Archives West Finding Aid

James "Jimmy" Crooks was born in Ireland in 1897. He grew up in a seafaring family and began his own career at sea when he was sixteen years old. With the exception of his service in the British and Spanish armies, his entire career was spent at sea. Crooks became a United States citizen following World War I, and served for forty years with the Merchant Marines. Over the course of his career, Crooks sailed under four different flags--British, American, Russian, and Chinese--and traveled to locations all over the world. Some of his missions included carrying troops and supplies to wartime beachheads, delivering medicine and relief supplies to victims of the Yokohama earthquake in 1923, crossing the equator twice each day on a decoy ship, and much more.

Beginning in 1927, Crooks worked with the Seattle-based Swenson Fur Trading Company to deliver supplies to Siberia. Although the Soviet Union operated its own supply ships to that region, due to a shortage of both vessels and supplies the Soviets allowed this American-owned and operated company to supplement the Soviet efforts. In exchange for carrying supplies that were purchased by the Soviet government's agents in the United States (the company was not allowed to trade with any Siberian residents), the Swenson company received valuable fur. Although Crooks' voyage to Siberia with this company was only expected to last for two and a half months, a range of international complications extended this work to over three years. Crooks documented his experiences in Siberia and wrote this memoir, which was typed by Barbara Royal Blood.