The roots of Paul Magid’s latest book began in 2005, when he found at a flea market what appeared to be a letter written by a whaler who sailed aboard the Northern Light.
The roots of Paul Magid’s latest book began in 2005, when he found at a flea market what appeared to be a letter written by a whaler who sailed aboard the Northern Light.
Twenty years and a lot of research later, Mr. Magid has published Pursuing the Leviathan, which examines the life adventures of Benjamin Clough, a Vineyard whaleman who first set out to sea in 1835 and retired to the Island in 1867 to live out his days as a farmer.
On Tuesday at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Mr. Magid gave a talk about his book and the extensive research that went into writing it. Pursuing the Leviathan is the West Tisbury resident’s fourth book since retiring from government service in 1999.
The sold-out event began with a welcome from Laurel Redington, the director of programming and audience engagement at the museum.
Mr. Magid started his writing journey after a flea market discovery.
Mr. Magid started his writing journey after a flea market discovery.
“We are here to celebrate a brand new book by Paul Magid,” she said. “It is a local and exciting story, and we are so looking forward to it.”
Mr. Magid told the audience that his research began at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in an effort to learn more about the letter he had discovered.
“What I learned was pretty amazing,” he said. “The Northern Light was indeed a whaleship, but the most exciting information was about Benjamin Clough. It turned out he was a hero and, in his time, he was probably the most famous whaling captain on the Island.”
At the age of 23, Mr. Clough helped rescue the ship Sharon and its crew from mutineers. This act of heroism led a handful of whaling opportunities.
Much of Mr. Magid’s research involved connecting with Marston Clough, the great-grandson of Benjamin Clough, who still had several of his great grandfather’s journals. Marston also introduced Mr. Magid to his brothers, Bradford and John, who helped provide more information about their family history.
More talks will take place this summer.
More talks will take place this summer.
“My favorite part was dealing with the family of the captain,” Mr. Magid said. “They were wonderful people, and I learned an awful lot from them.”
“John furnished me with the longitude and latitudes of all of the voyages his great-grandfather had made,” Mr. Magid continued.
But mysteries remained and so Mr. Magid and John Clough searched the internet and local resources, including the Vineyard Haven Cemetery, for more information on the life of Captain Clough.
“I had all these notes from John, and even with all kinds of genealogy and letters and maps, and journals, there were still gaps in the family’s knowledge about the captain’s history,” he said. “John and I worked together to fill them.”
After a successful whaling career, Captain Clough retired to Holmes Hole, now known as Vineyard Haven. From there, he pursued his lifelong dream of being a farmer, becoming one of the earliest members of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society.
“His two careers allow my readers to experience through his eyes, not only the life of a whaling man but life on Martha’s Vineyard in the 19th-century when it was on the verge of changing from an economy based on fishing, whaling and agriculture, to the famous summer resort it is today,” Mr. Magid said.
Paul Magid will give additional talks at Edgartown Books on July 24 and 25.
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