THE SUNDERLAND SITE - PAGE 082
SHIPBUILDERS - PAGE 31

May I suggest that you navigate the site via the index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here. On this page ... Seymour, Alfred Simey, Simpson and Short, John Smith, Smurthwaite, South Hylton Shipbuilding, J. Spence, Spowers, Stafford, Stephenson, J. Stobart, John Storey, M. Storey, T. Stonehouse, Stothard. Copyright? (1 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 9 + 1 + 2 = 38)  Test. Miramar, Plimsoll, images, mariners-l.co.uk (none), Excel DP, MNL, eBay, Delcampe, Mar. 18, 2021 Corrections in any of the material which follows, however tiny, would be most welcome. And additions, of course! To search for specific text on this page, just press 'CTRL + F' & then enter your search term. A general site search facility is here. SEYMOUR T. SEYMOUR The webmaster knows nothing about this modest shipbuilder, who would seem to have built 6 vessels only in the period from 1855 thru 1860. 1   Test 66 tons 28101 1860 A schooner, later a ketch. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1860/61 thru 1869/70, always registered at Southampton, Hampshire, & owned, per LR, by 'W. Shrl'nd'. Which owner name, per the Mercantile Navy Lists of 1865, 1867, 1868 & 1870 means W. R. Sharland of Redbridge, Hampshire. For service as a Sunderland coaster (in 1860/61 & from 1865/66) & as a Hartlepool coaster (from 1861/62 thru 1864/65). With 'Tupper' serving as the vessel's captain thru 1865/66 & thereafter 'J. Major'. 65.0 ft. long, signal letters PVCJ. On Oct. 19, 1869, per the 1st line 20 on this page, the vessel, stated to be a 67 ton ketch, foundered while en route from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to an unknown destination with a cargo of bark. The vessel is stated to have had a crew of 5, all lost of course. The vessel foundered at a point 5 miles NW of Dudgeon Sand located, I think, 20 miles N. of Wells, Norfolk. Hopefully in due course, a newspaper article will emerge to provide more detailed information. Can anybody tell us more? #2138 THOMAS BOYES SIMEY (1798/1871) THOMAS BOYES SIMEY, partner in 'Laing & Simey' (1834/1837) ALFRED SIMEY (Jul. 23, 1839/1911), also known as Anthony Simey ALFRED SIMEY & CO. (1861 thru 1879) I knew absolutely nothing about this shipbuilder. But was curious when I found an obscure reference to a ship that was built by Simey in 1877 & went aground in 1881. Now there was an earlier 'Simey', who went into business with Philip Laing in years 1834 thru 1837. That was Thomas B. (Boyes) Simey (1798/1871). But... Stan Mapstone used to tell us about Alfred Simey here but the link no longer works, alas. He advised that Alfred Simey & Co. started building wood ships at Strand Slipway, Strand Street, Monkwearmouth in 1861, & that he was in business until 1879. Along the way he built 33 ships, totalling 15,142 tons. He was clearly the son of Laing's Simey - Thomas  B. (Boyes) Simey - Stan describes Alfred as being 'the son of T. B. Simey who had run his own yard on the Wear before becoming a surveyor'. Being a surveyor refers to the older Simey's role as the Lloyd's Surveyor for the river Wear. The Alfred Simey & Co. shipyard may have been known as 'Simey's Slipway', or just Strand Slipway, it would seem. There were three partners, i.e. Alfred Simey, William Stobart & Philip Henry Laing. If you can add additional data, your contribution would be most welcome. A site visitor, a member of the 'Simey' family, has kindly provided some extensive detail about the 'Simey' family history & about their extensive shipbuilding background. But has requested anonymity. I include the detail next, substantially as it was provided. Should anybody wish to contact that site visitor, I will gladly offer to be the 'go-between'. Thomas Boyes Simey Thomas Boyes Simey was born in Bishopwearmouth in 1798 & baptised there on May 17, 1799. On Nov. 22, 1827, also in Bishopwearmouth, he married Isabella Harrison & they had 12 children - including Alfred Simey, of course. Thomas Boyes Simey was a shipbuilder. The Newcastle Courant dated Dec. 01, 1836 shows Thomas, 'shipbuilder at Deptford, near Sunderland', dissolved the partnership of Laing & Simey. The 1841 Census shows Thomas as a Ship Owner, living with his wife and children in Frederick Street, Bishopwearmouth. The 1850 Ward's Directory for Sunderland shows Thomas as a 'Surveyor of Shipping' with an office at 46 Villiers Street, Sunderland. He is also shown as a Councillor for Bishopwearmouth Ward. The Mercantile Navy List dated 1860 shows Thomas as one of four Sunderland Nominees of the Board of Trade. The 1861 Census shows Thomas, his wife, children and four servants, living at 'The Poplars', Bishopwearmouth. In 1866, Thomas was Land Tax Commissioner for County Durham. The Newcastle Courant dated Feb. 10 shows he died earlier that month of heart disease, and gives his home address as 'Ashbourne Villa', Bishopwearmouth. His wife, Isabella, died in late Jan. 1892. Thomas Harrison Thomas Harrison was described in the Newcastle Courant newspaper announcement of Isabella's marriage as 'of His Majesty's Customs', & he appears in Pigot's Trade Directory of 1828 as a 'Shipowner' in Bridge Street, Bishopwearmouth. Alfred Simey was born in Bishopwearmouth & baptised there on Jul. 23, 1839.  His father was Thomas Boyes Simey. And Isabella Harrison, daughter of Thomas Harrison, was his mother. The London Gazette dated Sep. 07, 1860 gave Notice that from Aug. 16 of that year, Shipowner William Burdes of Sunderland assigned all of his real and personal estate effects to Alfred Simey, Shipbuilder, as trustee for the benefit of Burdes's creditors. Alfred's elder brother, Ralph Simey, acted as solicitor. (Ralph's wife, Margaret Iliff, was probably related to the 'Iliff' in the Sunderland shipbuilding partnership with 'Mounsey', but, at present, I do not know what the family relationship was.) The London Gazette dated Dec. 05, 1865 gave Notice of the dissolution by mutual consent of Alfred's partnership with his brother-in-law, Thomas Henry Woods, in the shipbuilding and ship repairing business at Strand Slipway, Monkwearmouth Shore. The 1871 Census lists Alfred as 'Anthony Simey', aged 31, Shipbuilder employing 7 men and boys, and living with his wife, 3 daughters and 3 servants at 8 Roker Terrace, Bishopwearmouth. The Middlesbrough Daily Gazette dated May 07, 1875 shows Messrs A. Simey & Co. lost £22,000, under the heading 'Another Heavy Failure in the Steam Shipping Trade'. The London Gazette dated Dec. 17, 1878 gave Notice of Dissolution, by mutual consent, on Nov. 01, 1878, of the business partnership of Alfred Simey, William Stobart and Philip Henry Laing as Iron Shipbuilders/Repairers, known as Alfred Simey & Co. Afterwards, Stobart and Laing continued the business as 'Strand Slipway Co'. The 1881 Census shows Alfred still as 'shipbuilder/repairer' living at 8 Roker Terrace. In 1911, he was listed as a shareholder of the Great Western Railway. He died in 1911 (ref. FreeBMD, Volume 5c, page 593), and the National Burials Index shows he was buried in Somerset, England. Edith Freeman Downes Alfred's wife was Edith Freeman Downes, daughter of John Downes, a London tea dealer. Alfred & Edith married in 1865, lived in Bishopwearmouth, and had three daughters before a son, Alfred James Downes Simey, was born in 1875.  A. J. D. Simey became an Army officer & served in France during WWI. Edith died in Somerset in 1928. Anyway, names of vessels constructed by 'Alfred Simey & Co.' of Sunderland - in a table in build date sequence. Just two vessels so far. What is at present a puzzle is that Bickley (below) is indicated to be Hull #51. When 'Simey' is said, above, to have built 33 vessels only. But they may be many reasons for such a high hull number - such numbers were not always neat & tidy! 1   Lizzie Ann 269 tons 62520 1869 A brig. So far as the webmaster can see, the vessel, which was launched on May 26, 1969, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1871/72 thru 1873/74 only, though it is possible that it was listed in the 1870/71 edition, which edition in the webmaster's files does not contain the needed pages. Listed, for that very brief period as Lizzie Ann & owned by J. Chisholm of Sunderland - for service from Sunderland to the Black Sea. First registered, at Sunderland on May 29, 1869. The vessel is recorded in Turnbull's Shipping Register ('TR') of 1874 (as Lizzie Ann) with J. Chisholm then the vessel's sole owner. In the absence of LR data, the Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') comes to our rescue. It lists the vessel from 1870 thru 1885, always registered at Sunderland & always owned by John Chisholm of Sunderland. But recorded in 1870 & 1871 only as Lizzie Ann & thereafter thru 1885 as Lizzie Anne (1880). The 1886 edition of MNL is not available. The vessel is not listed in MNL of 1887. An event in the vessel's life, that the webmaster happened to spot. On Dec. 29, 1869, Lizzie Ann, with J. Chisholm in command & with J. Orwin her first mate, en route from Dingle (County Kerry, Western Ireland), to Cardiff, was in collision, in Penarth Roads with Ariel, a barque, (there would seem to have been two barques of the name at the time), & suffered some damage. Such damage was quickly repaired & on Jan. 23, 1870, the vessel left Cardiff, Wales, for Alexandria, Egypt, with 460 tons of coal, again with 'Chisholm' in command. On May 30, 1870, the vessel arrived back at Hull, ex Alexandria. Some contemporary news reports - 1 & 2. 