Long before Bristol's Charlie Enright led his crew to a third consecutive podium finish in the rough waters at the edge of the Volvo Ocean Race's Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone, another Bristolian made a name for himself on the ice at the other end of the Earth.

2018 marks the 210th year since John deWolf, aka Nor'west John, returned from an epic around-the-world voyage, during which he became the first American to make an overland crossing of Siberia.

With the law of the land forcing the deWolf family to diversify their slave trading interests, a plan was made to establish a triangle trade in the northwest, trading New England goods for furs, then taking the furs to Asia and trading for Chinese goods that would be highly marketable back in New England.

In 1804, brothers James and Charles deWolf, along with nephew George (who would commission architect Russell Warren to Build Linden Place in 1810) purchased the 206 ton ship Juno. Principal shareholder James named his nephew John, son of his late brother Simon who died during the Revolution, captain of the Juno.

Laden with guns, tobacco, dried beef, molasses, onions, and other provisions, John and his crew set off in August of 1804. He would not reach Vancouver until April the following year, followed by what is now known as Sitka, Alaska in August. They spent many months in the region, where John and other members of the expedition would record their fascinating first impressions of the Kolosh, Aleuts, and Kodiak people, as well as the Russians manning the local fort, one of whom purchased the Juno from John for nearly twice what it cost the deWolf family to purchase and provision the ship in the first place.

Eventually, John would take another ship to a port in eastern Siberia, from which he, a companion, and three guides set off to make an overland crossing of Siberia in mid-1807, reaching Moscow in October, before heading north to St. Petersburg, 16 months after leaving Alaska. He would reach Copenhagen next, on board a Dutch ship, and then secure passage to Portland, Maine on board an American vessel. He arrived in Bristol on a stagecoach from Portland on April 1, 1808, three years and 8 months after his departure. His voyage netted a profit of $100,000 — a significant amount of money, despite the time and hardship. His happy return earned him the nickname Nor'west.

Nor'west John would return to Russia, and continue his career as a ship captain. In his mid-30's he would marry Mary Melville, whose nephew Herman summered with the couple at their Hope Street home. It is said that Herman was very much influenced by his uncle's stories of maritime adventure, inspiring him to take his own whaling voyage and immortalize it in Moby Dick (in which he references Nor'west John in chapter 45.)

Nor'west John quit the sea in 1829 and settled in town to farm onions, a popular retirement avocation among Bristol mariners in the 1800's. In 1850, he and Mary moved in with their married daughter, Nancy Downer, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he died in 1872, at the age of 93.

For more details about the life and times of Nor'west John deWolf, read Chapter 5 of "Mount Hope: A New England Chronicle" by George Howe. Copies can be found in the Historical Documents Room of Rogers Free Library in Bristol.