[alayne]

I'm sorry, but I'm going to call bullshit unless you can actually cite a reference showing some significant number of 14 year old ship captains in 1913.

[angersock]

If you count fishing and crabbing, and possibly ferrying, I would be unsurprised in the slightest.

[sliverstorm]

David Farragut comes to mind, although I don't know if the plural (i.e., many 14 year olds) applies.