Charles Axel Alexius Modeer Notebooks, 1907-1941

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Modeer, Charles Axel Alexius
Title
Charles Axel Alexius Modeer Notebooks
Dates
1907-1941 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 document case (0.25 linear ft.)
Collection Number
Mss 390
Summary
Notebooks on ships and nautical matters of a long-time Coast Guard captain, who commanded the lighthouse tender, Manzanita for 22 years out of 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

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Charles Axel Alexius Modeer (1877-?) was a native of Kalmar, Sweden, who 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, Charles ran away from home at the age of 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. While serving as second office on the SS City of Panama December 31, 1906, Modeer 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 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 and returning to the Lighthouse Service, he commanded the cargo ship, 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

The collection consists of three notebooks (1907-1934) relating to Charles A.A. Modeer's maritime career. The notebooks provide glimpses of his career rather than a comprehensive view. A ship's log documents some of the time he spent aboard the SS City of Panama, and a commonplace book 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. Included are district superintendent's orders, primarily from Ralph R. Tinkham. An undated notebook contains Modeer's notes on navigation. Two of the books are stamped "Ex Libris Charles Axel Alexius Modeer" on the first leaves. Also included 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

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Charles Axel Alexius Modeer Notebooks, Mss390, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Max Scaher (Accession no. 7664).

Related Materials

Photographs of the lighthouse tender Manzanita are located in the Maritime section of Photo Subject Files at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library, including two showing Captain Charles Modeer with his crew. Some can be viewed as digital images in the library's on-line catalog.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Background material
Includes articles on Modeer's retirement, Oregonian, 1941 May 29-June 2; 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-May 4, 1909
1/3 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.
1930-1934
1/4 Commonplace book--blank form, "Pay Certificate by Retired Employee" (loose in book) 1932
1/5 Notebook--notes on navigation
The entries, handwritten in pencil, are arranged alphabetically by topics.
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Lighthouses--Oregon--History--20th century.

Personal Names

  • Modeer, Charles Axel Alexius.
  • Tinkham, Ralph Russell.

Corporate Names

  • City of Panama (Steamship)
  • Manzanita (Lighthouse tender)
  • United States. Coast Guard.
  • United States. Lighthouse Service.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Commonplace books--20th century.
  • Ships' logs--20th century.