Jonathan Bourne

Jonathan Bourne Jr. (1811—1889) was a whaling agent and merchant who lived and worked in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Biography He was the tenth of eleven children and was raised on a farm in Sandwich, Massachusetts. When he was seventeen, he moved to New Bedford and entered the grocery business. By the time he was 24, he had married into the Nye-Howland family and had started investing in whaling ships. Business ventures In 1841, he purchased the Lagoda, a merchant vessel he converted to a whaling ship. The Lagoda became the most lucrative whaling ship in New Bedford's history. Bourne would serve as agent for 24 vessels and own stock in 22 more.