Mariner, master navigator. Wife of clipper ship captain Josiah Perkins Creesy, she plotted the record-setting voyages of the extreme clipper Flying Cloud, under the command of her husband, from New York to San Francisco. A math prodigy, she was taught navigation by her father, a Marblehead mariner. In 1851, she plotted the first voyage of the Flying Cloud around Cape Horn, mostly by dead reckoning due to constant overcast, and safely guided the clipper to San Francisco in 89 days and 21 hours. In 1854, the Creesys bested that record, completing the voyage in 89 days and 8 hours. The Creesys' and the Flying Cloud's record stood until 1989 when it was surpassed by the high-performance racing sloop Thursday's Child. It was never surpassed by another commercial sailing vessel. Eleanor, daughter of Joshua Prentiss III and Eleanor A. Horton Prentiss,, and Josiah Creesy grew up together in Marblehead and married June 3, 1841. They remained companions, partners, and shipmates until his death in 1871.
Mariner, master navigator. Wife of clipper ship captain Josiah Perkins Creesy, she plotted the record-setting voyages of the extreme clipper Flying Cloud, under the command of her husband, from New York to San Francisco. A math prodigy, she was taught navigation by her father, a Marblehead mariner. In 1851, she plotted the first voyage of the Flying Cloud around Cape Horn, mostly by dead reckoning due to constant overcast, and safely guided the clipper to San Francisco in 89 days and 21 hours. In 1854, the Creesys bested that record, completing the voyage in 89 days and 8 hours. The Creesys' and the Flying Cloud's record stood until 1989 when it was surpassed by the high-performance racing sloop Thursday's Child. It was never surpassed by another commercial sailing vessel. Eleanor, daughter of Joshua Prentiss III and Eleanor A. Horton Prentiss,, and Josiah Creesy grew up together in Marblehead and married June 3, 1841. They remained companions, partners, and shipmates until his death in 1871.
