Women's Roles

Anne Atherton Starrett spent many of her early years sailing with her family. Her father was Captain Henry Starrett of Belfast, and her mother was Ellen Mary Starrett. This chest is made of wood with a canvas cover and stenciled with Anne's initials.

Micronesia refers to a region in the Pacific Ocean containing thousands of small islands. It lies east of the Philippines and northeast of Indonesia. Some of the island groupings within Micronesia are the Caroline Islands, the Gilbert Islands, and the Mariana Islands. Micronesia is distinct from Melanesia to the south and Polynesia to the east. This image is from Hammond's Unabridged Atlas and Gazeteer of the World, published by C. S. Hammond & Co., Inc., New York, 1924, page 90. (Collections of Penobscot Marine Museum)

This model was built by Captain Henry A. Starrett of Belfast aboard ship. Construction took 7 years and was done at sea while serving as Master of the Thayer and the Levi G. Burgess. The model has carved ivory fittings and silk and wire rigging. Starrett was the master of the Frank N. Thayer from 1874-1878. The vessel was the first one of that name, built for Thayer & Lincoln, a Boston firm, in Kennebunkport in 1868. A 1160 ton vessel, she was succeeded by a larger 1648 ton vessel of the same name built in Newburyport in 1878.