Christian Theodore Pedersen
Encyclopedia
Christian Theodore Pedersen (23 December 1876 – 20 June 1969) was a Norwegian-American seaman, whaling
captain and fur trade
r active in Alaska
, Canada
, and the northern Pacific
from the 1890s to the 1930s. He was called "one of the canniest old skippers in the western arctic" by a contemporary.
, Norway
and left on his first whaling voyage at age 17. By 1908 he was captain of the schooner
Challenge which wintered in the arctic at Herschel island. He was captain of the schooner Elvira in 1912. Pedersen was associated with the early stages of the Canadian Arctic Expedition
under Vilhjalmur Stefansson
whom he had known since 1906. He helped select the steam brigantine Karluk
for the expedition and sailed it from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia
. He resigned before the ship was outfitted and was replaced by Robert Bartlett.
Pedersen then returned to the Elvira for whaling and trading in the arctic in 1913. In August 1913, the Elvira was frozen in and damaged by ice near Icy Reef west of Demarcation Point on Alaska's arctic coast (east of Kaktovik, Alaska
and west of the Canadian border). The ship was further damaged by a storm to the point that Pedersen and her crew were forced to abandon her and seek refuge aboard the Belvedere. Pedersen and Olaf Swenson
of the Belvedere traveled overland by foot and dogsled to Fairbanks
to carry news and arrange relief supplies for the crews on the Belvedere. Sources differ on whether Pederson was owner as well as captain of the Elvira.
Pedersen then signed on as captain of the whaling and trading ship Herman for the H. Liebes Company of San Francisco. The 1914 voyage of the Herman was the subject of a motion picture by Dr. L. Lawrence, a videotape copy of which is held by the University of Alaska. In the course of this voyage, the Herman picked up Captain Robert Bartlett at Emma Harbor
, Siberia
and transported him to St. Michael, Alaska
where Bartlett transmitted to Ottawa
the news that the Karluk had been crushed in the ice and the survivors were marooned on Wrangel Island
off the northern coast of Siberia
.
Pedersen married May Olive Jordan (5/11/1893-4/22/1982), a Canadian nurse, sometime about 1921. Subsequently, she accompanied him on many arctic trips and provided medicines and health services to the natives at their stops. They had one son. Pedersen had several children from previous relationships including sons Ted and Walter who were well-known Alaskans.
Pedersen resigned from H. Liebes Company in 1923 and went into business on his own account with the schooner Ottillie Fjord, which was refitted with an engine and operated as the motor schooner Nanuk in 1924 and 1925. The business was incorporated as the Northern Whaling and Trading Company. A Canadian subsidiary, the Canalaska Trading Company, operated two small trading schooners with the goods transferred at Herschel Island
. The company established trading posts throughout the Kitikmeot
region of Canada
. After 1925 the Nanuk was replaced by the larger Patterson
, formerly a USCGS
survey ship. The Nanuk was sold to the Swenson Fur Trading Company
in 1927. Besides establishing fixed trading posts, Pederson developed a strategy of offering small schooners for trappers. These were built to order in California
and carried to the arctic on the Patterson. The last of these schooners, North Star of Herschel Island, delivered in 1936, is now in private hands in Victoria, BC. Canalaska was sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1936; Pedersen retired from the sea but continued to be involved in the fur trade as a business owner. Pedersen’s trading voyage in 1935 was filmed by his son Ted and videotapes derived from that film are in the collection of the University of Alaska. That archive also has a substantial collection of Pedersen's business records.
Pedersen was killed by intruders in his Pacifica
, San Mateo County, California home on 20 June 1969. His wife was also beaten; she survived but sustained severe injuries and did not live independently again. Two escaped convicts found hiding on the premises were arrested in the crime.
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
captain and fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
r active in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the northern Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
from the 1890s to the 1930s. He was called "one of the canniest old skippers in the western arctic" by a contemporary.
Biography
Pedersen was born 23 December 1876 in SandefjordSandefjord
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and left on his first whaling voyage at age 17. By 1908 he was captain of the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Challenge which wintered in the arctic at Herschel island. He was captain of the schooner Elvira in 1912. Pedersen was associated with the early stages of the Canadian Arctic Expedition
Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1916
The Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1916 was organized and led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The expedition was divided into a Northern Party led by Stefansson, and a Southern Party led by R M. Anderson. The objective of the Northern Party was to explore for new land north and west of the known lands...
under Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a Canadian Arctic explorer and ethnologist.-Early life:Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had emigrated from Iceland to Manitoba two years earlier...
whom he had known since 1906. He helped select the steam brigantine Karluk
HMCS Karluk
The Karluk was an American-built brigantine which, after many years' service as a whaler, was acquired by the Canadian government in 1913 to act as flagship to the Canadian Arctic Expedition. While on her way to the expedition's rendezvous at Herschel Island, Karluk became trapped in the Arctic...
for the expedition and sailed it from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. He resigned before the ship was outfitted and was replaced by Robert Bartlett.
