Chatham Sea Captains in the Age of Sail chronicles the lives and adventures of twenty-five men who traveled the seas from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. These were extraordinary menmasters of navigation who charted paths from the Cape to the Far East with their regal clipper ships; deep-sea fishermen whose fearless spirit drove them to the Grand Banks and Newfoundland in the quest for their catch; and coastal captains who skirted Americas eastern seaboard in pursuit of trade. Spurred on by the Industrial Revolutions demands, these mariners continued their pelagic exploration while pirates, privateers and Confederate raiders tested their mettle. The sea was both foe and ally. To meet the foe was the challenge; to sail her waters and return home as true masters was the force that drove these men to excellence.

Dolor Davis, master carpenter, arrived in Massachusetts from England in 1634 CE. Thousands of his direct descendants currently live in America. The author has spent 25 years researching historical documents in England to shed new light on Dolor's life before he immigrated to New England. The author's research results both corrects and updates all previous books and genealogies previously written about Dolor and his wife, Margery (Willard) Davis, including the first accurately published vital statistics for their four "English-born" children, and their residences within Sussex County, England. Nicholas Davis, international merchant mariner, is the author's 8th-great grandfather who lived near his relative, Dolor Davis, in Barnstable, Massachusetts from 1643 CE to 1670 CE. The bulk of this ebook covers the fascinating lives of Nicholas Davis, his family, and many of his descendants. The reader will discover how "Quaker" Nicholas Davis positively impacted the formation of New England's Colonies through his honest trading relationships, his deep friendship with the native Wampanoag people, and by his philanthropy. Included in this ebook are very interesting stories and first hand accounts of Nicholas Davis' descendants who were abducted by pirates, and who survived perilous seafaring journeys to South America, among other narratives.

Thomas Hatch (ca.1598-ca.1661) and his family immigrated from England to Dorchester, Massachusetts about 1630/1632, moving in 1630 to Yarmouth on Cape Cod, and in 1641 to Barnstable, Massachusetts. Lewis Hatch 1747-1847) served in the Revolutionary War, married twice, and moved from Massachusetts to South Granville, New York. Descendants and relatives of Thomas lived in New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Louisiana and elsewhere. Some descendants immigrated to Ontario and elsewhere in Canada.