Literary figure, merchant mariner, federal public servant. He was one of the corps of elderly customs officials with lifetime jobs who "spent a good deal of time ... asleep in their accustomed corners, with their chairs tilted back against the walls ..." as described by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his sardonic prologue to "The Scarlet Letter." Hawthorne, having lost his political appointment as surveyor at the Salem Custom House, used the prologue as a way to even scores and vent his resentment at the officials, including Story, whose positions carried lifetime protections. However, Customs records show that Capt. Story was anything but idle as he performed his duty as one of three weighers and gaugers, responsible for tallying a cargo's worth so it could be taxed. Half-brother of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, William Story sought the federal appointment as a way of ending his career as, and perils of, a merchant mariner soon after he directed the harrowing repulse of Sumatran pirates while master of the Salem East India trading vessel Friendship. An earlier attempt to build a fortune as a merchant-importer and ship owner foundered after the economic slide that followed the War of 1812. Story retired after 26 years as a customs official in Salem at the age of 79. He was the son of Dr. Elisha and Ruth Ruddock Story.
Literary figure, merchant mariner, federal public servant. He was one of the corps of elderly customs officials with lifetime jobs who "spent a good deal of time ... asleep in their accustomed corners, with their chairs tilted back against the walls ..." as described by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his sardonic prologue to "The Scarlet Letter." Hawthorne, having lost his political appointment as surveyor at the Salem Custom House, used the prologue as a way to even scores and vent his resentment at the officials, including Story, whose positions carried lifetime protections. However, Customs records show that Capt. Story was anything but idle as he performed his duty as one of three weighers and gaugers, responsible for tallying a cargo's worth so it could be taxed. Half-brother of Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, William Story sought the federal appointment as a way of ending his career as, and perils of, a merchant mariner soon after he directed the harrowing repulse of Sumatran pirates while master of the Salem East India trading vessel Friendship. An earlier attempt to build a fortune as a merchant-importer and ship owner foundered after the economic slide that followed the War of 1812. Story retired after 26 years as a customs official in Salem at the age of 79. He was the son of Dr. Elisha and Ruth Ruddock Story.
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