Wonson fishermen made Gloucester Massachusetts America’s principal fishing port. Tidbits: + In 1775 young Samuel Wonson leads a party of patriots who overwhelm a British supply ship and turn it over to George Washington besieging Boston. + Sam’s son defys Jefferson’s embargo, taking his salt cod to the Caribbean, and wins a landmark court victory. + Sam Jr.”s daughter marries a Salem pepper prince, funding the fishing dynasty that preceded Gorton’s of Gloucester. + John F. Wonson, Lydia’s brother, is the first to anchor on Georges Bank and take live halibut to New York’s Fulton fish market, setting off a fashion for serving fresh white-fleshed fish in America. + The Wonsons invent dory fishing. + Today a Wonson schooner is the State Ship of Massachusetts.