110.4 ft. long, signal letters JVBS, a few crew lists, thru 1871, are available via here. On Feb. 17, 1873, Lizzie Ann, 'Chisholm' in command, en route in ballast from Beyrout (Beyrut, Lebanon) to Kaiffa (Acre Bay) parted from both her anchors & went ashore in the bay at Acre (today northern Israel). It ended up sunk & 8 ft. deep in the sand. It was there for a while! It was reported on Mar. 16, 1873 that if the weather holds the vessel, said to be in good condition, 'can be got off'. On or about Apl. 17, 1873 the vessel was raised & it was hoped that she would be floated off in a few days. Some contemporary reports - 3, 4 & 5. What then happened is unknown to the webmaster, who has, so far at least, found no later newspaper reference to the vessel. Did the vessel truly change its name along the way from Lizzie Ann to Lizzie Anne? Did the vessel really survive thru 1885? Was the vessel perhaps found to be irreparably damaged at Acre? What finally happened to her? The webmaster needs help to address such matters. #2829 2 Broomside 455/727 tons Hull 41 68879 1873 Broomside? A colliery of the name was located at Belmont, 3 miles to the ENE of the City of Durham. Broomside, an iron steamship, was launched on Dec. 20, 1872 & was first registered on Feb. 21, 1873. It is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1874/75 thru 1877/78 (1875/76) - the 1877/78 edition of LR notes 'Lost'. Per LR, the vessel was owned by H. T. Morton of Sunderland. Which owner name is clarified by the Mercantile Navy Lists of 1874 thru 1877 to mean Hy. Thos. Morton, of Biddick Hall, County Durham. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1874 has H. T. Morton as the vessel's then sole shareholder. Now the vessel was surely intended to serve the south of England & continental coal trade of the Lambton Company, owned by the Earl of Durham, with which & whom 'Morton' was closely associated. 200.2 ft. long, signal letters LPWC, 90 HP engines by Stewart & Co. of London, some crew lists are available via this page. Miramar, who refer to the owners as being Henry T. Morton & Co., note that Broomside was wrecked off the Sunderland S. pierhead, on Mar. 06, 1877, when arriving from London (in fact from Bordeaux, France, via London) with a cargo of pit props. Unfortunately, none of the available editions of LR provide captains names. The vessel is detail listed as a result of a guestbook message & follow-up e-mails from Philip Arnatt, whose GGG grandfather, Peter Goodson of Sunderland, was, he believes, Broomside's first captain. Philip tells me that the vessel primarily served the French cities of Bordeaux & St. Nazaire but also served Le Havre, Rouen & La Rochelle (also France). It also served cities in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium & Poland including Nieuwe Dieppe, Hamburg, Stettin & Antwerp. I note that the vessel's voyages to St. Nazaire frequently went on to Bilbao, Spain, before returning to Sunderland. 900 tons of coal would seem to have been a normal outgoing load, often returning with pit props. On Jan. 24, 1875, when off Beachy Head, East Sussex, a ship, believed to be a brig, was seen dismasted & in difficulty. Broomside tried to offer assistance but was unable to get close. The unidentified vessel, alas, went down with all hands. I learn that 'Goodson' was the vessel's captain thru late Jul. 1876 at least - he died in a London hospital on Nov. 11, 1876 at the age of 44. In Sep. 1876, 'Warren' was the vessel's captain. However 'Kedgley' soon became the vessel's captain, certainly from Oct. 28, 1876, & maybe from a little earlier. I cannot tell you who was in command of Broomside when in very early Oct. 1876, the vessel, en route from London to Sunderland in ballast, was in collision with Harwich, a steamer en route from Harwich, Essex, to Antwerp, Belgium. Harwich was, it would seem, a 750 ton paddle steamer owned by the Great Eastern Railway Co. of Harwich. I cannot tell you where such collision occurred but it seems likely that it would have been in the Thames estuary or nearby. The resulting damage to Broomside included a hole in her starboard bow & her stern twisted & smashed. Harwich suffered bow damage & put back to Harwich, presumably to assess her condition. 'Kedgley' (W. C. Kedgley, I read, in this U.K. Government wreck listing, lost on Mar. 07, 1877), was Broomside's captain when the vessel arrived at Sunderland from Bordeaux via London early on Mar. 06, 1877. With a cargo of pit props & during a severe gale. This contemporary 'Sunderland Echo' newspaper article tells us what happened. The vessel stopped to avoid hitting some hopper vessels & when she got going again she was unable to make the harbour entrance. She was driven onto shore & hit the NE corner of the South Pier. The vessel suffered a large hole in her hull near her foremast, her fore compartment filled with water in 3 or 4 minutes & the bow sank, leaving the vessel, with its stern elevated, stuck within half a dozen yards of the head of the pier. During the following days, the vessel's cargo of pit props was, with difficulty, unloaded & her boats & compasses & also the seamen's effects were safely carried to shore. In the following two weeks she continued to be pounded by high seas. Fortunately there was no loss of life in the disaster, the crew (of 18 to 20) being rescued some by rope & others by means of a rocket apparatus, some without even getting their feet wet! The wreck was auctioned off in situ for salvage on Mar. 24, 1877 & sold to Mr. James Laing. By the next day, i.e. Mar. 25, 1877, the vessel, in yet another storm, had broken up with the ship's bow now in the harbour entrance while the rest of the hull was 200 yards to the southward. For a while, until it was removed, such bow portion of the vessel was a danger to navigation being located right at the entrance to the river Wear. This summary history has been made possible only via the extensive files of Philip Arnatt who would particularly like to locate an image of the vessel should one prove to be available. The webmaster will gladly pass on to Philip any data or imagery site visitors may provide, or you can be directly in touch with him via the guestbook entry. However, since those words were written, Philip has provided me with an image of Broomside aground at Sunderland - thanks I believe to Billy Donaldson - the lower image at left. Also, I see that an image of Broomside, ex the Rob White collection, is available via a Sunderland shipping website, which website requests no links or recognition. Such image is the top image at left. We sincerely thank both Billy Donaldson & Rob White! And also thank that 'unnamed' Sunderland website. Can you add to and/or correct the above text? #2887 3 Bickley 631 (or 401) tons Hull 51 76970 1877 An iron steamship. Per 1 (1880 grounding, ex 'The Nautical Magazine', of 1881, a 'Google' book), 2 (Ulster Steamship, Bickley), 3 (extensive data about 1884 wreck), 4 (Miramar, link, you now must be registered to access). 176 ft. 0 in. long, per Miramar 53.6 metres long perpendicular to perpendicular, signal letters QTMB. The webmaster has a few Lloyd's Registers available, & the 1878/79 edition indicates two owners, 'G. Heyn & Ss' ('Heyn') & then 'Ulster Steamship Company Ltd.'. Heyn would seem to correctly mean 'G. Heyn and Sons Ltd.', of Belfast, from 1879 the managers & maybe the owners also of 'Ulster Steamship Company Ltd.' ('Ulster') known as 'Head Line' - which Line then served the E. coast of Canada, the Far East, Europe & Baltic ports. In the 1880/81 edition of Lloyd's Register, the owner was stated to be Ulster, of Belfast, & I have read that Bickley was Ulster's very first ship. On Sep. 08, 1880, Bickley, owned accordingly by 'Ulster Steamship Company, Limited', was en route from Barrow-in-Furness, to Riga, Latvia, with a cargo of pig iron. The vessel was stranded, at Windam, Russia, the Captain (Kerr, perhaps?) being held responsible because he continued at high speed in close proximity to the land. I cannot identify where 'Windam' is, but I suspect it may be in the Baltic, near the Gulf of Riga. Bickley was presumably re-floated because it stranded again, 4 years later. This time it went aground, at Crossapoll Bay, on the E. side of the island of Coll, Inner Hebrides, W. coast of Scotland. On Oct. 04, 1884, though the wreck references are to Oct. 06, 1884, perhaps the date when she was considered to be a total loss. At 56.34.5N/6.40.0W. The vessel was en route from Liverpool to Copenhagen, Denmark, with general cargo, W. Mahood (not Mallwood, I think) in command, a crew of 17. I have not been able to learn the circumstances, but when Bickley went aground, the seas would seem to have been calm. Seamew & Androsine, & also Claymore perhaps, went to Bickley's assistance, but for a great many days, indeed for a whole month, in high seas & in gale conditions, rescuers, who could get close to the ship, could not board her. And the ship presumably broke up. 5 lives are said to have been lost - perhaps it is a coincidence that at 3, 5 of the crew are specifically referred to as being saved. Was the Captain saved, I wonder? Miramar references 'Pile & Co' to be the owner in its listing for the vessel - a bit of a puzzle. Can you add anything! SIMPSON and SHORT JOSEPH SIMPSON The webmaster knows nothing about this modest shipbuilder, who would seem to have built just a single vessel. In 1850. Listed below. The London Gazette, in its Feb. 12, 1850 issue, advised that on Feb. 08, 1850, the partnership of Joseph Simpson and George Short, shipbuilders, of Low Pallion, had by mutual consent been dissolved. Further that Joseph Simpson would continue to carry on the business on his own account. So far as the webmaster can see, Joseph Simpson, in the continued business, built a single vessel also - Bosphorus a 350/395 ton barque launched on Jan. 02, 1851.    1   Isabella and Dorothy 292/306 later 277 tons 2080 1850 A snow or brig, which was launched in Jan. 1850, on Jan. 04, 1850 I have read. Isabella and Dorothy is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1850/51 thru 1861/62. Owned, thru 1855/56, by E. Oliver of North Shields, for service from Shields to Barcelona, Spain, & from 1854/55 for service from Bristol to Havana, Cuba. With W. (Wm.) Carr her captain thru 1853/54 & then W. Graham. