By Robert Neff
What does Currie have to do with Korea? Not curry, the food, but Currie the small American city in Minnesota. Currie was founded in 1872 when Archibald Currie built a flour mill near the Des Moines River. The town was never very large and its population peaked in 1920 when 405 people called it home. Now there are only 226 and few, if any, of them know anything about William Hendricks.
In 1920, William Hendricks, one of the more colorful but mysterious residents of the city, died leaving behind a small fortune _ $3,500 _ and no heirs. It is his history that ties Currie to Joseon.
In the 1860s an American whaling ship sailing through the China Sea encountered the wreckage of an American clipper ship _ its name unknown. Amongst the wreckage and debris the whalers found a small baby, still alive, lashed to one of the broken masts. The infant was quickly rescued and a search made for other possible survivors but there were none.
Pressed for time and unable to care for the baby, the whaling ship took him to Korea where they abandoned him _ probably into the hands of a fishing village and continued on with their hunt.
For 12 years the boy dwelt amongst the villagers before he managed to make his way to one of the open ports in China or, more probable, Japan, where he managed to get a position on an American sailing ship as a cabin boy. Unnamed, he chose to call himself William Hendricks and eventually made his way to the United States where he settled in Currie. Why a seafarer would opt to live in a small city so far from the sea is a mystery _ nor do we know what he did to earn so much money. All we know is he lived in the city until his death.
It is an unbelievable tale _ one told by a delegation of Currie citizens to the state senate finance committee following his death. The town wanted his estate to be used to construct a community building which would be named in his honor _ whether this was approved and subsequently built is unclear. If not, what became of the money? My inquiries to the town's government remain unanswered.
Was there any truth to this story? The only reference I could find of a clipper ship sinking in the region during the 1860s was the Houqua. The Houqua was built in New York in 1844 and shortly afterwards sailed to China where it was to serve as a Chinese warship but, because of its size, was deemed unsuitable. It was then used as a merchant ship transporting goods between China and New York. Although the ship was well-built, it seems to have been plagued with a number of freaky incidents including being struck by a meteor off the Horn of Africa. It survived several harrowing encounters with typhoons but in August 1864, after departing Yokohama, its luck ran out and it was never seen again.
As for a Western child _ let alone, a baby _ being kept in Joseon during this period, it seems highly unlikely. I have never seen references to a Western child in the country prior to the 1880s. If he did live in Korea for 12 years, how was he able to speak English and to get to an open port where he found employment as a cabin boy?
With so many inconsistencies, I fear the only relationship that Joseon and Currie have is a fanciful tale from the past.
Robert Neff is a historian and columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at robertneff103@gmail.com
What does Currie have to do with Korea? Not curry, the food, but Currie the small American city in Minnesota. Currie was founded in 1872 when Archibald Currie built a flour mill near the Des Moines River. The town was never very large and its population peaked in 1920 when 405 people called it home. Now there are only 226 and few, if any, of them know anything about William Hendricks.
In 1920, William Hendricks, one of the more colorful but mysterious residents of the city, died leaving behind a small fortune _ $3,500 _ and no heirs. It is his history that ties Currie to Joseon.
In the 1860s an American whaling ship sailing through the China Sea encountered the wreckage of an American clipper ship _ its name unknown. Amongst the wreckage and debris the whalers found a small baby, still alive, lashed to one of the broken masts. The infant was quickly rescued and a search made for other possible survivors but there were none.
Pressed for time and unable to care for the baby, the whaling ship took him to Korea where they abandoned him _ probably into the hands of a fishing village and continued on with their hunt.
For 12 years the boy dwelt amongst the villagers before he managed to make his way to one of the open ports in China or, more probable, Japan, where he managed to get a position on an American sailing ship as a cabin boy. Unnamed, he chose to call himself William Hendricks and eventually made his way to the United States where he settled in Currie. Why a seafarer would opt to live in a small city so far from the sea is a mystery _ nor do we know what he did to earn so much money. All we know is he lived in the city until his death.
It is an unbelievable tale _ one told by a delegation of Currie citizens to the state senate finance committee following his death. The town wanted his estate to be used to construct a community building which would be named in his honor _ whether this was approved and subsequently built is unclear. If not, what became of the money? My inquiries to the town's government remain unanswered.
Was there any truth to this story? The only reference I could find of a clipper ship sinking in the region during the 1860s was the Houqua. The Houqua was built in New York in 1844 and shortly afterwards sailed to China where it was to serve as a Chinese warship but, because of its size, was deemed unsuitable. It was then used as a merchant ship transporting goods between China and New York. Although the ship was well-built, it seems to have been plagued with a number of freaky incidents including being struck by a meteor off the Horn of Africa. It survived several harrowing encounters with typhoons but in August 1864, after departing Yokohama, its luck ran out and it was never seen again.
As for a Western child _ let alone, a baby _ being kept in Joseon during this period, it seems highly unlikely. I have never seen references to a Western child in the country prior to the 1880s. If he did live in Korea for 12 years, how was he able to speak English and to get to an open port where he found employment as a cabin boy?
With so many inconsistencies, I fear the only relationship that Joseon and Currie have is a fanciful tale from the past.
Robert Neff is a historian and columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at robertneff103@gmail.com
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