The schooner Fame is moored in Salem, Massachusetts at Pickering Wharf. She was built in Essex, Massachusetts by Harold Burnham, and launched in 2003. The Burnhams have been building boats in Essex since the 1640s. The original schooner Fame was an Essex fishing schooner used as a privateer in the War of 1812.
The interesting connection is that Abner Poland III served on board the Fame in the War of 1812 by Abner Poland III of Essex, Massachusetts. I’m descended of his sister, Sally Poland,
I saw in the 1850 Federal census that my 3x great grandfather, Abijah Hitchings of Salem, Massachusetts, was a “gum copal worker.” After doing a double take, I wasn’t sure that I even transcribed these words correctly, so I called over three other people to look at the image on my computer monitor. It seemed to be very clear, but some thought perhaps it could be “gun” or other variations on known words. We looked up copal, but it didn’t seem to make sense.
So I turned to the Google Book Search.
