William Martin's 1887 Whaling Voyage Main Menu William Martin Biography of William Martin The 1887 Voyage Whaling in the 19th Century Acknowledgments and Site Information Providence Public Library

William and Sarah Martin in Providence

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In spite of Martin's increasing success as a whaleman in Martha's Vineyard, it seems that he and his wife Sarah relocated briefly to Providence. The 1880 census records William and Sarah living at 61 South Main Street, together with Sarah's brother and sister and her two daughters and another woman (Lottie Jenks[?]) who was apparently the household's domestic servant. The census entry provides some interesting additional details. For instance, while William Martin's brother-in-law describes his occupation as "whaler," Martin describes himself as a "seaman" who has been unemployed for 4 months.

In addition to the extended Martin family, the 61 South Main location was shared with another Black family of four. Together with the Martins they make up the only Black residents in the area, and a fire insurance map published in 1889 gives an indication of why. The building at 61 South Main is described as "Colored Boarding House." It lies at the intersection of South Main and Jenkins Street, and abuts a paint shop one one side and the Providence Steam Print Works to the back. Other businesses in the block include a coffee roaster and the "American Solid Leather Button Company." 

It's easy to imagine the cacophony of sights and sounds that would have been created just by the businesses in the single block on which the Martins lived during their stay in Providence. Their boarding house was less than a thousand feet from the Market House and one of the busiest commercial squares in the city. Train tracks ran behind the building beside the busy canal; across the street were some of the city's busiest banks. An 1882 atlas of Providence provides details of the area, and the building in which the Martins resided is labelled "Babbit."

A photograph from the 1860s gives a sense of the area. The boarding house would have been in one of the buildings on the far side of the river, beyond the river and train tracks.
 

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