Benjamin Morrell [SEP] date of death
Benjamin Morrell
Benjamin Morrell (July 5, 1795 – 1838 or 1839?) was an American sea captain, explorer and trader who made a number of voyages, mainly to the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and the Pacific Islands. In a ghost-written memoir, "A Narrative of Four Voyages", which describes his sea-going life between 1823 and 1832, Morrell included numerous claims of discovery and achievement, many of which have been disputed by geographers and historians, and in some cases have been proved false
date is unrecorded. "Christine" was known as a slave ship, which raises the possibility that in his final years Morrell was engaged with the slave trade. Fairhead suggests an alternative hypothesis: that Morrell staged his death in Mozambique, to evade "Margaret Oakley"'s insurers. In this scenario he may have escaped to South America and lived out his days there. A letter dated August 11, 1843, to the editor of "The New York Commercial Advertiser" and signed "Morrell" could, Fairhead maintains,