Mahmud II, Sultan of Ottoman Empire (1839)
Mahmud II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Painting by Henry Guillaume Schlesinger now at the Musée de Versailles was made in 1839, just seven years after Thomas Sr. saw him…
The Sultan’s Imperial Caique (1828)
The Sultan’s Imperial Caique from a painting by Charles MacFarlane, "Constantinople in 1828". It is likely the same one that bears the Sultan close to Barham in 1832, and which…
Enterprise: The First Steam Powered Vehicle (1833)
The first steam powered vehicle able to transport people was built by Walter Hancock in 1833. Just seven years later, Thomas Waters Sr. traveled in a similar vehicle from London…
S.S. Archimedes (1839)
S.S. Archimedes, fitted with Mr. F.P. Smith’s Patent Screw Propeller on her trip from Gravesend to Portsmouth. May 14, 1839. John Waters was building ships at the time in Portsmouth,…
Joseph Miller
This portrait of Joseph Miller, ship building mentor to John Waters, was commissioned by the Institution of Civil Engineers in England, of which Miller was a lifelong member and Council…
Typical Quaker Meeting (1800s)
An artist’s rendering of a typical Quaker meeting such as one the Waters men might have attended, illustrating the meeting hall and attire of men and women. John Waters became…
Lead and Glass Nipple Shield (Mid-1800s)
Glass nipple shield, 1851-1900 Credit: Science Museum, London. Lead and glass nipple shields. 1851-1900. Unknown to women like Elizabeth Waters, who had trouble breastfeeding children, at the time, the lead…
Great Potato Famine (1846)
A food riot in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland, during the famine. The Pictorial Times. October 10, 1846. In 1848, Thomas Waters Jr. would help bring corn and other goods to…
California Gold Rush (1849)
A 1849 handbill from the California Gold Rush. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Long Island whaling captains had the advantage of experience traveling the 18,000 nautical miles around Cape Hope…
Bethiah Jewett Crew & Passenger List (1862)
A copy of the handwritten crew and passenger list for the 1862 voyage to Sydney, Australia that the Waters family took together. In the fifth column, you see under the…
Wealth of Nations Record of Appropriation
The Record of Appropriation for Thomas Jr.’s new ship, Wealth of Nations, official number 54,391. We were unable to find any images of the ship itself, however, this record shows…
Guano Chute at Chinchera Islands
A guano chute or “manguera” on the Chincha Islands. Guano loaded by hand from indentured workers on the islands would be sent down the chute into the holds of waiting…