Editing Joshua Slocum (section)

==Family at sea==
[[File:Virginia Albertina Walker.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Virginia Albertina Walker]]
On 9 January 1871, Slocum and the ''Constitution'' put in at Sydney.<ref>Constitution, American schooner, 362 tons, Slocumb [sic], from San Francisco, [left on] 3rd November. Passengers – 20 in the steerage. Laidley, Ireland, and Co., agents. ''Evening News 9 January 1871''  

The Constitution, from San Francisco, is a large American schooner of 362 tons. She has made a good passage of sixty-five days, and brings a cargo of lumber, fish, &c. Captain Slocom [sic] reports having sailed on the 3rd November ; had light N.E. winds until reaching the vicinity of Norfolk Island; from thence strong S.W. winds. ''Empire 10 January 1871'' 

''Constitution'' described by the local shipping agent as a clipper barquentine. ''The Sydney Morning Herald 12 Jan 1871''  </ref> There he met, courted, and married Virginia Albertina Walker. They were married on January 31, 1871 and the couple left Sydney on the ''Constitution'' the following day.<ref>SLOCUM–WALKER – January 31, by the Rev. James Greenwood, Captain Joshua Slocum, ship Constitution, Boston, Mass. U.S., to Virginia Albertina, daughter of William H. Walker, Survey Department. The Sydney Morning Herald 24 Feb 1871 </ref><ref>CLEARANCES – February 1. Constitution, schooner, 362 tons, Slocum, for San Francisco. Passengers – Mrs. Slocum, Mrs. Thompson, Misses Thompson (2). Evening News (Sydney) 2 February 1871</ref> Miss Walker, quite coincidentally, was an American whose New York family had migrated west to California at the time of the [[California gold rush|1849 gold rush]] and eventually continued on, by ship, to settle in Australia. She sailed with Slocum, and, over the next thirteen years, the couple had seven children, all born at sea or foreign ports. Four children, sons Victor, Benjamin Aymar, and James Garfield, and daughter Jessie, survived to adulthood.

In Alaska, the ''Washington'' was [[shipwreck|wrecked]] when she dragged her anchor during a gale, ran ashore, and broke up. Slocum, however, at considerable risk to himself, managed to save his wife, the crew, and much of the cargo, bringing all back to port safely in the ship's open boats. The owners of the shipping company that had employed Slocum were so impressed by this feat of ingenuity and leadership, they gave him the command of the ''Constitution'' which he sailed to Hawaii and the west coast of [[Mexico]].

His next command was the ''Benjamin Aymar'', a merchant vessel in the [[Pacific Ocean|South Seas]] trade. However, the owner, strapped for cash, sold the vessel out from under Slocum, and he and Virginia found themselves stranded in the [[Philippines]] without a ship.

=== The ''Pato'' ===
While in the Philippines, in 1874, under a commission from a British architect, Slocum organized native workers to build a 150-ton [[Steamboat|steamer]] in the shipyard at [[Subic Bay]]. In partial payment for the work, he was given the ninety-ton schooner, ''Pato'' (Spanish for "Duck"), the first ship he could call his own.

Ownership of the ''Pato'' afforded Slocum the kind of freedom and autonomy he had never previously experienced. Hiring a crew, he contracted to deliver a cargo to [[Vancouver]] in British Columbia. Thereafter, he used the ''Pato'' as a general freight carrier along the west coast of North America and in voyages back and forth between San Francisco and Hawaii. During this period, Slocum also fulfilled a long-held ambition to become a writer, and became a temporary correspondent for the ''San Francisco Bee''.

The Slocums sold the ''Pato'' in Honolulu in the spring of 1878. Returning to San Francisco, they purchased the ''Amethyst.'' He worked this ship until June 23, 1881.<ref>Geoffrey Wolff, ''The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum'', pp. 70–75</ref>
 
The Slocums next bought a third share in the ''Northern Light 2''. This large clipper was 233 feet in length, 44 feet beam, 28 feet in the hold. It was capable of carrying 2000 tons on three decks. Although Joshua Slocum called this ship "my best command", it was a command plagued with mutinies and mechanical problems. Under troubling legal circumstances (caused by his alleged treatment of the chief mutineer) he sold his share in the ''Northern Light 2'' in 1883.<ref>Geoffrey Wolff, ''The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum'', pp. 76–111</ref>

===The ''Aquidneck''===
The Slocum family continued on their next ship, the 326-ton ''Aquidneck''. In 1884, Slocum's wife Virginia became ill aboard the ''Aquidneck'' in [[Buenos Aires]] and died. After sailing to Massachusetts, Slocum left his three youngest children, Benjamin Aymar, Jessie, and Garfield in the care of his sisters; his oldest son Victor continued as his first mate.<ref>Berthold p. xix</ref>

In 1886, at age 42, Slocum married his 24-year-old cousin, Henrietta "Hettie" Elliott. The Slocum family, with the exception of Jessie and Benjamin Aymar, again took to the sea aboard the ''Aquidneck'', bound for [[Montevideo]], Uruguay. Slocum's second wife would find life at sea much less appealing than his first. A few days into Henrietta's first voyage, the ''Aquidneck'' sailed through a hurricane. By the end of this first year, the crew had contracted [[cholera]], and they were quarantined for six months.<ref name=BertholdXX>Berthold p. xx</ref> Later, Slocum was forced to defend his ship from pirates, one of whom he shot and killed; following which he was tried and acquitted of murder. Next, the ''Aquidneck'' was infected with [[smallpox]], leading to the death of three of the crew. Disinfecting of the ship was performed at considerable cost. Shortly afterward, near the end of 1887, the ''Aquidneck'' was wrecked in southern Brazil.<ref name=BertholdXX/><ref name=VoyageLiberdade/>

===The ''Liberdade''===
After being stranded in Brazil with his wife and sons Garfield and Victor, he started building a boat that could sail them home. He used local materials, salvaged materials from the ''Aquidneck'', and worked with local workers. The boat was launched on May 13, 1888, the very day slavery was [[Slavery in Brazil#Steps towards freedom|abolished in Brazil]], and therefore the ship was given the name ''Liberdade'', the Portuguese word for freedom.
It was an unusual {{convert|35|ft|m|adj=on}} [[junk rig|junk]]-rigged design which he described as "half [[Cape Ann dory]] and half Japanese [[sampan]]".<ref name=VoyageLiberdade>Slocum (1890), ''Voyage of the Liberdade''</ref> He and his family began their voyage back to the United States, his son Victor (15) being the mate.

After fifty-five days at sea and 5510 miles,<ref>Victor Slocum (1950), p. 193</ref> the Slocums reached Cape Roman, [[South Carolina]]<ref>Cape Roman {{Coord|33|3|48|N|79|20|43|W|display=inline|name=Cape Roman}}</ref> and continued inland to Washington D.C. for the winter and finally reaching Boston via New York in 1889.<ref name=VoyageLiberdade/> This was the last time Henrietta sailed with the family. In 1890, Slocum published his accounts of these adventures in ''Voyage of the Liberdade''.<ref name=VoyageLiberdade/><ref>Berthold pp. xxi–xxii</ref>