Death in Santa Cruz 21st May 1844

[jomasafene]

I wondered if anyone would know why my great great uncle, Captain Arthur Johnston, is listed in the family bible as "died the 21st May 1844 in Santa Cruz and interred in New Haven, Connecticut aged 32 years."
I wonder which army he was captain in.  What skirmish occurred for him to die - or maybe it was some illness - and why interment in New Haven, which seems a long way from Santa Cruz.
I know there were other members of the family in the USA at that time.  One brother, Robert, had died in New Orleans in 1833.

[Erato]

Presumably he was a ship captain, possibly a whaling ship.

[jomasafene]

Thank you for that suggestion!  He was a farmer's son, so I did not imagine he would have sailing skills, but he could have learnt them when he got to America.

[Erato]

Not that this answers any questions, but do you think this is your Arthur Johns[t]on?


A. B. Johnson
Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934
Name:   A. B. Johnson
Gender:   Unknown
Death Date:   21 May 1844
Death Place:   Conneticut

[jomasafene]

Yes, I think it is the same Arthur Johnston (apart from the spelling of his surname).  The date of death from the Family Bible is the same date given for interment, so that is probably some miscommunication to the Ulster family and it still does not explain the "Santa Cruz" connection!  Thank you for looking the death up.

[Erato]

Assuming he was a ship captain [big assumption], it might be worth contacting this organization:

Connecticut Ship Database, 1789-1939
https://research.mysticseaport.org/databases/ct-ships/

[Erato]

Two more possible sources of information:

http://scgensoc.org/
http://www.library.ca.gov/Content/pdf/californiaHistory/ShippingResearch.pdf

[jomasafene]

Thank you for your suggestions.  I will try both to see if more can be learned about him.