Name: Albert Baldwin White
Nicknames/alias: Called Cato among the crewmen he served with –- not because he possessed any special philosophical wisdom, but ironically, for managing to stab himself (although accidentally) with his own knife while eating on his first day on board when he was 18. No nicknames otherwise.
Age: 30 years old.
Place of birth & ethnicity: Somewhere in Massachusetts country. His mother was traveling when her water broke so she gave birth in an improvised camp; he is an Anglo, worked in Nantucket and across New England mostly, and some menial jobs in various ports in Africa and Asia.
Gender: Male.
Occupation: Ex-crewman on a whaler who rose to a harpooner position after some years; now looking for a job on land.
Character appearance & personality
: 6'0'' tall, dark green eyes, darker brown hair and facial hair like on the picture provided. He’s averagely built on first sight, but his hands, arms, legs, and torso have the hidden, unseen harpooner's strength resulting from climbing ropes, fixing ships, handling wood, rowing and thrusting the spear at whales and hacking them with knives, and that might go unnoticed until a fight breaks out. He has a stab wound on his abdomen, a small scar on his left eyebrow, and some minor cuts and burns on his shoulders and arms collected here and there as most men do, from reckless childhood play and tools and the like.
Clothing: Black boots, black pants tucked in them, a belt, a dark brown shirt under a dark brown vest, and a black town coat. He has a hat on sometimes, though prefers not to. His clothing is dirtied and battered since he’s been traveling all the way from the northeast.
Personal style: He’s most comfortable in his sailing uniform when at sea, but on land he likes to keep it simple and avoid anything fancy.
Personality: Thanks to his experience on the ship, he’s encountered many different peoples and faiths, from Japanese to Norwegian to Icelandic to African, and has learned to treat people according to their character, not ethnicity or faith, albeit after getting to know them. Life on ship does make man bond with unexpected company, but it also hardens the man, and makes him somewhat alien to those on shore as they often do not understand the actions of those who prefer the endless blue, just how they do not understand the land dwellers. He is ready to work and do
most things, nevertheless, if the pay is good. He is cooperative and even more so when the ante is up or when the well being of the community is at stake. In such cases he will not back away from a fight. Although it may seem strange for a poor seaman and a slayer of the mighty whales, Albert is a man interested in the power of the word and more often than not spends his free time entertaining himself with a grammar book of some foreign language, a story, a poem, or phrases he picked up from strangers from far away places. He does keep this interest mostly private and would never sacrifice his work or chores in its favor, although he is always up for a discussion concerning all that when there is time. However, when on duty, the strict work ethic takes over and chases any sensibility aside.
Habits: When nervous he runs his fingers through his hair, that being the thing people usually notice first. He has a strong habit of cracking his knuckles, too, probably a result of witnessing and participating in countless bar and harbour fights that he can’t seem to avoid wherever he goes.
Regular life skills: Albert is a masterful shot with the spear, as his hard earned whalebone pin proves. He can do any physical work on ship, repair minor damages on them, he can fish, and he can go hunting on land as well as he does not fear facing beasts. Anything else he’d be willing to learn or get better at.
Combat skills: Harpoon and cutting knives are his tools of choice, besides fists, and he has a very basic knowledge of how to use firearms; in other words: he can point and shoot.
Items on your person: He bought a used pistol on his way to Arizona and he keeps it on his belt, just in case. He’s got a knife, a gift from a sailor from Liberia. He also has a pocket watch inherited from his father, sometimes a hat, and of course some money in the wallet, and a photograph of his wife, Livia, and their little daughter, Anna.
Additional stuff: As he is on the road west, alone, he carries a satchel and a bag of clothes, with some ale and food to chew on in-between towns. Oh, and he brought his harpoon to use as a decoration.
What brings you to Haylliesburg: Work and promised opportunity for anyone who is willing to work. He is looking for work in the west, hoping to find a place to settle down and earn enough money to bring his family to live with him as soon as possible.
Your life before coming to Haylliesburg: Albert was born in the countryside of Massachusetts in an improvised camp to Elizabeth and Walter White, both of English origin although with some German thrown in there. His father was a trader and his mother taught school children. He lived with them and was home schooled by his mother until his later teens when he moved to his uncle Thomas, his mother's brother, to work with him at the shipyard. Eventually, looking to earn a bit more than the scrapes he got at the yard, he signed up as the lowest of the low deck cleaner on a whaler called
Emily and eventually, through years of hard work and obedience, rose up slowly and earned the place in the boat, wielding a harpoon next to the more experienced mates. The sea got into his blood and he found himself growing sad and sickly when on land for too long, and one voyage leading to another, he eventually started spending more time on the ship than at home. At the age of 27 he married the daughter of his uncle's neighbor, and soon they had a daughter, although he barely saw either of them since he left for Singapore weeks after the wedding. Strange things happened in a short span of time: he became suddenly ill, the disease not being one of the known sorts; he saw a crew member hang himself from the mast; and he barely survived a pirate attack thank to sheer luck, as they stopped shortly after the first guns were fired and disappeared. He took it all as a bad omen, even though he is not a superstitious man, and had to return home quickly. After his homecoming he decided he would turn to some other type of work, to make sure he stays alive and able to provide for his family. The talk of the west had been going on in the town, and he naturally picked it up and became interested, in the job possibility more so than the gold talk. After some preparation he left, hoping to settle down or at least find some stability in terms of work and housing before inviting his family to join him.
