Diary of a Bath Boy Used in Article about Manifest Destiny
In his article for
Pacific Northwest Quarterly, “Machine of Manifest Destiny: The USS Massachusetts, 1845-1863,” Michael “Tug” Buse uses the diary of Theodore Brooks Trevett as a stand-in for a lost logbook of the
USS Massachussets (1845). The diary chronicles Trevett’s time as a clerk aboard the Navy vessel on a voyage to the Oregon Territory to establish military control at Puget Sound.
Theodore Brooks Trevett was born in 1832 to Theodore S. and Catherine C. Trevett of Bath. Like many local boys, Trevett went to sea at a young age. His father, a baker, followed his son to the West Coast sometime in the 1850s. Trevett’s house in Portland, Oregon is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Trevett-Nunn House. His daughters, Lucy K. Trevett and Emily Nunn became active in civil rights organizations in the 1930s.
If you’re interested in reading Tug Buse’s article in the current issue of the Pacific Northwest Quarterly, it’s as easy as contacting the Reference Desk! Our reference librarians can provide copies of most journal articles for patrons at no cost. Just email
pflreference@patten.lib.me.us with the citation information for the article you want. For Buse’s article, use the citation below:
Buse, Michael. “Machine of Manifest Destiny: The USS Massachusetts, 1845-1863. Pacific Northwest Quarterly 112, no. 1 (Winter 2020/2021): 19-33.
The “Theodore Brooks Trevett Diary, 1849-1850,” is part of the Bancroft and Trevett Family Papers, 1835-1958 at the Oregon Historical Society.