The Sailor's Wife

Benjamin Duke
oil on canvas
27 x 29
$3,000.00

Peggy Chase was the wife of Owen Chase, who served as first mate on the whaling ship Essex. Peggy and Owen were married in April of 1819, just a few months before Owen set sail on the ill-fated voyage of the Essex. After the ship was sunk by a sperm whale in 1820, Owen and the other crew members were stranded at sea for several months. During that time, Peggy remained in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where she raised their first child and waited anxiously for news of her husband’s fate.

On September 14, 1824, a son William was born and Peggy died two weeks later. She was remembered as a “”lady of more than ordinary intelligence and force of character,”” as well as a “”kind and affectionate wife and mother.”” Peggy Chase was known for her strength, resilience, and devotion to her family.

Information from Nathaniel Philbrick’s book “”In the Heart of the Sea,”” which tells the story of the Essex and its crew. And various internet searches.