Capt. Alexander Winsor (1811-1891)
Alexander Winsor went to sea at the age of 12 and became a captain of merhant ships at 27. In 1859 he became captain of the world famous clipper ship Flying Cloud and set a record for crossing the Atlantic from New York to London in 18 days. Other ships he commanded included Timolean, Audubon and Herald of the Morning. He also owned shares in some ships. He lived in the brick-faced house at 10 William Street which he had built about 1840. The house stayed in the family for about 100 years. Capt. Winsor retired in 1872. In 1882 he played an important role in getting the “John Paul Jones” cannon replanted muzzle down in the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Main and Center streets.>/span>
The son of Zenas Winsor and Lucinda Wadsworth, he married first Sarah Pellington Allen, second Emily Pope and third Emma Akin Richmond. In the 1930s, Capt. Winsor’s grandson Bancroft Winsor started an orchard in Acushnet and took his brand name, Flying Cloud, from the name of his grandfather’s ship.