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in Mar. 1854 data, records the vessel as then Shields registered with Edward Oliver of North Shields as the vessel's owner & Wm. Graham her then captain. Turnbull's Shipping Register ('TR') of 1856 does not list the vessel, but TR of 1855 does, with E. Oliver the owner & T. Reed then her captain. A Sunderland shipping website, which site requests no links or recognition, tells us that the vessel was first registered on Jan. 23, 1850, at North Shields, in the name of Edward Short. From 1856/57 thru 1860/61, Isabella and Dorothy, now of 277 tons, was, per LR, owned by Watson & Co. of Newcastle for service from Newcastle to Algiers, Algeria, & from 1859/60 for service from Newcastle to the Mediterranean. With G. Arnott consistently serving as her captain. The Sunderland shipping website, referred to above, notes that the vessel was registered in the names of Robert Watson & George Arnott, on May 28, 1855, & was re-registered, with a larger group of owners, on Jun. 07, 1855. Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 records R. Watson, G. Arnott & J. Ridley Watson, all of Newcastle, & James Morton, Jun., Thos. Forster & J. P. (James Proctor) Morton, all of Howdon (E. of Newcastle), as the then owners of the Newcastle registered vessel. In 1861/62, per LR, G. Arnott of Newcastle became the vessel's owner - while still serving as her captain. It would seem that George Arnott et al became the vessel's registered owners on Feb. 26, 1859. 92 ft. 7 in. long (per the 2nd of two Lloyd's survey documents), no crew lists seem to exist for the vessel. What finally happened to Isabella and Dorothy? LR of 1861/62 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. Per line 2097 here, the 277 ton brig, on Feb. 01, 1862, stranded near Larnaca (S. coast of Cyprus), while en route from Beyrout (Beirut, Lebanon) to Limasol (Limassol, S. coast of Cyprus) in ballast. Crew of 9 - none lost. The vessel was then owned by George Arnott. The available news reports do not state the related circumstances, but the seas & winds must have been high when she arrived at Cyprus. I learn that the vessel, stated to have been under the command of 'Beattie', had left Troon, Scotland, for Beyrout on Nov. 01, 1862. The vessel had apparently arrived at Troon ex the Baltic. On Dec. 08, 1862, the vessel left Malta for Beyrout with 'Arnott' noted to be then in command. Fast forward! The vessel left Beyrout for Cyprus on Jan. 26, 1862, & on Feb. 01, 1862, arrived off Famagusta, Cyprus, to load a cargo of locust-beans for delivery at Cronstadt (St. Petersburg, Russia) - with 'Bartie' noted to be then in command. The vessel ran upon the rocks of the old mole of Famagusta on the night of Feb. 01, 1862 & broke into pieces. Such 'mole', a breakwater, has protected the harbour at Famagusta for a great many centuries. The vessel's crew were saved & taken aboard Stella, a French steamship which at the time was being repaired at Famagusta. The vessel was, I read, only partially insured. The vessel's captain (no name provided) was later reported to have arrived at Marseilles, France, on Feb. 26, 1852. There would seem to be some confusion in the reports as to the name of the vessel's then captain. A confusion that I cannot, at present, resolve. This contemporary news report relates. Can you add anything additional? #2799 J. SMITH JOHN SMITH of Pallion I first included the name in these pages because of the vessel listed below, by the name of New Ed, that John Smith built in Sunderland in 1853. Now Lloyd's Registers of that point in time state where a ship was built but do not state who built it. There is available a list of ships built in Sunderland in 1857 ex 'Christie's Annual Shipping Register, Maritime Compendium, and Commercial Advertiser' for 1858, & such list does not contain the name J. Smith. But he may well have been out of business by that date. Now, thanks to Bill Swift, we are able to make available a 'pdf' about John Smith, complete with contemporary newspaper cuttings, a tentative build list & even some maps. You can access Bill's comprehensive 'pdf' here. Should you happen to note any errors in such 'pdf' or have additional information, Bill invites you to be in contact with him via the webmaster. I will gladly pass on any such comments. Bill Swift advises that John Smith was indeed out of business by 1858, having died in 1855. John Smith, Bill tells us, was born in humble circumstances in Monkwearmouth in about 1810 & died on May 14, 1855 at his son-in-law's residence at Poplar, London - at age 45. He clearly was a successful business man, not only building ships but also manufacturing cable & anchors, making sails, being a timber merchant, etc. He even served as a councillor for Monkwearmouth Ward. He was clearly a significant employer in the Sunderland scene since he had almost 300 employees in his various enterprises in 1851. He never mastered the skill of writing, however! He was the owner of his shipbuilding business, per Bill Swift, from just 1850 thru 1855. And possibly from even earlier - in 1848. Hopefully more vessels built by John Smith will soon be included below. Just 5 at this moment. We do have data on site now about a number of the ships that he built, i.e. Brahan Castle, Dumfriesshire, George Kendall, Jane Gray, Richard Battersby, Shakspeare, Sir James, Sir Walter Raleigh, Tijarety Misr & Walter Duncan. A 'John Smith' build list is now on site - here. 1   Janet Willis 572/666 tons 32728 1850 Janet Willis, a ship which was launched in Jul. 1850, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1851/52 thru 1864/65. Owned for that entire period, per LR, by J. Willis of London. Which means John Willis & Co. There is greater detail here about John Willis & Co., & John Willis himself (1817/1899), known as 'White Hat Willis', re an earlier vessel of the same name, a barque built in Sunderland in 1835. Willis & Co. apparently owned the famous Cutty Sark for a great many years. Janet Willis was first registered, at Sunderland, on Aug. 19, 1850 (scroll to #32728). Surely later registered at London. But a Lloyd's Survey, conducted while the vessel was being built, records that the vessel was then or was soon to be London registered. Other survey documents are also available thanks to the Lloyd's Register Foundation. A puzzle indeed is that the vessel is Mercantile Navy List referenced only from 1862 thru 1864 but is not listed in the years from 1857 thru 1861. J. Willis, per LR, served as the vessel's captain thru 1853/54. No captain's name was LR indicated in the following 5 years. LRs of 1859/60 thru 1864/65 report 'Stubbs' as the vessel's then captain. For service from Sunderland to Bombay (now Mumbai), India (from 1851/52 thru 1853/54), ex London thru 1858/59, & from 1859/60 thru 1864/65 for service from London to India. Some 'best efforts' & 'selected' Janet Willis operational history - by captain. 'Willis', Thomas Nickels & 'Baxter' - i) The vessel left Hartlepool for Bombay via London on Aug. 24, 1850, with 'Willis' in command. It would appear to have suffered storm damage & put into Madeira (a Portuguese island off the NW coast of Africa), leaving again after 17 days for Bombay on Sep. 23, 1850. It arrived at Bombay on Jan. 26, 1851. I think that Thomas Nickels became her captain in Bombay. The vessel was later damaged in a hurricane on Feb. 19, 1853, at 19S/3W, while en route from Cochin (now Kochi, Kerala State, SW India) to London, with 'Nickels' in command. Arriving at London on May 21, 1853. 'Baxter' maybe her next captain for a voyage to Calcutta. The service of Janet Willis thru 1854 needs research - out of available time today! R. J. Wood - ii) On Sep. 11, 1854, the vessel, 'Wood' in command, left London for Melbourne, Australia, with a general cargo & 22 passengers. It arrived at Melbourne on Jan. 06, 1855 & left for Calcutta (now Kolkata) India, on Feb. 23, 1855 arriving there on Apl. 30, 1855. So far as I can see, that was the only voyage in which Janet Willis visited Australia. The vessel did not return directly to London. It left Calcutta on Jun. 05, 1855 & on Jul. 30, 1855 arrived at Canton (Guangzhou, China), via Singapore. I have read that on Nov. 01, 1855 the vessel left Hong Kong ('HK') for San Francisco ('SF'), U.S.A., but have also read that it put back to HK on Nov. 28, 1855 having been damaged in severe weather on Oct. 24, 1855. On Jan. 06, 1856 it again left HK for SF. To return to HK & again leave for SF - and then repeat such return voyage. On Jan. 17, 1858 Janet Willis left HK for Siam (Thailand today) & on Sep. 04, 1858 the vessel arrived back at Deal ex Singapore via St. Helena. Further research is needed to refine the above data. iii) On Oct. 19, 1858, the vessel was reported to be loading at London for Madras (now Chennai), India. 'Stubbs' - iv) On or about Oct. 25, 1858, the vessel, 'Stubbs' in command, left London for Madras with troop reinforcements, arriving at Madras on Mar. 27, 1859. It made a voyage to Mauritius returning to Madras on Aug. 15, 1859. And then to Calcutta & on to Rangoon (now Yangon, Myanmar) in due course returning to Calcutta. On Dec. 02, 1860, the vessel was at the Straits of Sunda (which lie between the Indonesian islands of Java & Sumatra & connect the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean), ex Macao (near HK), bound for London. Where it arrived on Apl. 04, 1861. 'Lawson' (or 'Lawsonby' but almost all references are to 'Lawson') - v) On May 22, 1861 Janet Willis left Gravesend, London, for Bombay, India, arriving there on Sep. 25, 1861. On Nov. 28, 1861 the vessel left Bombay for Calcutta with Lawsonby stated to be in command - via Cochin, arriving at Calcutta on Jan. 16, 1862. 