The house at 24 Hurlbutt Road in Gales Ferry, Ledyard was built in 1845 by Stephen Perkins, a whaling master, on land he had acquired in 1844 from Ralph Hurlbutt. Perkins owned the house until 1859, after which it had a series of owners who rented the house to different tenants until it was purchased by Warren Stoddard, son of Charles H. Stoddard, in 1898. In the 1860s and 1870s the house was rented by Capt. Gurdon L. Allyn (1799-1891), who wrote the book The Old Sailor’s Story (1879) about his many whaling and sealing voyages. As related in the History of the Town of Ledyard, 1650-1900 (1901), by John Avery:
In May, 1861, Capt. Allyn obtained a commission as acting master and coast pilot in the United States Navy, and received an order in June, from Com. Dupont, to report for duty on the United States frigate, “Saint Lawrence.” He was a participant in the famous Merrimac and Monitor engagement at Hampton Roads, in March, 1862. He had an honorable career in the navy, and in due time was discharged on account of his age. His salary while in the service, and the prize-money and pension, which he afterwards received, were a great help to him in his declining years.
Gurdon’s son, Gurdon F. Allyn, became a farmer and auctioneer in Salem.
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