Person:Philip Bessom (1)

Philip Bessom

Got Their Money Back

The heirs of Captain Philip Besom Jr., whose vessel, the Hannah, was captured by the French about a hundred years ago have at last received their share of the French Spoliation Claims. Atty. Seccumb, who has had charge of the case, succeeding in settling afafirs in about two years, and the sum involved has been divided among the sixty or more heirs. There are four heirs in Marblehead. Messrs. Joshua L, Eleazer and Philip E. Graves and Mrs. William Caswell. It was rather singular that in the final settlement not a Marbleheader named Bessom should have received a share" ( Marblehead Messenger, 26 January 1900)

And from the book "The Quiet Adventurers in North America" by Marian Turk: "There are thousands more descendents of the above (Besom) family in America. An interesting list of some of the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren about the year 1899, is included in a record named Distribution of Award by Congress, in behalf of the next of kin of Captain Philip Bessom, late of Marblehead, Mass, who died 1839. Evidently, he was of some service to the American government and was awarded long after his death $23, 180, which was divided between 65 descendants, in amounts varying between $26.65 and $639.51. The surnames involved are listed alphabetically below, with the towns where the recipients resided. Please note that while these descendants of the Bisson family in Jersey, there are others not listed:

Bubier, Lynn, MA Caswell, Lynn and Mhead, MA Cogswell, Dayville, CT Colby, Lynn, MA Collyer, Lynn and Revere, MA Dennis, Peabody, Manchester, MA also Clayville, VA and in NY Graves, Mhead, Allston and Lynn, MA Green in RI Harris, Taunton, MA Haskins, Richmond, VA Haywary, Middletown, CT Heath, East Douglas, MA Homan, Albany, NY Hoskins, Cawnpore, India Howard, Wilmot, NH Knight, Boston, MA Lovejoy, RI & Thomsonville, CT Lyon, in Lynn,Stoneham, Ipswich, MA and St. Paul, MN Maxwell, Lynn, MA Miller, Baltimore, MD Parsons, Baltimore, MD Ploof, Lynn, MA Quarles, Richmond, VA Rosencrantz, Richmond, VA Roundy, Wilcox, AZ Seccomb, Boston, MA Shillito, Cincinnati, OH Shumway, Vassar, MI; ATtleboro, MA; Dayville, CT; Evanston, ILL; Plymouth, MA; Danielson, CT Simonds, Lynn, MA Stevens, Danielson, CT Stinness, RI Stokes, Dayville, CT Tyler, Highland Park, Richmond, VA

Database: Massachusetts Historical Society Format: Manuscripts Call number(s): Besom Author/Creator: Besom, Philip. Title: Philip Besom narrative, 1841. Physical Description: 1 vol. in a case. Scope: Personal narrative of Capt. Philip Besom of Marblehead, Mass. recounting his experiences during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The diary-like narrative was recorded by Amos Lawrence in 1841. Besom described his life as a sailor from 1771-75; joining Daniel Hitchcock's Regiment (later the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment) in Roxbury, Mass. in 1775; various privateering expeditions, 1777-83, in the privateer Satisfaction, brig Fanny, and ships Aurora, Brandywine, Freemason, and Monmouth; capturing British ships; and his own capture and imprisonment in Jamaica. Besom also briefly described commanding a privateer during the War of 1812. Additional forms available: Published in MHS Proceedings, v. 5, 1862. Local notes: Old shelf marks: 61.2.16, 27.8. Subject(s): Aurora (Ship : 1780). Brandywine (Ship). Fanny (Brig). Freemason (Ship). United States. Continental Army. Rhode Island Regiment, 2nd Monmouth (Ship). Satisfaction (Privateer). Ocean travel--Diaries. Prisoners of war--Diaries. Privateering--United States. Sailors--Diaries. Soldiers--Diaries. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Naval operations. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Personal narratives. United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Prisoners and prisons. United States--History--War of 1812--Naval operations. United States--History--War of 1812--Personal narratives, American.

"Salem June 28 1820, arrived at Marblehead, Monday evening, brig Dido, Bessom, 43 days from Cadiz, having sailed 13th May" along with description of political situation in Cadiz as published in Gettysburg Compiler (Gettysburg PA) July 5, 1820 via Ancestry.com

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com - OneWorldTree (discontinued in 2013): - extremely unreliable source.

   Online publication - Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc.

2. ↑ russell.FTW.

   Date of Import: Mar 16, 2002