Pedersen then returned to the Elvira for whaling and trading in the arctic in 1913. In August 1913, the Elvira was frozen in and damaged by ice near Icy Reef west of Demarcation Point on Alaska's arctic coast (east of Kaktovik, Alaska
Kaktovik, Alaska
Kaktovik is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 293.-Geography:Kaktovik is located at ....
and west of the Canadian border). The ship was further damaged by a storm to the point that Pedersen and her crew were forced to abandon her and seek refuge aboard the Belvedere. Pedersen and Olaf Swenson
Olaf Swenson
Olaf Swenson was a Seattle-based fur trader and adventurer active in Siberia and Alaska in the first third of the 20th century. His career intersected with activities of notable explorers of the period, and with the Russian civil war. He is credited with leading the rescue of the Karluk...
of the Belvedere traveled overland by foot and dogsled to Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
to carry news and arrange relief supplies for the crews on the Belvedere. Sources differ on whether Pederson was owner as well as captain of the Elvira.
Pedersen then signed on as captain of the whaling and trading ship Herman for the H. Liebes Company of San Francisco. The 1914 voyage of the Herman was the subject of a motion picture by Dr. L. Lawrence, a videotape copy of which is held by the University of Alaska. In the course of this voyage, the Herman picked up Captain Robert Bartlett at Emma Harbor
Providence Bay, Siberia
Emma Harbor, Plover Bay, and Ureliki redirect hereProvidence Bay is a fjord in the southern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula of northeastern Siberia. It was a popular rendezvous, wintering spot, and provisioning spot for whalers and traders in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and transported him to St. Michael, Alaska
St. Michael, Alaska
St. Michael is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 368.-Geography:St. Michael is located at on the east side of St...
where Bartlett transmitted to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
the news that the Karluk had been crushed in the ice and the survivors were marooned on Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island is an island in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. Wrangel Island lies astride the 180° meridian. The International Date Line is displaced eastwards at this latitude to avoid the island as well as the Chukchi Peninsula on the Russian mainland...
off the northern coast of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Pedersen married May Olive Jordan (5/11/1893-4/22/1982), a Canadian nurse, sometime about 1921. Subsequently, she accompanied him on many arctic trips and provided medicines and health services to the natives at their stops. They had one son. Pedersen had several children from previous relationships including sons Ted and Walter who were well-known Alaskans.
Herschel Island
Herschel Island is an island in the Beaufort Sea , which lies off the coast of the Yukon Territories in Canada, of which it is administratively a part...
. The company established trading posts throughout the Kitikmeot
Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories
The Kitikmeot Region was part of the Northwest Territories until division in April 1999 when most of the region became part of Nunavut. It consisted of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion...
region of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. After 1925 the Nanuk was replaced by the larger Patterson
USC&GS Carlile P. Patterson
The USC&GS Carlile P. Patterson was a survey ship of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in operation between 1883 and 1918. Subsequently she had a brief period of naval service and fifteen seasons as a merchant vessel before she was wrecked on the Alaska coast in 1938.-Construction:The...
, formerly a USCGS
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
National Geodetic Survey, formerly called the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey , is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications of science...
survey ship. The Nanuk was sold to the Swenson Fur Trading Company
Olaf Swenson
Olaf Swenson was a Seattle-based fur trader and adventurer active in Siberia and Alaska in the first third of the 20th century. His career intersected with activities of notable explorers of the period, and with the Russian civil war. He is credited with leading the rescue of the Karluk...
in 1927. Besides establishing fixed trading posts, Pederson developed a strategy of offering small schooners for trappers. These were built to order in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and carried to the arctic on the Patterson. The last of these schooners, North Star of Herschel Island, delivered in 1936, is now in private hands in Victoria, BC. Canalaska was sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1936; Pedersen retired from the sea but continued to be involved in the fur trade as a business owner. Pedersen’s trading voyage in 1935 was filmed by his son Ted and videotapes derived from that film are in the collection of the University of Alaska. That archive also has a substantial collection of Pedersen's business records.
Pedersen was killed by intruders in his Pacifica
Pacifica, California
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...
, San Mateo County, California home on 20 June 1969. His wife was also beaten; she survived but sustained severe injuries and did not live independently again. Two escaped convicts found hiding on the premises were arrested in the crime.
External links
- THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A MARINER. Theodore Pedersen's photo archives. Frame of Reference (Newsletter of the Alaska Humanities Forum) v9 (1), April 1998. pp 1, 10-13. Photographs of C.T. and Ted Pedersen, and the ships Elvira and Herman, along with scenes from whaling and trading activities.
- Captain Christian Theodore Pedersen by Captain Sven Johansson with contributions from John MacFarlane 1990; at Nauticapedia. Accessed August 6, 2011. Bio of Pedersen with info not available elsewhere; unsourced. Johansson was the restorer of North Star of Herschel Island (which he purchased in 1967) and Captained John Bockstoce's Belvedere in its traverse of the Northwest Passage.
- Yukon Department of Tourism and Culture L'île Herschel: Qikiqtaruk - Guide du patrimoine historique Article in French; fourth photograph is the Patterson at Pauline Cove, Herschel Island, also has a photograph of the Northern Whaling & Trading Co. warehouse.
- "A race for a fortune" Popular Mechanics July 1927 pp 69-73. Includes a sketch of the Nanuk and a discussion of the unofficial but hotly contested race between the fur trading ships to the Arctic and back. Pedersen a source and the principal subject.
- Whaling in Alaska and the Yukon Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean, mostly late 19th early 20th centuries; context, references about the period. At ExploreNorth.