Sheppard Bourn – a Story of Impressment at Sea

Sheppard Bourn was the son of Salem and Peggy. His father Salem (DOB 1755) had been enslaved by John Bourne (1708-1788), the “ancestor of all the Bourne families in Wells and Kennebunk”[1] and a major shipbuilder. “A great many vessels of all sizes were built by him, on the Webhannet, Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers. He continued in the business more than fifty years. Most of his sons were educated to the same profession.”[2]

Salem Bourne served in the Revolutionary War in 1778, and married Peg in 1784. Sheppard was born in Wells on May 2, 1787. He was married to Peggy Darling on January 19, 1807.

Shepard went to sea but was impressed by the British Navy in Quebec in June, 1811. He was brought to the Rock of Gibraltar. Aboard the HMS San Juan in Gibraltar in January, 1812,[3] he wrote to his mother c/o Major Cousens in Kennebunk, informing her that he had been impressed onto a British ship, and imploring her to assist him in his desperate situation by enlisting the support of Major Cousens. Shepard had lost his certificate of protection that had been issued in 1804. He sought their assistance in obtaining a copy of that certificate as well as of his marriage, in the hopes of utilizing them to obtain his freedom.

His remarkable letter and the certificates that were provided in response have survived and can be viewed by going to the entry for Sheppard Bourn in the BIPOC database. One document certifies that Shepard was married by Nathaniel Fletcher of the second parish of Wells (the Kennebunk parish), [4] and also his date of birth and parents. The second document is a form completed by Jonas Clark, “Collector for the District of Kennebunk.” It describes “Shepherd” Bourn and certifies that he is a citizen of the United States and is thus entitled to protection under the “Act for the Relief and Protection of American Seaman.” In the description of Shepard, it notes that he was of “Mulatto complexion.” Whereas Sheppard’s father Salem was Negro, then his mother Peggy was presumably white, or possibly more likely, mulatto as well. FMI on Shepard, Salem and Peggy, see their records in the BIPOC database.

Major Nathaniel Cousens (1741 – 1832) “was for many years one of the most prominent and useful of the citizens of Wells; he always lived in the part of town known as Kennebunk….We think that Major Cousens was longer in military service during the Indian and Revolutionary Wars than any other inhabitant of this town….In town affairs major Cousens was held in high esteem.”[5]

I have not located any additional information that would indicate what subsequently transpired, but the survival of his letter and the certificates provided to Major Cousens may indicate that Shepard was freed and returned home.

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1 Edward Bourne, The History of Wells and Kennebunk from the Earliest Settlement to the Year 1820 (Portland: B. Thurston & Company, 1875), 543
2 Bourne, 542
3 Wikipedia: The HMS San Juan, formerly the Spanish ship San Juan Nepomuceno, served as a prison ship at Gibraltar from 1808-1812. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_San_Juan_Nepomuceno
4 The First Congregational Church in Kennebunk, also First Parish of Kennebunk, was previously known as the Second Parish of Wells. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/137009?availability=Family%20History%20Library
5 Daniel Remich, History of Kennebunk from its Earliest Settlement to 1890 (privately published, 1911), 513

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Researched and written by Bill Grabin

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