Captain Samuel Laha - Naval Hero and Island Keeper

Samuel Laha married Mercy Ranger sometime in 1759 or 1760. He had three daughters (Mercy 1761, Mary 1765, Hannah 1767 and Sally 1773 and one son, Samuel 1771).[1] The 1790 Census shows that Samuel Laha lived in Suffolk County and had a family of four all of them over 16 years of age. Because of the times in which he lived, the indignities and political affronts that he and his country men suffered at the hands of the British led him to become an American patriot. Laha entered service in the Revolutionary War on May 28, 1776 about two months after the British retreated from Boston.[2]

Laha was the First Lieutenant on the Republic, one of the five vessels authorized in February 1776 to enter combat against the British. Laha so far as the records show had seen no naval service previous to being engaged for the Republic He was commissioned June 12 1776. The following year Laha served on the privateer brigantine Hancock as a First Lieutenant.[3] On November 18, 1777 he saw service at the same rank in the Massachusetts Privateer Brig Active under Captain John Foster Williams. The privateer brig was a vessel of 85 tons with 12 cannon and a crew of 64 commissioned in Boston on October 13, 1777. His Brig was captured in a battle with the HMS Mermaid 228 miles south of Cape Sambro, Nova Scotia on November 18, 1777. The British imprisoned Laha and held him on the Newport RI prison ship Lord Sandwich. He was also at Bristol RI on March 7 1778 when he and several of his crew mates were exchanged for British prisoners and released at Bristol Rhode Island. His six months as prisoner of war did not diminish his desire to fight the British. By the following summer of 1779 he was Master of the schooner Hannah that went on an expedition to invade Penobscot with 19 other ships of war and 21 transport ships carrying 1,500 troops.[4] The expedition was under the command of General Lovell. By the fall of that year Samuel Laha returned to Boston and was appointed Island Keeper at Rainsford Island, a job he probably earned by his demonstrated sailing skills and patriotism to his country.

As Island Keeper, Laha demonstrated his ability to follow the commands of his immediate supervisors, the Selectmen of Boston. He soon enough moved his family to Rainsford Island. During the war Laha was responsible for repairing the Rainsford Island hospital and providing routine support to those requiring smallpox quarantines. He raised his daughters on Rainsford Island and they were expected to help serve the sick and needy. Being an Island Keeper, Laha was expected to provide all of the needs for his sick patients including food, shelter and clothing. The Selectmen agreed to reimburse him for those cases where an individual was too poor to pay their own expenses.

During the Revolutionary War, the Massachusetts legislature occasionally authorized the use of inoculation as a means to prevent smallpox. Because it was considered to be a dangerous practice (i.e. the live smallpox virus was used to create immunity not the cowpox virus that was introduced in the early 1800s), inoculation was only allowed in approved hospital settings. Several Boston physicians sought permission to establish inoculation hospitals including Joseph Whipple. Dr. Whipple obtained approval to use Rainsford Island hospital and the services of Samuel Laha to provide inoculation services during the fall of 1789 and the spring of 1790.[5]

Captain Laha was also a key figure in the response to yellow fever that threatened Boston during the fall of 1793. His efforts during this period demonstrated his patriotic fervor in responding to pandemic events to protect the interests of the community. Hundreds of foreign visitors from southern states, including those arriving from Philadelphia, were quarantined on Rainsford Island until it was clear they were free of this infection. He worked tirelessly during this period to accommodate the large number of suspected yellow fever carriers and his efforts contributed to an exceptionally well managed response to this outbreak. Laha served as Island Keeper for 18 years, longer than any other person to hold this post during all of the 18th and 19th centuries. His dedication and work ethic was in part responsible for keeping this position under the control of the Selectmen rather than being run by Boston physicians.


[1] Boston Church Records, The Records of the Churches of Boston, CD_ROM, Boston, Mass, New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 2002 (Online database NewEnglandAncestors.org New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2008), p. 184.
[2] Massachusetts Magazine, Volume 2, 1909, p. 168 Web link: The Massachusetts magazine: devoted to Massachusetts history, ... - Google Books Result
[3] Massachusetts Magazine, Volume 2, 1909, p. 169
[4] Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Seventh Series, Volume 4, Published by the Society, 1904, p. 311.
[5] Smallpox by Inoculation, Massachusetts Centinel, April 1, 1789; Volume XI, Issue 5, page 19.