Her Life at Sea, 1863–1865

The Diary of Ellen M. Starrett
With associated works compiled by her great-granddaughter Elizabeth S. Mills

Nellie’s Diary is at the top of the best sellers list on Swans Island, Maine, October, 2022

Typography and Design by Stephen Stinehour
8 3/4 x 8 inches. 218 pages. A limited edition of 300 copies.

In the 19th century, on the Maine coast, it was not uncommon for a merchant ship captain to bring his wife on extended voyages. Ellen (Cutter) Starrett sailed with her husband, Captain Henry A. Starrett, from 1863 to 1884, crossing the world’s oceans while raising their two children, Anne and Frank, on shipboard. Her exquisitely detailed diary, kept during her first two years at sea, records both the tedium and the excitement of her daily life on the Ship T.J. Southard.

Elizabeth Mills (1928– 2023) grew up in Belfast, Maine, in the house where her great-grandparents settled after living at sea for twenty-one years; in this setting she was steeped in all things nautical. She kept her attachment to the Maine coast, living part of the year on an outside island and sailing the coast with her late husband. Ms. Mills was a long-time teacher with a deep interest in women’s history. In publishing this diary, she brings to the public eye a family’s life on shipboard in the 1860’s.

We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Elizabeth “Libby” Mills on January 12, 2023, a little after noontime.

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