Guide to the Lawrence Kearny (1789-1868), U.S. Naval Officer Papers 1814-1844 MG 57
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 1814-1844 MG 57 52 Park Place Newark, New Jersey 07102 Contact: NJHS Library (973) 596-8500 x249 library@jerseyhistory.org https://www.jerseyhistory.org © 2005 All rights reserved. The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher Inventory prepared by James Lewis as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. August 2005. Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English. Biographical NoteLawrence Kearny, the son of Elizabeth Lawrence and Michael Kearny, was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in 1789. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1807 as a midshipman, and in 1809, he served aboard the United States Ships Constitution, and President. In 1810, Kearny was transferred to the Enterprise and was on that ship at the beginning of the War of 1812. In August of 1812, Kearny requested a transfer to the Constitution, but instead was given command of the schooner Caroline, and a year later was promoted to lieutenant. Kearny commanded the Ferret and the Nonsuch for the rest of the War of 1812. Shortly before the war was over in 1815 Kearny gained recognition for capturing a British ship. After a successful expedition against pirates off the southern coast of Cuba in 1821 Kearny was promoted to master commandant, given command of the Warren, and ordered to the Mediterranean Sea to fight Greek pirates preying on international merchant shipping. In 1834, he took command of the Potomac and in 1840, of the Constellation. He was soon sent to Buenos Aires where he became commander of the East India Squadron, consisting of his ship and the Boston, and then ordered to China to defend American mercantile interests during the Opium War (1839-1842). Upon learning that the British had gained preferred trading status with the Chinese at five ports, Kearny took it upon himself to acquire similar privileges for the United States. Ten months later the Chinese granted his request. He then returned to the United States via New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) where he persuaded the British to cease their cessation of the Hawaiian Islands. Kearny continued working for the U.S. Navy after his long journey to and from China. He was President of the Board of Examiners (of naval officers) (1846), member of the lighthouse board and commander of the Norfolk Navy Yard (1847), mayor of Perth Amboy (1848), superintendent of the Atlantic mail ships (1852), and commander of the New York Navy Yard (1857). Kearny retired from the navy in 1861 and was promoted to commodore on the retired list in 1867. That same year he was also appointed to the New Jersey Board of Pilot Commissioners. Lawrence Kearny married Josephine C. Hall in 1834 and together they had two children. Kearny died in Perth Amboy, at the home in which he was born, in 1868. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThis collection consists of six volumes of letter books, a ship log, and a scrapbook kept by Lawrence Kearny from 1814-1844. The collection measures 0.8 linear feet. The papers include 4 letter books, dating from 1814-1844, containing copies of letters written by Lawrence Kearny to various government officials regarding political matters. There are letters to William Delano, Jr., the U.S. Consular agent in Canton, regarding U.S. citizens’s claims for losses incurred by riotous Chinese in 1843; and letters to William Hooper, the U.S. Commercial Agent in Oahu (Hawaii), regarding King Kamehameha III’s cession of power to the United States. There are also letters Kearny wrote regarding sites for lighthouses and a request for musicians for his ship. The ship log, kept for Kearny’s ship the U.S.S. Warren, dates from 1827 to 1828. The log has daily entries in which the officer of the watch notes the weather, water, amount of food on hand, and the latitude and longitude. Beginning on February 23, 1827, the wind directions and course of the ship are noted by the hour. The different officers of the watch also made notations and periodically there are entries indicating the number of sick sailors and officers. The scrapbook kept by Kearny, dates from 1840, and contains wedding announcements, anecdotal press clippings, mostly humorous short stories, and notes on rules that naval officers must follow. Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThere are no access restrictions on this collection. Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff. Use RestrictionsResearchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission. The New Jersey Historical Society complies with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialManuscript Group 55, Thomas Jefferson Boyce (d. 1853), Sailor Journal Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationCustodial HistoryGift, in part, of J. Lawrence Boggs, 1937. Preferred CitationThis collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 57, Lawrence Kearny (1789-1868), U.S. Naval Officer Papers, The New Jersey Historical Society. Container List
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