In search of Captain Doughnut

While many of you probably have gone out and searched for more information on the invention of the doughnut by Captain Gregory (see my earlier posting), I did find some additional information and some interesting variations of historical facts. At the Google answer site, references are made to Captain Gregory and an alleged descendant writes,

“I am a descendent of Captain Hanson Gregory who farmed in and fished from Glen Cove, Rockport, Maine in the late 1800s. A granite stone and bronze plaque commorating [sic] him stands on the Old County Road (Maine Route 90) in Rockport at the site of the Gregory farm. The story is true, although the details of the how and why are buried in myth. In my family, we understood it that as captain of his fishing schooners, the men who were crew and worked nets were served fried dough with coffee during their long shifts on deck. A wet, slippery decked pitching sailing vessel doesn’t bode well for food staying put on cooking pans, so Gregory jammed the dough cakes over wooden pins and the spokes of the ship’s wheel. The cook aboard began making the cakes with the hole already in them, and then served the holes as a treat at suppertime.”

This story can be compared to another version provided by another descendant where he suggests the donut was invented by Mrs. Gregory, Hanson’s mom, when he complained of the soggy centers of her fried dough.  There seems to be consistency in the available information so far that Captain Gregory was directly involved with the creation.

Another bit of information suggests that the Captain did indeed spend his last days at a sailor’s rest home called “Snug Harbor” but this was in Quincy, MA not Staten Island. So far, our only connection appears to be our last name and our appreciation of oceans and boats.