129.0 ft. long. No crew lists seem to be available for the vessel. What finally happened to Janet Willis? LR of 1864/65 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked', but it happened much much earlier than that. On Mar. 01, 1862, per line 2981 here of a U.K. Government wreck listing, the 572 ton Janet Willis left Calcutta for Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of produce. And went missing. The listing does not state how many crew members were aboard the vessel, which was stated to have been owned by John Willis. On Mar. 08, 1862, it was reported from Calcutta that the vessel, 'Lawson' in command, having left Calcutta on Feb. 27, 1862, had parted from her tow ropes & touched in Bedford's Channel (River Hooghly, Calcutta) - but proceeded to sea without damage. Lloyd's List later published that the vessel had gone missing. Can you tell us anything more? #2891 2 New Ed 267 (later 236) tons 1853 A snow, later a brig, which would seem to have had a longer life than I at first thought. The vessel is not Miramar listed. 113.3 ft. long, signal letters HETW. Built for J. Oldrey, also the vessel's captain, of Hmbro', which clearly means Hamburg, Germany. For voyages from Sunderland to Hamburg, it would appear. This newspaper cutting announces the launch of the vessel  on Aug. 22, 1853 for Oldney & Co. of Hamburg, the vessel being christened by Miss Helen Smith & intended for the South American trade. A 2nd launch announcement has the purchaser as Messrs. Oldrey & Co. The webmaster has editions of Lloyd's Register available to him ex 'Google' books, thru 1862/63 - see left. Note that the vessel is not Lloyd's listed in such later editions (1863/64 thru 1889/90) as the webmaster has available, & it seemed likely that the vessel was renamed. But the webmaster has also seen a much much later Lloyd's Register reference to the ship, in 1899/1900, when still named New Ed. That reference has been included at left also. Vendor 'scott-base' indicated, in his eBay listing (thanks!), that by 1867 the vessel was sold to owners from Tønsberg, Norway. Later in life, at 1899/1900 for sure as we can see, the vessel was owned by Acties "New Ed", H. Helland the manager & maybe the owner also, of Frederikstad, Norway. That is, alas, all that I can at present tell you about the vessel. What finally happened to her, I wonder? Can you add anything! #1835. 3   Prima Donna 136 later 127 tons 10798 1853 A snow or brig. This newspaper launch announcement advises that the 'clipper brig' Prima Donna was launched on Mar. 24, 1853 for a London company, intended for use in the Australian trade. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1853/54 thru 1862/63 & not thereafter (thru 1869/70 at least), owned for that entire period, per LR, by Prew of London, for service throughout from Sunderland to Australia. With 'Sprowl' (Alexander A. Sproul, I understand) always LR noted to be her captain. There are a host of references to the brig at Trove, Australia. The vessel was a regular trader in that part of the world once it had arrived at Melbourne via Perth on Sep. 23, 1853. On Jul. 14, 1858, the vessel left Melbourne for Singapore in ballast, went on to Valparaiso, Chile, & from there carried ore to Liverpool. Between those dates the vessel visited Wellington, New Zealand ('NZ') via the Chatham Islands, Adelaide, Swan River (Perth), Singapore, Foo Choo Foo (China), Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland (NZ), Port Cooper (Lyttelton, NZ), Melbourne, Manila, Melbourne, Lyttelton, Mauritius & South Sea Islands, Geelong, & Singapore. It carried cargoes of sugar, of tea, of livestock, whatever. On Sep. 19, 1854 when off Waitangi, NZ, the vessel was fortunate not to be driven ashore in gale conditions. Triumph, a schooner, was not so fortunate. On Feb. 21, 1856 the vessel drifted ashore at Melbourne in a gale but was successfully got off after 4 days. In Jun. 1856, the vessel encountered gales which lasted 4 days while en route from Sydney to Lyttlelton. Her cargo included 31 mares & 20 heifers. She ended up at Auckland with major losses in such livestock, particularly amongst the mares. The Mercantile Navy List of 1860 indicates that at that time the vessel was registered at London, however the equivalent list of 1861 has the vessel registered at Leith, Scotland. The Mercantile Navy List of 1867 lists the vessel, then of 127 tons, as registered at Hull & owned by Robert Hellyer of Kingston-upon-Hull. The equivalent list of 1868 has T. R. Halfyard, of Kingston-upon-Hull, Thomas Richardson Halfyard, I believe, as her then owner. Signal letters KPWS. Data as to what finally happened to Prima Donna, apparently before 1870, is not yet to hand. Can you help in that regard? It would seem that a certificate re the vessel's loss was dated Sep. 22, 1869 (scroll to #10798). #2259 4   Uncle Tom 900 tons 1853 A ship, 158 ft. long between perpendiculars, built of English oak & East Indian teak, named after & with a full-length figurehead of Uncle Tom, the black slave & the principal character in the 1852 anti-slavery novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' written by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. This newspaper launch announcement advises that 3,000 people were in attendance when on Jun. 21, 1853 (as I read the words) the ship was launched to much acclaim. The vessel was intended for the Australian & East Indian trade. The article does not refer to a buyer's name but it does refer to a letter from Messrs. Kendall of Liverpool which suggests that they may have been the vessel's proposed owner. A quality ship it would seem. Alas that is all I can at present tell you about the vessel which, so far as I can see was never listed in Lloyd's Register, nor would it appear to have been issued an Official Number & likely therefore was not in existence on Jan. 1, 1855 when such numbering system commenced. If anyone can provide more information about the vessel & what happened to her, do please be in touch. #1927. 5 Joshua & Mary 243 (later 218 & 219) tons (a snow, later a schooner) 26482 1854 A snow, later a schooner. Per 1 (rescue of survivors of Punjab), 2 (Bill Swift's extensive & detailed history of vessel), 3 (Joshua & Mary's grounding on Maplin Sands in Mar. 1873), 4 (Joshua & Mary sunk in Jul. 1880). 112.0 ft. long, later 113.0 & 113.7 ft., 2 masts, snow rigged, signal letter PLHK. The name of the vessel's initial owner is unknown, though it likely was Miller & Co. of London, per Lloyd's Registers ('LR') the owner from 1854/55 thru 1861/62. In Sep. 1860, the vessel, with Captain John William Turner in command, was en route from Montevideo, Uruguay, via Queenstown, Ireland, to Antwerp. On Sep. 15, 1860, the vessel rescued the survivors of Punjab, a barque built in Sunderland in 1859, which barque was wrecked when it ran aground in high seas & poor visibility on Seven Stones Reef, 15 miles from Land's End, Cornwall. You can read all about it here. From 1861 thru 1872, Joshua & Mary was owned by Turner & Co. & registered at London - per the Mercantile Navy List ('MNL')of 1870, John Williams (means William) Turner of Natham (means Northam), Devon. On Mar. 16, 1873 the vessel left Boulogne, France, in ballast, for Blyth, having discharged a cargo of coal. The vessel anchored for 2 1/2 days under the Maplin Light (near Southend, Essex) awaiting favourable weather. It weighed anchor on Mar. 21, 1873, but, soon after noon on the next day, i.e. Mar. 22, 1873, the vessel ran aground on Maplin Sands - mud flats at the mouth of the Thames off Shoulness Island, E. of Southend. The crew tried to get the vessel off but left the vessel late on Mar. 23, 1873 (I think), to be landed at nearby Brightlingsea. On Mar. 25, 1873, with the assistance of five smacks, the seriously damaged vessel was pulled off & was taken to Colchester. Salvage was paid & the vessel was bought, likely by Dent's, & then moved to Blyth to be repaired. She later, on Jul. 3, 1873, presumably repaired, left Blyth for Lisbon, Portugal. At an inquiry into the grounding, Frederick Picknell, her Captain, was found to have failed to use the lead as appropriate & his licence was suspended for 6 months. At the hearing, W. Schollar (William Henry Schollar) was stated to have been her owner. However, certainly from 1873/74 (LR) & per Bill Swift from 1872, the vessel, now a schooner, was owned by R. Richardson of Amble, Northumberland - for intended service to the Baltic. But not for long. Lloyd's Register of 1873/74 also records that Dent Hodgson & Co. of Blyth had become the vessel's new owner. A major storm swept the U.K. on Jan. 23, 1875 - Joshua & Mary was damaged when it collided with Brilliant Star - both vessels were assisted into Ramsgate. By 1878/79, Dent & Co. had replaced Dent Hodgson & Co. as the vessels owner, thru 1880/81, however the MNL of 1880 instead records 'The Phoenix Shipping Co. Ltd.' ('Phoenix') as her owner. Bill Swift advises that Phoenix had been established in early 1879 to consolidate the ownership of all of Dent & Co.'s sailing ships into a single limited liability company. What eventually happened to Joshua & Mary? On Jul. 31, 1880, while en route from the Tyne to Malaga, Spain, with a cargo of coal, the vessel was run down & sunk, in hazy conditions, by Inch Marnock, off Torbay. The entire crew, including 'Rhodes', her Captain, were saved. Joshua & Mary sank 15 minutes after she was hit. This listing was only made possible thanks to Bill Swift, who kindly made his extensive research & related source documents available to the webmaster. Bill is researching the history of Dent & Co. of Blyth, & of their fleet of many ships. We thank you Bill! Can you add anything? Re Joshua & Mary or related to Dent & Co. or another 'Dent' fleet vessel? #1912 6   Lady Ann 685/745, later 688 tons 23076 1854 A ship, maybe later a barque, registered at London on May 29, 1854 (scroll to #23076). Per these (1 & 2) newspaper cuttings, the vessel was launched on Apl. 13, 1854 for Sir Geo. Hodgkinson of London, intended for the East India trade. And was first registered, at London, on May 29, 1854. