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No restrictions. Open for research.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the William Augustus Heermance African Travel Journal #05016, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Provenance

Purchased from Terry L. Alford of Annandale, Va., in March 2000 (Acc. 98583).

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

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• Africa, West--Commerce--United States.
• Africa, West--Description and travel.
• Africa, West--Social life and customs--19th century.
• African American sailors--History--19th century.
• Cargo ships--United States--History--19th century.
• Gabon--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Gabon--Description and travel.
• Gabon--Social life and customs--19th century.
• Ghana--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Ghana--Description and travel.
• Ghana--Social life and customs--19th century.
• Guinea, Gulf of--Navigation.
• Heermance, William Augustus, fl. 1846-1847.
• Journals.
• Liberia--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Liberia--Description and travel.
• Liberia--Social life and customs--19th century.
• Missionaries--Africa, West--History--19th century.
• Montgomery (Ship).
• Principe (Sao Tome and Principe)--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Principe (Sao Tome and Principe)--Description and travel.
• Principe (Sao Tome and Principe)--Social life and customs--19th century.
• Sao Tome and Principe--Commerce--History--19th century.
• Sao Tome and Principe--Description and travel.
• Sao Tome and Principe--Social life and customs--19th century.
• Voyages and travels--History--19th century.

William Augustus Heermance (fl. 1846-1847) of New York was supercargo in 1846-1847 on the Montgomery, an American cargo ship that traded along the coast of West Africa. The Montgomery, commanded by Captain Hooper, carried goods assigned to George R. Sheldon. Heermance was the son of William P. Heermance and Rachel Hardee Heermance, who are buried in Nassau County, New York. He had one brother, Thomas Henry Heermance, and eight sisters, Caroline Heermance (married Robert H. Stewart); Margaret Heermance (married Dr. R. C. Reynolds); Mary Ann Heermance (married Mr. Branch); Christine Heermance; Amelia R. Heermance (married William Clark); Jane Heermance; Eliza Heermance (married Peletiah Ward); and Maria Heermance.

African travel journal, 21 August 1846-11 April 1847, kept by William Augustus Heermance while supercargo on the Montgomery, an American vessel that traded along the coast of West Africa. The journal (original, 44 p.; transcription 34 p.) best documents the Montgomery's sea voyage from New York to Liberia and its trading activities along the coasts of Liberia, Ghana, and Gabon, and on the islands of Principe and Sao Tome in the Gulf of Guinea. Only one entry pertains to the return sea voyage. Journal entries vary from daily to weekly. They are brief, but detailed, and offer considerable information on locations visited, including descriptions of local buildings and internal improvements; means of transport by land and sea; local merchants, trade officials, tribal leaders, missionaries, and colonists; and inhabitants' social customs, religious practices, and modes of dress and adornment. There is limited information on the ship's crew (African American sailors and temporary workers hired along the coast); Captain Hooper and occasional passengers; the diet aboard ship; and the sale and purchase of cargo.