Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section9/Allan F. Leigh

Captain Allan F. Leigh
Born	Unknown Hull, England
Nationality	English
Other names	Captain X
Occupation	Sea Captain
Spouse(s)	Dora Leigh

Overview

Captain X, who's real name was Allan F. Leigh was an English sea captain who was in Miami, Florida at the time of his interview with George Conway for the Federal Writer’s Project.

Biography

Early Life

Captain Allan F. Leigh was born in Hull, England, the oldest of nine siblings. His father earned barely enough money to put food on the table and keep clothes on their backs. One day, his father drowned when his boat sank, meaning Leigh had to leave school to be able to earn money for their family.

Leigh had started off as an assistant cook on a boat, and his dream was always to captain a boat, so he was usually happy to be leaving school to work. He learned a lot during his time working. However, two years after his father’s death his mother died as well, and his siblings were all moved to live with an aunt in Sussex, England, and Leigh never saw them again.

Eventually, Leigh was able to make enough money to go to London and meet the demand for fishermen. As soon as Leigh arrived, he rented out a room above a sailor's tavern. The next day he immediately went job hunting, which eventually led him to become a sailmaker’s threader for two months. During an accidental encounter with a drunk American, he got a job on a ship based in New York, again as a cook’s assistant.

Life in the USA: Before Marriage

10 months later, Leigh had set foot in New York. After some questioning and some hassle, he was told of a lady who would be able to provide him with accommodation. While there he met the landlady’s daughter, who would eventually become his wife.

After going around looking for a new job, he came back one day unsuccessful in his attempts. Mr. H, a man who also took up accommodation in the same place, asked him if he would like to join the fishing fleet leaving for Newfoundland. He immediately signed up and worked with the fleet all summer, returning to his old accommodation before Christmas.

After returning, he was able to deposit 200 dollars in the bank and buy himself some clothes with another 100 he kept on him. Eventually, he was able to get work through a fleet captain he had worked with who liked him. He worked as a carpenter in New Jersey during the winter and fished during the summer for 5 years. By the end of it, he saved 2000 dollars and married the landlady’s daughter, Dora L.

Life in the USA: After Marriage

In the summer of 1929, Leigh and his colleagues had to move to the Florida Capes to continue fishing as the fishermen off the Grand Banks did not want them to fish where they were fishing anymore. One day, Leigh’s manager asked him to take an examination that would allow him to replace a fleet captain who was unable to move South with them. All this time, fortunately for him, Dora had been teaching him Mathematics and grammar, so he was confident he would be able to receive the license. However, he was still not a citizen of the United States. So, after some help from his manager, he gained citizenship and took the test, earning him a license.

His wife and he moved to Florida and rented a bungalow, and within the next 5 years, he had his three children. Unfortunately, in 1933, due to the Great Depression, the fishing industry went bad and they lost all their money. However, Dora had managed to save enough money for them to tough it out until the Great Depression blew over. Eventually, they bought their own house, and Leigh was making between 200 and 400 dollars a month. As of 1939, the time of the interview, Leigh and his family were living happily.

Social Context

Family Working Situations in the early 1900s

During the early 1900s, 18 percent of the labor force was under 16 years of age, and most of these children were working simply so that their families could survive. However, fortunately, throughout the world there was positive change being creating, resulting in the creation of laws to say child labor was unconstitutional.

Similarly, during this time, a lot of women were slowly making their way into the labor force, so that they could support their family. Though their motive for working was often unfortunate circumstances like their husbands dying or having to care for a large family, this time represented a huge leap forward for workers all around, as the percentage of women workers did increase.

Life of a fisherman: Then vs Now

Fishermen in the 1900s were often considered to be travelers as they would usually have to move around to be able to catch the most fish during the right season at the right place. They were known as migratory fishers. During this time, fishing became extremely popular, both as a job and as a leisure activity, as fishing would often come up with bountiful meat which was a valued resource during times of distress for any family.

Although things have changed drastically for fishermen, primarily due to the advancements of technology, resulting in more sophisticated tools to do their job, the basic risk for fishermen is the same, both physically and financially. Fishermen have always been at risk of not making it back to land, but more than that, they are at risk of putting their life on the line to be able to catch some fish but could be entirely unsuccessful due to various events such as the warmth of the water or the season or location.

The Great Depression and Employment

The Great Depression had a huge impact on many people’s livelihood. For most people, it took away their job and their income and made it nearly impossible for them to support their families. For the country as a whole, “Widely accepted estimates show that the percentage of the US civilian labour force without work rose from 2.9 in 1929 to 22.9 in 1932.” Those who had saved enough money before the Great Depression hit were the only ones who were able to stand those trying times without too much difficulty. However, those without any savings often found themselves broke pretty soon after the depression hit.