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1854/55 thru 1881/82. Initially owned, for about two years only, by Hodgkinson of London for service from London to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With W. (William) Maxton serving as the vessel's captain. In 1856/57, per LR, D. Dunbar i.e. Duncan Dunbar, became the vessel's owner (thru 1863/64) for service ex London & from 1861/62 for service from London to Australia. With Allen (thru 1857/58), (G. N.) Livesay (in 1858/59 & 1859/60), (Alexander) Sinclair (in 1860/61 & 1861/62) & J. Webb (1861/62 thru 1864/65) LR recorded as serving as her captains. From 1864/65 to 1881/82, per LR, the vessel was owned by 'Prowse' of London, initially 'Prowse', from 1867/68 T. Prowse & from 1873/74 J. Prowse. Note, however, that all of the Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') from 1865 thru 1879 (1870) list John Prowse of London as her owner. Under 'Prowse' ownership, her service, per LR, was - from London to i) New Zealand ('NZ') in the 1864/65 thru 1867/68 period, ii) to Australia (1868/69 & 1869/70), iii) to Karachi, now Pakistan, (from 1870/71 to 1871/72), iv) from Belfast to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1872/73 & v) from London to Ceylon in 1872/73. With, per LR, T. Phillips (1864/65 thru 1867/68), W. Gilles (1867/68 & 1868/69), & D. Wilson (1868/69 thru 1881/82), serving as her captains. Time is not now available to permit the webmaster to fully research at Trove, Australia or at 'PapersPast' the vessel's many voyages to Australia & NZ. However, i) on its maiden voyage, the ship, under the command of William Maxton, left Plymouth on Jun. 26, 1854 & arrived at Sydney on Sep. 29, 1854 with 3 passengers & 290 immigrants - after a voyage of 85 days from Land's End. It was cleared out for its return voyage to London on Jan. 13, 1855. ii) on or about Jun. 25, 1856, the vessel, G. N. Livesay in command, arrived at Adelaide ex London (left Gravesend Mar. 22, 1856). A puzzle perhaps it was expected to leave London with 'Allen' in command. It loaded cargo in Sep. 1856 at Port Wakefield & left Adelaide for London, via St. Helena, on or about Dec. 16, 1856, arriving at Gravesend on Apl. 9, 1857. iii) On Oct. 11, 1857, G. N. Livesay again in command, the vessel arrived at Adelaide, South Australia, 95 days out from Plymouth, with 296 emigrants. It made a side trip to Port Wakefield to load wool & left Adelaide for London on Jan. 4, 1858 with 2700 bales of wool & 200 tons of silver & lead ore. It was off Plymouth on Apl. 4, 1858. iv) The vessel left London on Jun. 19, 1858 (Livesay) & arrived at Adelaide on Sep. 20, 1858 with 5 passengers (her cargo). It left Adelaide on Jan. 5, 1859 with wool loaded at Port Wakefield, 20 passengers & a cargo which included copper ore & cakes. v) The vessel left Plymouth on Jul. 6, 1859 for Adelaide & arrived there on Oct. 1, 1859 with 262 immigrants as per this fine site. A. Sinclair was in command. It was cleared for Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, on Dec. 22, 1859 with a cargo that included copper ingots & 72 horses. There are lots of references to the vessel at Trove. There surely were later voyages 'down under', maybe many of them. 147.0 ft. long, signal letters NQDJ. The vessel, per LR, became of 688 tons in 1864/65 & became a barque in 1870/71 (but note that MNL reports the vessel as being always a ship). Crew lists thru 1877 are available here. I have not read what finally happened to the vessel, likely in 1880 or 1881. Can you tell us what happened or otherwise add anything? #2292 SMURTHWAITE JOHN SMURTHWAITE I know absolutely nothing about this shipbuilder. Whose name is not, in fact, particularly common. Can you help? The webmaster has now seen that on May 01, 1865 John Smurthwaite was adjudged to be bankrupt. As per this contemporary news report. Anyway, names of vessels constructed by 'Smurthwaite' of Sunderland, at Palion, Sunderland - in a table in build date sequence. Just two vessels so far. Smurthwaite would seem to have built 9 vessels in the years from 1862 thru 1866 - but the last one, Stonehouse launched on Aug. 27, 1866, is a puzzle - in the light of the shipbuilder's bankruptcy. It would appear, however, that a John Smurthwaite, in 1880, owned (about 70% down), Mark Quay Brewery of 100 Low Street, in Sunderland. Is that of relevance to this page? It would seem that it probably is since John Smurthwaite is described as being 'originally a shipbroker & builder'. 1 J. M. Joshua 1147, later 1148 & 1134 tons 49908 Devon Venus 1864 A well-regarded fully rigged 'clipper' ship, completed in Mar. 1864, which later, in or about 1883, became a barque. Per 1 (data, page in Norwegian & English, Venus), 2 (image, Devon). 207.2 ft. long, signal letters WFVD, later HMSV, crew lists thru 1883 are available here, first LR recorded at 1134 tons in 1891/92. So far as I can see, the vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1863/64 thru 1894/95. The vessel was, per LR, first registered at London, built for Joshua Brothers, who owned the vessel thru 1873/74. It would seem that J. M. Joshua was the principal of Joshua Bros., a prominent firm of shipping agents of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Joshua Brothers & Co. was the partnership of Joshua Michael Joshua, Moss Joshua & Samuel Joshua & was dissolved on Sep. 30, 1874. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') of 1870 lists Samuel Joshua of London as the vessel's then owner. For initial service from Sunderland to China (thru 1866/67), from London to Australia (1867/68 thru 1870/71) & ex London thereafter thru 1873/74 when LR stopped listing intended voyages. With J. Ferguson serving as the vessel's captain thru 1867/68, 'Hodgson' thereafter thru 1873/74 & W. Hicks, from 1873/74 thru 1880/81. Madeleine Harwood indicates that 'Hodgson' means Robert F. (Francis) Hodgson, her GGG grandfather. Yes indeed! 'Hodgson' served as captain of the vessel from approx. Apl. 1867 thru Feb. 1874. Some details of J. M. Joshua's many voyages to Australia & New Zealand ('NZ'). i) In mid Nov. 1865, the vessel, captain 'Ferguson' in command, en route in ballast from China to Callao, Peru, to load guano for Fuzhou, China, put into Auckland, NZ, for provisions. ii) 'Hodgson' was in command of all of the following voyages. On Jun. 14, 1867 the vessel left London for Melbourne, arriving there on Aug. 27, 1867, 72 days out of Gravesend, with no passengers. And absent Richard Luffman a young seaman who had fallen from the mizen top gallant mast head & could not be found in the sea. On Nov. 18 or 19, 1867 the vessel left for London with a cargo that included 4,753 bales of wool, copper ore & gold. iii) The vessel left London, Gravesend, on Mar. 11, 1868, arriving at Melbourne on Jul. 2, 1868 with a cargo that included rams & ewes from the Rambouillet farms of the French Emperor. The vessel went on, in ballast, to Newcastle, New South Wales, where it was nearly wrecked on Oyster Bank as it arrived -  when the tow rope of tug Warhawk broke in difficult weather & sea conditions. On Sep. 08, 1868 the vessel left Newcastle for Shanghai, China, with 1,460 tons of coal. It would seem that on its return voyage to London, the vessel ran stem-on into an iceberg off Cape Horn. iv) there was a similar voyage in 1869, which left London on Jun. 01, 1869 with about 33 passengers & left to return to London on Nov. 13, 1869 with 4,892 bales of wool, copper ore etc. It was at the Isle of Wight on Mar. 04, 1870. v) On Jul. 17, 1870 the vessel arrived at Melbourne with a general cargo & 13 passengers. It went on to Adelaide, South Australia, in ballast, & was there extensively renovated. On Nov. 10, 1870 the vessel left Adelaide for London with over 5,000 bales of wool. vi) A similar voyage in 1871. vii) On Apl. 20, 1872 the vessel left Gravesend for Melbourne. A notable voyage because Herbert Harris, the ship's chief officer for 6 years, showed signs of insanity & became violent soon after leaving the U.K. He apparently had to be confined & guarded & died on Jul. 14, 1872 on which day the vessel arrived at Melbourne. On Aug. 23, 1872 the vessel left Melbourne for Adelaide with a cargo which included coal, & left Adelaide on Nov. 05, 1872 for London with a cargo of wool. viii) On Jun. 29, 1873 the vessel again arrived at Melbourne, went on to Newcastle & back, & on Nov. 21, 1873 left for London with 5,228 bales of wool. Just before she left Melbourne the vessel assisted in putting out a fire aboard Penthesilea. The vessel arrived back in London on Feb. 28, 1874. I note that the vessel was then sold & while captain 'Hodgson' was preparing to take command of a new ship, likely in mid-summer, he fell ill & died. As per this Australian report dated Sep. 24, 1874. In 1874, the vessel was sold to 'Bagehot & Co.', of London, & renamed Devon (confirmed by LR of 1874/5 which lists Devon but not J. M. Joshua). MNL of 1880 lists 'Joph. B. Bagehot' of London as the vessel's then owner. With W. Hicks continuing as captain of the vessel, now of 1148 tons, thru 1880/81 when ownership changed again. The vessel had further voyages to Australia as Devon (yet to be researched). A site visitor has indicated that his grandmother arrived at Port Adelaide, aboard Devon on Mar. 04, 1880. The vessel would seem to have been sold in 1882 to Wright Bros. & Co., of London, but there is much LR confusion as to such sale. LR of 1880/81 lists Wright Bros. & Co. of London as the vessel's new owner & registered there, LR of 1881/82 reverts to 'Bagehot', LR of 1882/83 reverts to 'Wright', while LR of 1883/84 lists K. Smith as the new owner. A. Barron served as captain during the Wright ownership period. Meanwhile, MNL of 1883 lists Edwin Smith of Lutton Ho, South Brent, Devon, (as I read it) as the vessel's then owner. I had hoped that MNL of 1882 might clarify the then ownership but it is not available as this page is updated. LR of 1883/84 lists the vessel, now a barque, as sold again, to 'A. F. Klaveness.' or 'A. F. Klaveness et al', of Sværdstad, Sandefjord, Norway, & renamed Venus. There were, per LR, a number of captains under 'Klaveness' ownership - A. (maybe H.) Anderson thru 1886/87, 'Christiansen'  in 1887/88, 'Klapens' in 1888/89, Klaveness or M. J. Klaveness from 1889/90 thru 1892/93 & T. J. Ness? in 1893/94. In 1895, I read that the vessel was damaged while en route from Pensacola, Florida, to Antwerp, Belgium, with a cargo of pitch pine. It was surveyed at San Miguel, Azores, & condemned. Can you add to (or correct) any of the above text? 2   Devonport 1188 tons 50143 1865 Devonport, a ship which was launched (in red) on Jan. 11, 1865, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1865/66 thru 1869/70 only. It was, per LR, initially owned by T. Harrison of London thru 1867/68, with 'B. Lodwck' (Lodwick) noted to have been her captain. For service ex Sunderland. On Dec. 21, 1865, at Sunderland, a dispute between 'Harrison' & George Seymour (of the London brokerage firm of Seymour Peacock & Company) was addressed in court. The court case, while it relates to Devonport, more importantly relates to a vessel called Lord Dalhousie, built at Sunderland in 1847. It would seem that 'Harrison' agreed to buy Devonport from 'Smurthwaite' for £14,750, such sum to be partially settled by the transfer to 'Smurthwaite' of Lord Dalhousie. With 'Smurthwaite' agreeing to repair Lord Dalhousie to bring her into such a condition that would permit her to be classed AI at Lloyd's. 