Lucie Gifford left New Bedford in 1857 on the whaling ship HOPE as a newlywed. When she returned 7 1/2 years later, she was a mature wife who had experienced long months at sea and made friends on many South Pacific islands. She had given birth to 4 children and became a true partner of her husband. Captain Leonard Gifford. We will learn about her life using the best of primary records, personal correspondence, as well as newspaper reports, and other legal documents. This case study will leave you wishing you could have known this brave local woman. 

 

Sara Campbell is an author, educator, and editor. She started studying whale ships while living on a Pacific island herself. She is a member of the Historical Commission in her hometown of Erving, MA.