Ship's Crew
Samuel Anderton
Rank(s): Quartermaster
Dates of Service: -
Birth Date: 1780
Death Date: 9/23/1847
Early Life
Samuel Anderton was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts in about 1780.
Early Experience
Like many young men from Marblehead, Anderton went to sea at an early age. In 1806 he sailed from Boston in the brig Iris as chief mate. They first sailed south to Charleston, South Carolina to take on a cargo of sugar and then headed for Malta. In the straits of Gibraltar the ship was captured by a small Spanish privateer and carried into Algeciras. The ship and crew were kept there for six months until the cargo was condemned and the ship liberated. Anderton and his shipmates finally returned to the United States in 1807, just as the embargo on trade with Europe began. He recovered his wages from the Iris’ owner Henry Gray, but lost the “adventure” or private cargo in sugar that he’d paid $88 for in Charleston.
In 1809 Anderton sailed on the schooner Betsey out of Marblehead.
Anderton joined Constitution’s crew as a quartermaster on October 5, 1813 in Boston. He was transferred to USS Enterprise on July 7, 1815.
The quartermaster was appointed by the sailing master and assisted the master’s mates with their duties. He helped supervise the stowage of ballast and provisions, coiled the anchor cables in the tier, supervised the men at the helm, and kept time with the watch-glasses. A quartermaster made $18.00 per month and received one ration per day. Anderton was a member of the starboard watch.
Battles and Engagements
Anderton was stationed at the wheel during the engagement with HMS Cyane and HMS Levant on February 20, 1815. He shared in the $20,000 in prize money for the Cyane and received $51.81 for Levant.
It is not known how long Anderton remained in the Navy after he left Constitution. He served on USS Enterprise for a time, and served on board the USS North Carolina sometime before 1839. By 1820 he called Marblehead home again. His wife Martha died in the early 1840s and by 1847 Anderton was listed as a pauper stricken with consumption (tuberculosis). He died in Marblehead on September 23, 1847.
Crew ID
341
