Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers
The Rise and Fall of a River Port
1783-1850
by Margaret B. Schram
with a new foreword by Carole Osterink
ISBN 9781883789398, $29.95, 226 pp, 8 ½ x 11, 200 Illus.

The remarkable story of the seaport far from the sea—the City of Hudson, 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, founded in 1783 by seafaring Quaker emigrants from Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and New Bedford who transformed a sleepy boat landing “at the head of navigation on the Hudson River” into a booming city and a bustling port that rivaled the port of New York City. Ships sailed from Hudson on whaling and sealing voyages to the south Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and traded with ports of call in Europe and the Caribbean, returning to Hudson with exotic goods, barrels of whale oil and tons of “whale bone,” and harrowing tales of encounters with pirates, corsairs, slave traders, cannibals, enraged whales, and the navies of unfriendly nations. Shipyards, candle factories, rope walks, and warehouses clustered near the port, while stately mansions and glittering storefronts were raised on the hills above. Then, it all came tumbling down and by 1850 the “miracle city” faced a very uncertain future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret B. Schram was a lifelong resident of Columbia County and had researched the history of the City of Hudson and its role in early American whaling for more than fifty years. Mrs. Schram wrote hundreds of newspaper articles on Hudson’s history and lectured on whaling at numerous Hudson Valley museums and schools. She was a member of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Nantucket Historical Association, the Columbia County Historical Society, and Historic Hudson.


REVIEWS
“Margaret Schram’s Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers allows for exactly the type of systematic documentation of people and vessels that the history of the port demands. … In this book Margaret Schram has uncovered documentation of Hudson voyages in the late 18th century and in the early years of the 19th. … This information about these voyages has never before been published in any other whaling history, making Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers a valuable reference tool and important addition to any whaling history library.” Michael P. Dyer, New Bedford Whaling Museum

“Margaret Schram tells the history of Hudson’s early days of glory in a fascinating manner that keeps your attention riveted to the page. … In her careful research she has uncovered heretofore unknown documentation which will make this book an important inclusion at any maritime library. This is not only a book whose good looks will decorate a coffee table, but it is a book to be thoroughly read and enjoyed.”----Columbia County History and Heritage, Summer 2004

“Margaret Schram brings historical rigor and a great narrative sense to her new book on Hudson’s role in the whaling industry.----(Albany) Times Union, 5/23/04

“The book is noteworthy for its excellent artwork and for the uniqueness of its story. …Schram’s intriguing picture of whaling arises from careful and persistent research. … Some of the Hudson Sailors’ experiences make those in Melville’s Moby Dick look like a visit to Sea World. … Schram is a good writer and offers just the right amount of information.”----The Sunday (Schenectady) Gazette, 5/16/04

“Margaret B Schram has produced what we think will become an important new resource for those who wish to know more about the first days of the city of Hudson.” editorial, Register-Star, April 25, 2004

“This book reads like fiction [and] is lavishly illustrated.”----Taconic Press, May 2004

“ It is indeed a fascinating story. … an extremely compelling read. Mrs. Schram has made the people in these historical documents come alive … She paints very vivid portraits of the various characters who shaped the city’s history… Hudson’s Merchants and Whalers is a must-have book for anyone interested in maritime history or whaling history.”----Catskill Region Guide, April 2004