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Charles Axel Alexius Modeer notebooks, 1907-1941
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Modeer, Charles Axel Alexius, 1877-
- Title
- Charles Axel Alexius Modeer notebooks
- Dates
- 1907-1941 (inclusive)19071941
- Quantity
- 0.18 cubic feet, (1 slim letter document case)
- Collection Number
- Mss 390
- Summary
- Small collection consisting of a ship's log and two notebooks relating to the maritime career of Charles Axel Alexius Modeer (born 1877), who was an officer on Pacific Mail Steamship Company vessels and in the U.S. Lighthouse Service. He served on various lightouse tenders, including as commander of the tender Manzanita, based in Astoria, Oregon.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Charles Axel Alexius Modeer, born 1877, was a native of Kalmar, Sweden, and moved to Chicago with his family when he was a baby. Following in the seafaring footsteps of his father, who was a shipmaster on the Great Lakes, Modeer ran away from home at age 17 and spent six years aboard sailing ships. He joined the Pacific Mail Steamship Company out of San Francisco after 1900, rising from fourth officer to first officer. On December 31, 1906, while Modeer was serving as second officer on the SS City of Panama, he and two others rescued three men who were swept overboard. He received a gold medal for bravery from President Theodore Roosevelt.
Modeer entered the U.S. Lighthouse Service on February 19, 1909, as second officer on the lightship Columbia, and served on various lighthouse tenders, including the Manzanita. He commanded the Manzanita from 1929 through 1941, when he retired from the Coast Guard. He was headquartered at Astoria, Oregon. During World War I, Modeer joined the Navy and commanded the former lighthouse tender Rose after it was put into service as a Naval patrol vessel in 1917. Before leaving the Navy, he commanded a cargo ship, the West Compo, for one tour of duty in 1919. Modeer then returned to the Lighthouse Service, which was absorbed by the Coast Guard in 1939.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection consists of a log book, a commonplace book, and a notebook that relate to Charles A. A. Modeer's maritime career. The ship's log, with entries from 1907-1909, documents some of the time he spent aboard the SS City of Panama. The commonplace book, 1930-1934, documents some of his time as commander of the lighthouse tender Manzanita out of Astoria, which was part of the Seventeenth District, U.S. Lighthouse Service, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It includes copies of district superintendent's orders, primarily from Ralph R. Tinkham. The notebook contains undated notes about navigation by Modeer. Two of the books are stamped "Ex Libris Charles Axel Alexius Modeer" on the first leaves. Also included in the collection is a folder of background biographical material assembled at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library in the course of processing the collection.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Charles Axel Alexius Modeer notebooks, Mss 390, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Acquisition Information
Believed to be the gift of Max Scaher (Lib. Acc. 7664).
Related Materials
Photographs of the lighthouse tender Manzanita are included in Photo File #2065, Military-Coast Guard-Ships "M," at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library, including two showing Modeer with his crew.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Background material
Includes Oregonian articles on Modeer's retirement, 1941; information on World War I ships he commanded; and photocopies of images of Modeer and his crew on the lighthouse tender Manzanita from the Oregon Historical Society Research Library's Photograph Subject Files.
|
1941, undated |
| 1 | 2 | Log book--SS City of Panama
The log entries are handwritten in pencil. All entries are from 1907, except for two pages of miscellaneous log notes for 1909.
|
1907 March 9-1907 May 4, 1909 |
| 1 | 3-4 | Commonplace book--lighthouse tender Manzanita
Alphabetical entries in ink and pencil, with some items pasted in. Includes handwritten copies of orders from Seventeenth District superintendents, most notably Ralph R. Tinkham; rules and regulations; and other information Modeer needed to carry out his duties as commander. Also includes a blank form, "Pay Certificate by Retired Employee," 1932, that was found loose between the pages of the commonplace book.
|
1930-1934 |
| 1 | 5 | Notebook--notes on navigation
The entries, handwritten in pencil, are arranged alphabetically by topic.
|
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Lighthouse tenders--United States
- Logbooks--United States--20th century
- Merchant marine--United States--Officers
- Merchant ships--United States
- Sailors--United States
Corporate Names
- City of Panama (Ship)
- Manzanita (Lighthouse tender)
- United States. Bureau of Light-Houses
- United States. Coast Guard--Officers
Form or Genre Terms
- commonplace books
- ships' logs