'Harrison' advanced to 'Smurthwaite' the sum of £6,000 secured by a mortgage on Lord Dalhousie while 'Seymour', in turn, issued a bond to 'Harrison' to guarantee that 'Smurthwaite' would repair Lord Dalhousie as just indicated. It is important to note that 'Smurthwaite' had been adjudged bankrupt on May 01, 1865 & as a result of his bankruptcy could not repair Lord Dalhouise as had been intended. 'Harrison', presumably, re-acquired Lord Dalhousie by exercising his mortgage rights re the vessel. The court concluded that the issue at hand was how much it would cost 'Harrison' to bring Lord Dalhousie back into an A1 condition. A jury determined that that sum was £1,800, presumably to be paid by 'Seymour' to 'Harrison'. The case was extensively reported in the contemporary press, particularly in the Shipping & Mercantile Gazette of Dec. 22, 1865. A summary of the case. On Jun. 28, 1865, Devonport, 'Lodwick' in command, was entered out of London for a voyage to Gibraltar, Mauritius & Madras (now Chennai), India. Acting as a military transport ship it would appear. I have not spotted when the vessel actually departed from London but on Aug. 02, 1865 it left Gibraltar for Mauritius with the left wing of the 2nd batallion of Her Majesty's 22nd Regiment on board. In due course it left Mauritius for Rangoon, Burma, (now Yangon, Myanmar) arriving there on Nov. 02, 1865 & departing for Madras on Nov. 21, 1865. It would seem to have been at Madras a long time, probably active in Indian or Indian Ocean waters. It left Madras on Mar. 08, 1867 for London, entered in at London on Jun. 17, 1867. It was in the East India Dock in London in early Sep. 1867 & while another departure was announced for Cape of Good Hope & Mauritius, it seems clear that it never happened & the vessel was rather sold. In 1867/68, per LR, Devonport became owned by Teighe & Co., also of London, for service in 1867/68 & 1868/69 from London to Australia & in 1869/70 for service from London to China. With 'Kennedy' consistently, per LR, the vessel's captain while 'Teighe' owned. The Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') tells us that in 1865 Devonport's owner or managing owner was rather George Fleming of London. MNL's of 1866 thru 1868 record Thos. O. Harrison, also of London, while MNLs of 1869 & 1870 record Teighe & Smith, again of London. On Feb. 29, 1868 Devonport, 'Kennedy' in command, was cleared out of London for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with many emigrants & a modest cargo. Probably in bad weather, the vessel grounded in the English Channel near Worthing, Sussex, on Mar. 08, 1868 & became leaky as a result. On Mar. 10, 1868, accordingly, the vessel put into Portsmouth, Hampshire, where her cargo was discharged & the vessel placed in dry dock to effect the necessary repairs. It left for Sydney again on May 02, 1868. Devonport encountered rough weather on its voyage to Sydney, where it arrived on Jul. 31, 1868. With, I read 411 Government emigrants. A published list of emigrant names. On Sep. 17, 1868 Devonport left Sydney for San Francisco, U.S.A. And on Dec. 21, 1868, the vessel, 'Kennedy' in command, was cleared out of San Francisco for Queenstown, Ireland. 208.0 ft. long, signal letters HDKB (MNL of 1865 states WGTR), crew lists of 1867 & 1869 are available via this page. On Jun. 24, 1869, again with 'Kennedy' in command, the vessel was cleared out of London for Shanghai, China. It was later reported to have arrived at the Straits of Sunda (which lie between the Indonesian islands of Java & Sumatra & connect the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean), on Sep. 21, 1869, en route to Shanghai. LR of 1869/70 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. What had happened to Devonport? I learn, in a report from Singapore dated Oct. 19, 1869, that Devonport (Kennedy) had, on Sep. 27, 1869, struck on an unmarked reef off Great Natuna Island (Indonesia, NE of Singapore) in the China Sea. Making water rapidly, the vessel was run aground by her captain - and soon filled with water. The vessel and its cargo, presumably in situ, was then sold. HMS Esk is noted to have offered assistance & placed armed guards on board to protect the wreck & to ensure that everything that could be saved was saved. Per this (in red) contemporary report. Can you tell us anything additional? Or correct the above text in any way? #2905 SOUTH HYLTON SHIPBUILDING AND REPAIR CO. LTD. Alas I know nothing about this shipbuilder. I include the name as a result of learning that they built a few modest ships in 1895 & 1896. Modest? The two biggest vessels that have come to my attention so far are Wheatflower, of 188 tons built in 1895. And Prompt, of 127 tons, built in 1896. I have seen no references to exactly where their yard, presumably at South Hylton, was located. If you can tell us more about them, do be in touch. J. SPENCE Alas I know nothing about this shipbuilder, who built, it would seem just a handful of ships - five perhaps. 1   Ellen Horsfall 294 tons 28448 1860 A wooden barque, which was launched on Apl. 21, 1860 & first registered, at Sunderland, on Jun. 4, 1860 (scroll to #28448). The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed in 1861/62 & 1862/63 only, owned by 'Alcock' of Sunderland for service from Sunderland to the Mediterranean. With 'Laycklock' LR stated to be the vessel's captain. LR of 1862/63 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. On Oct. 19, 1862, per line 2420 here, the 294 ton barque stranded off Cowleaze Chine (SW coast of the Isle of Wight), while en route from Alexandria, Egypt, to London with a cargo of beans. Crew of 11 - none lost. The vessel was then owned by Thomas C. Alcock. The stranding was the result of severe gales which hit the coasts of U.K. certainly from Liverpool thru the English Channel & up to the Tyne. And also hit the coasts of France. This page (ref. 25 October 1862) advises that the vessel was driven ashore, under the cliff near Grange Chine at about 9 p.m. on Oct. 19, 1862. A crew member, a negro, was able to reach shore using ropes & 'one of Lieutenant Nare's kites', crawled up the cliff & brought rescuers to the scene. The entire crew was saved via a hawser rigged between ship & shore, & the Captain's wife & child were rescued also. That captain's name is stated to be Muckey or Mackey - but, I have previously referred to William MacKay in these pages, I now see from the 2nd para. of this page. A contemporary newspaper article re the vessel's loss. Crew lists may exist in the National Maritime Museum in London. Can you add anything? #2113 SPOWERS & Co. SPOWERS G. SPOWERS W. & Co. Alas I know nothing about shipbuilders named 'Spowers'. A list of vessels built at Sunderland, available to the webmaster, lists 27 vessels built by the collective 'Spowers' over the years from 1840 thru 1870. I have since read that 'Spowers' built ships at South Hylton & that the W. meant William. 1   Saville 170/174 tons 1843 A snow or brig. Built by W. Spowers or by W. Spowers & Co. The vessel, which was launched in May 1843, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1842/43 thru 1852/53 only. It was initially, per LR, owned by McColl & Co. of Glasgow, for service from the Clyde to Jamaica. In 1843/44, however, thru 1848/49, LR lists Saville as owned by J. Saville of Sunderland, for consistent service from Sunderland to Hamburg, Germany. In all of the years thru to 1848/49, LR lists 'Allsop' as being the vessel's captain. In 1848/49, per LR, Saville became owned by Smith & Co., of Sunderland, for service from Liverpool to the Baltic. With 'Smith' now, per LR, her captain. