Stephen McCarthy papers (MSC-064)

Biographical note

Stephen McCarthy was born on 25 November 1859 in Connecticut. In 1875, he joined the Navy as a teenage seaman apprentice aboard the USS Minnesota. He officially joined the Navy as an enlisted man in 1877 and was appointed a Boatswain in the Navy on 13 May 1887 while in the state of New Jersey. He served various assignments in and around Newport, RI before being appointed a Chief Boatswain’s Mate in 1899 by Act of Congress. His career shifted between assignments at sea—on the USS Chicago in the European Squadron in 1903 and aboard a succession of screw tugs near the U.S. Coast, the USS Potomac, USS Ontario, and USS Montgomery. Most of his naval career was spent stationed in Newport, RI at the Newport Training Station, Torpedo Station, or aboard one of the training ships. He authored “The Boatswain’s Calls,” published in the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 1913, a description of the calls and pipes used by boatswains in the U.S. Navy. His article was cited in a 2002 review of piping. Stephen McCarthy married Leonora Sharpe (1863-1905) and they had three daughters, one of whom, Leonora Muria married a naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Dallas Wait. Lieutenant McCarthy retired to Newport and lived at 82 Kay Street until his death in 1938.

Chronology