Lancey, Thomas Crosby, 1824-1885.

Lancey was born in 1824, and was a native of Dover, ME; entered merchant service at an early age and served on voyages to Havana, the Netherlands, France and China; entered the US Navy on Apr. 26, 1846 as baggage master on the North Carolina, serving until July 3, when he was transferred to the U.S. Sloop of War Dale as captain's coxswain; the Dale sailed from the Brooklyn Navy Yard on June 6, 1846 to take re-enforcements to Commodore Sloat's Pacific squadron; Lancey served on board while taking in the action of Muleje, Lower California and the bombardment of Guaymas, Mexico; he kept a journal of daily occurrences which formed the basis of the three volume manuscript, The cruise of the Dale, some of which Hubert Howe Bancroft used in preparing his history of California; after his discharge from the US Navy on March 13, 1849, Lancey kept a store for Hoyt and Smith near Sacramento, and ran the first stage to the gold mines; in 1851 he settled in San Francisco, where he became a painter and mining agent; he continued to collect clippings from newspapers and information from his fellow veterans; he died in 1885.

From the description of Papers, 1846-1855. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 39214986

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