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848 lists 'W. Stamper & Smith', of Sunderland, as the vessel's owner in Apl. 1848. It looks as though there was soon a change in the vessel's managing owner. I say that because LRs of 1851/52 & 1852/53 rather list 'Stamper & Co.' of Sunderland as her then owners with 'Stamper' now her captain. This page (ex here) tells us, at line 2126, that on Nov. 14, 1852, en route from Shields to London with a cargo of coal & a crew of 8, Saville had to be abandoned off Whitby, Yorkshire. With no loss of life. Such report records the vessel's then owner as being Peter Gibson. I happily find that the U.K. Government published another more detailed list of vessels lost in 1852, which list included Saville - here ex here. Which tells us i) that the vessel had become became leaky, which leak the crew could not control & ii) that Gibson was rather the vessel's master. This Lloyd's List report tells us the vessel was abandoned 25 miles off Whitby. Can you tell us anything additional? #2440 2   Free Briton 290 later 271 tons 24765 1845 A snow or brig. Built by W. Spowers or by W. Spowers & Co. Free Briton, which was launched in May 1845, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1844/45 thru 1855/56 & not thereafter. It was owned, per LR, thru 1850/51 by J. Roxby of Newcastle, who is recorded from 1845/46 as being rather of South Shields. A Sunderland shipping website that requests no links or recognition tells us that such owner's name was correcty James Wardle Roxby with William Sanderson as a co-owner. For initial service from Sunderland to Cronstadt (St. Petersburg, Russia), in the period of 1845/48 for service to the Mediterranean ex Sunderland or Shields, from 1848/49 for service ex Liverpool with no destination noted. With J. Booth her captain thru 1845/46, 'Sanderson' from 1845/46 thru 1847/48, J. Preston from 1848/49 thru 1852/53 & 'Grthwaite' from 1853/54 thru 1855/56. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9 lists J. W. Roxby & Co., of Newcastle, as the Jul. 1848 owner of the Newcastle registered 290 ton brig. In 1851/52, per LR, Weightman & Co. of South Shields became Free Briton's owner for service from Shields to London & from 1853/54 for service as a Newport coaster. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in 1854 data, lists Robt. H. Wightman & J. S. Harper, both of South Shields, as the vessel's then owner with Thos. Harley her then captain (& not 'Grthwaite'). The detail provided by LR of 1854/55 & 1855/56 is limited, however Weightman & Co. is still listed as the then owner. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1856 records the Shields registered vessel as then being owned by R. H. Weightman & J. S. Harper, both of South Shields. The vessel does not seem to be listed at all in Christie's Shipping Register of 1858. However, the Mercantile Navy List records Free Briton as Shields registered from 1857 thru 1859 & registered at South Shields from 1860 thru 1864. Some 'best-efforts' Free Briton operational history. With 'Booth' her captain, the vessel arrived at Gravesend, London, in very early 1845 ex St. Petersburg, which voyage was followed by one to Windau (Ventspils, Latvia). On Oct. 22, 1846, 'Sanderson' in command, the vessel left London in ballast for Odessa (Black Sea, Ukraine), arriving there on Dec. 11, 1846. The vessel returned to Waterford, Ireland, via Falmouth, on Apl. 19, 1847 with a cargo of maize. The vessel went on to Quebec, Canada, arriving there on Jul. 9, 1847 & returned in due course to Shields. On Oct. 23, 1847 the vessel left Shields for Odessa, and arrived back at Deal, Kent, on Jul. 18, 1848. Another voyage to Odessa. On or about May 3, 1849, Free Briton left Liverpool for Montreal, Canada. It went on to Bahia & Rio de Janeiro, both Brazil, & on Aug. 4, 1850 arrived back at London via Cowes, Isle of Wight, ex Bahia. Further 'Sanderson' voyages to Genoa, Italy, & Alexandria, Egypt. Under 'Garthwaite' the vessel was at Berdianski (Berdyansk, Sea of Azov, SE Ukraine), returning to Queenstown, Ireland. I think a couple of voyages to Quebec with 'Harley' in command. A 'Helm' or 'Helms' or 'Holmes' voyage to Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). Voyages to Hamburg with 'Sim' or 'Simms' in command. On Aug. 19, 1856, the vessel arrived at Lowestoft, Suffolk, ex Shields, 'Sims' stated to have been in command, in a leaky condition, indeed Free Briton sank in the harbour there. A part of its cargo of coal was taken aboard Augusta Mary. A report from North Shields on Dec. 10, 1856, reported that Free Briton was ashore on rocks at the mouth of the Tyne. But had been got off. Voyages with 'Baines' in command to Hamburg, Le Havre, France, Cronstadt & Swinemunde (now Świnoujście), Poland. On Mar. 5, 1862, en route from Shields to Hamburg with a cargo of coal, the vessel arrived leaky at Yarmouth, Norfolk, having encountered a gale en route.  87.8 ft. long, I have read. No crew lists are available. What finally happened to Free Briton? On Oct. 20, 1862, per line 2809 here, the 271 ton brig, 'coastwise' with coal, was sunk off Cromer, Norfolk. Crew of 12 - none lost. Have not read the name of her captain at the time of her loss. Vessel then stated to be owned by Robert Henry Wrightman (with an 'r'). Wikipedia (thanks!) confirms the above account & adds that her crew were rescued by the French fishing boat La Volonté de Dieu. One of the 'Wiki' sources was an article in the 'Bury and Norwich Post', of Bury St. Edmunds, on Oct. 28, 1862. Can any site visitor provide such article to the webmaster? It may well contain greater detail. This page (in blue) tells us that Jean Mare Lupine, the master of Volante de Dieu, was awarded a telescope & 50 francs for his part in the Free Briton rescue & that 500 francs were also awarded to that vessel's crew, 17 in number. Can you tell us more about the circumstances of the vessel's loss or otherwise add (or correct) anything? #2610 3   Economy 231, later 204 tons 2596 1847 A snow or brig. Built by W. Spowers or by W. Spowers & Co. Economy is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1848/49 thru 1852/53, & from 1856/57 thru 1862/63 & not thereafter. It would seem to have always been registered at Sunderland. The vessel was initially both owned & captained by 'Hopper' of Sunderland, for service ex Sunderland. Her owner, per the North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9, in Apl. 1848 data, was W. & J. Hopper, of Sunderland. Economy must have been sold. Per the equivalent directory of 1854/55, in Mar. 1854 data, the vessel was then owned by Joseph Baxter of Sunderland & Francis Longstaff of Stepney, London. With Joseph Baxter serving as the vessel's captain. From 1856/57 thru 1862/63, per LR, 'Baxter' of Sunderland is recorded as the vessel's owner for service from Sunderland to London & during such entire period of ownership, J. Baxter is stated to have been the vessel's captain. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1856 lists her then owners as being J. Baxter of Sunderland & F. Longstaff of Stepney, which owner names are clarified by Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 as meaning Josh. Baxter & Francis Longstaff. The Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1857 thru 1872 all record Economy as registered at Sunderland, while MNLs of 1865 thru 1872 (1870) all list Joseph Baxter as the then presumably managing owner of the 204 ton vessel. Signal letters HPTB, many crew lists are available via this page, including lists from 1906 thru 1913, surely in error. What finally happened to Economy? On Sep. 20, 1872, per line 2587 here, in a U.K. Government report, the 204 ton brig was lost in the North Sea while en route from Sunderland to Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of coal. Crew of 7 - none lost. Then owned by Joseph Baxter. Wikipedia tells us (thanks!) that the loss occurred rather on Sep. 26, 1872 - her crew being rescued by Clemence Marie, a French barque. I learn that the U.K. Government report referred to above incorrectly recorded the vessel's voyage - it was returning from Hamburg rather than going to Hamburg. Anyway, on Sep. 07, 1872 the vessel left Hamburg & on Sep. 24, 1872 left Cuxhaven, Germany, for Sunderland - in ballast with a crew of seven all told & Josh. Baxter in command. The vessel encountered heavy gales, when about 60 miles NW of Heligoland, was blown onto her beam ends but righted, & soon began taking on water to a greater extent more than the pumps could handle. On Sep. 26, 1872, the crew hoisted distress signals & abandoned ship - to be taken aboard Clemence Marie, 'Beauregard' in command, en route from the Baltic to St. Malo, Brittany, France. Economy, it is believed, sank when about 80 miles off the coast of Jutland. The bad weather continued & after 6 days aboard Clemence Marie, with supplies running low, the seven were transferred to Robert and Susannah, a Yarmouth smack, which in due course landed them at Yarmouth. I have read that the vessel was insured for £800 - the loss was estimated to be worth £850. A few contemporary newspaper reports re the loss - (1, 2 & 3). Anything you can add? #2706 4   Felicity 315/345, later 321/321 later 326/333 tons 1851 A barque, later a brig. Built by W. Spowers or by W. Spowers & Co. The vessel, which was launched in Apl. 1851, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1851/52 thru 1869/70, a 4 year LR silence, & again from 1874/75 thru 1881/82. Per LR, Felicity was owned, for the entire period thru 1864/65 by 'Robinson' of Sunderland, with, again per LR, 'Robinson' serving as the vessel's captain thru 1856/57 & then T. Peacock thru 1864/65 & beyond thru 1869/70. