1804 to live on Woleai. He accompanied the Lt. Gov. Torres of the Marianas. John was a blacksmith who chose to live on Woleai to teach his people his trade. He also brought paddle & pigs, which the islanders eventually killed when they began destroying crops. He was called "Lisol" by the local people. By the time Kotzebue visited Guam in 1817 John had died.

Sources: Kotzebue 1821: vol 3, 114.