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/55 records the vessel, in Mar. 1854, as Sunderland registered & owned by Richard Robinson jun., Wm. Haddock & John Hay, all of Sunderland, with Richd. Robinson jun. serving as her captain. Such ownership data is repeated in Turnbull's Shipping Register ('TR') of 1855 with T. J. Peacock, however, noted to be now her captain. TR of 1856 just records R. Robinson, jun. as her owner (i.e. no captain data), as also does Christie's Shipping Register of 1858. While 'Robinson' owned, LR records Felicity's service as being i) from Sunderland to the Mediterranean thru 1854/55, ii) from Gloucester to Quebec, Canada, in 1855/56 & 1856/57, iii) from the Clyde to Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1857/58 thru 1859/60, & iv) from Cardiff to the Mediterranean thereafter. The Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865 & 1866 record the vessel as Sunderland registered & owned by Richard Robinson of Sunderland. The vessel was first site listed having learned that on Dec. 20, 1856, Felicity was en route from Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), to Falmouth & Glasgow, and, when in the Clyde & under the control of a pilot, was in contact with Vanguard, which grounded after such contact. Vanguard suffered trifling damage. Felicity however was not so fortunate. It was sunk when run down by Vanguard, a steamship, on the night of Dec. 20, 1856. Felicity was under the command of pilot John McKelvie - Thomas John Peacock was then Felicity's master. And was carrying a cargo of grain. As per these contemporary references (1 & 2). And some newspaper reports of the time. Now LRs of 1865/66 thru 1869/70 record no owner name. Fortunately MNLs record the vessel as registered at Hartlepool West from 1867 thru 1881 (1880) & for that entire period record John Kell of Seaton Carew, County Durham, as the vessel's owner. LRs of 1874/75 thru 1881/82 all record the vessel as West Hartlepool registered & owned by J. Kell. 100.0 ft. long, 101.9 ft. long from LR of 1874/75, signal letters KCSG. LRs from 1876/77 & MNLs from 1877 record the vessel as a brig (previously a barque). Many crew lists are available here. LR of 1881/82 notes that the vessel had 'Stranded'. In a report from Frederikshavn, N. Denmark, it was reported (in 'The Echo', of London on May 7, 1881) that Felicity, en route to Stockholm, Sweden, with a cargo of coal, had gone ashore at Kandeslederne, West Scaw, (means Kandestederne, N. Jutland) and will be a total wreck. I learn that at 1:30 a.m. on May 6, 1881, in foggy conditions, Captain Kell in command, the vessel ran aground, at a point about 7 miles W. of the Scaw (N. tip of Denmark). It would seem that no lives were lost. A Naval Court hearing into her loss was conducted at Copenhagen, Denmark, & the ship's course changes prior to the time of her loss were examined. Captain Kell was reprimanded for his navigational conduct but his certificate was returned to him. The text of such Inquiry can be read here. Can you add to or correct the above account? #2491 STAFFORD, maybe B. STAFFORD Alas I know nothing about shipbuilders named 'Stafford'. A list of vessels built at Sunderland, available to the webmaster, lists just 7 vessels built by the 'Stafford' over the years from 1840 thru 1843. 1   Schiedam 216/207, later 208 & 188 tons 6252 1839 or 1840 A snow or brig. Despite the size of the listing which follows, only limited data is available about this vessel, which is Lloyd's Register ('LR') recorded from 1839/40 thru 1846/47, a gap of a year & then from 1848/49 thru 1854/55 & not thereafter. Schiedam is always LR recorded as an 1839 vessel. And the webmaster has chosen to list the vessel as 1839 built. But the matter is very much in doubt. Two Sunderland build lists available to the webmaster record the vessel as 1840 built & one of them references her launch or completion in Jan. 1840. And the contemporary shipping directories, referred to below, also reference 1840. Perhaps, one day, more definitive data will become available to decide the matter. The important thing is surely that the vessel is well indexed & that this listing can be found by those interested in the vessel's history. LR records Schiedam as Sunderland registered from 1839 thru 1845/46. And Stockton, Yorkshire, registered from 1848/49 thru 1852/53. Likely in error. This Mercantile Navy List ('MNL') page (#6252) reports the vessel as Stockton registered on Jun. 7, 1843. This page (in blue) tells us that Schiedam became Whitby, Yorkshire, registered in 1840, owned by Francis Watkins. And that the vessel became Stockton registered in 1848. Which data jives well with this Aug. 1, 1848 entry in the North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9 where her then owners are listed as being R. Meek & T. Lithgo, both of Middlesbro', & Robt. Robinson & Robt. Whitfield, both of Stockton. Anyway, per LR, the vessel was owned, from 1839/40 thru 1846/47 by 'Thompson' of Sunderland for service from Sunderland to Schiedam (i.e. Rotterdam, The Netherlands), thru 1845/46, with 'Weyman', per LR serving as the vessel's captain thru that entire period. From 1849/50 thru 1852/53, the vessel, per LR, was owned by Meck (with a 'c') & Co. of Stockton, for service ex Stockton to the Baltic (in 1848/49 & 1849/50), to London (in 1850/51) & then for service as a Stockton coaster. The LR data of 1853/54 & 1854/55 is cryptic, with no owner name being indicated. During the entire 1848/49 thru 1854/55 period, Meck, or R. Meck (from 1852/53) is LR recorded as the vessel's captain. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/55, in 1854 data, records R. Meek, T. Lithgo Weestill, & R. Robinson, all of Middlesbro' & R. Whitfield of Stockton as the then owners of the 1840 vessel with Richard Meek her captain. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1856 (with 1855 data) records R. Meek & Co. of Middlesbro', Yorkshire, & R. Meek as owner & captain respectively of the 208 ton Stockton vessel, stated to be first registered in 1840. Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 lists her then owners as being Richard Meek & Robt. Robinson of Middleboro', Robt. Robinson of Stockton & Matth. Blakeston of Driffield - & similarly lists the vessel as built in 1840. In the absence of LR data, the Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') come to our rescue. They record Schiedam as first registered at Stockton on Jun. 8, 1843 & always registered there from 1857 thru 1870. MNL of 1865 records Richard Meek of Middlesbro' as the vessel's then owner. MNLs of 1866 thru 1869 all record Chas. Stewart of Middlesboro' as the then owner of the 188 ton vessel. MNL of 1870 lists the vessel, still Stockton registered, as owned by Alfred Simey of Sunderland. Signal letters JNBS, some crew lists are available here. On Dec. 3, 1869, per the 1st line 24 on this report page, Schiedam, stated to be a 188 ton 38 year old brig, foundered while en route from Seaham, County Durham, to Southampton, Hampshire, with a cargo of coal. The vessel is stated to have had a crew of 6, one of whom lost his life. That report was prepared relative to the Plimsoll Inquiry & it is interesting to note that the vessel was considered to have been unseaworthy or defective in some way. The vessel foundered at a point 10 miles E. of Scarboro', Yorkshire. Wikipedia reports (thanks!) that the vessel rather foundered on Dec. 4, 1869, that the captain was the one who lost his life & that the other 5 crew members were rescued by the Scarborough lifeboat. These news reports (1 & 2) tell us that Schiedam foundered at 1 a.m. on Dec. 4, 1869, further that the lifeboat rescued the 5 from a ship's longboat - from which the captain had unfortunately been washed out & drowned. Hopefully in due course, data will emerge to provide the name of the lost captain. Can anybody add anything? #2540 STEPHENSON & STUART STEPHENSON J. STEPHENSON W. Alas I know nothing about shipbuilders named 'Stephenson'. A list of vessels built at Sunderland, available to the webmaster, lists just 7 vessels built by the collective 'Stephenson' over the years from 1833 thru 1844. 1   Pattison 210/197 tons 1841 A snow or brig. The vessel, which was launched in Aug. 1841, was Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1841/42 thru 1848/49 & not thereafter. Owned, per LR, by 'Stevenson' of Sunderland, for consistent service from Sunderland to London with 'Humphry' noted to be the vessel's captain - thru 1846/47 at least. The webmaster thinks it likely that 'Stevenson' is incorrect. And should read 'Stephenson'. I say that having noted that Stephenson & Stuart built two vessels named Pattison, one in 1840 & the other in 1841. The first such vessel (not yet site listed) clearly had a very short life, hence I presume the second vessel of identical name. It (the 1840 edition) was owned, per LR of 1840/41, by 'Stephenson' of Sunderland. I note also re 'our' 1841 Pattison, that the North of England Maritime Directory of 1848 records R. Stephenson of Sunderland as the vessel's owner in Apl. 1848. The vessel was not lost in 1848/49 when LR listing came to an end. This page, at line 2058, ex here, tells us that Pattison, then owned by Robert Stephenson, was lost on Sep. 16, 1852 while en route from Sunderland to London with a cargo of coal. After a collision at the Dudgeon - sands located, I believe, about 20 miles N. of Wells, Norfolk. A more detailed list of 1852 vessel losses was also U.K. Government published - you can read the page that relates to Pattison here ex here. It tells us that on Sep. 17, 1852, during a gale, Pattison was in collision with Deux Sœurs, a chasse-marée or lugger from St. Valery, France, off the Dudgeon & sank the next morning. Three Pattison crew members were able to jump aboard the French vessel & were later landed at Sunderland. Abeous, a Clay (north Norfolk coast, east of The Wash), lugger, was able to rescue 'Thompson', Pattison's captain, just before it sank & saved also a man & a boy. Pattison's mate unfortunately lost his life - drowned. This report indicates that the collision was on Sep. 15, 1852, & that the vessel sank on the following day. Is there anything you can add? #2442 J. STOBART STOBART & SOPPIT Alas I know nothing about this shipbuilder either. But I have read that he (or they) built 17 ships between the years of 1839 & 1850. 1   Ann Elizabeth 271/301 tons 1839 One list of Sunderland built ships states that this ship was built by J. Stobart. Another list, completed, I believe, from the registry records at Sunderland, names her builder as being 'Stobart & Soppit'. The brig, which was launched in Mar. 1839, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1839/40 thru 1848/49 & not thereafter. It was owned, thru 1841/42, per LR, by Ranson & Co. of Sunderland, with 'Cockerill' her captain thru 1840/41, & 'Forbes' from 1840/41 thru 1841/42 (& also thru 1844/45). For service always from Sunderland to i) America in 1839/40, ii) Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in 1840/41 & iii) Toulon, France, in 1841/42. In 1842/43, per LR, the vessel became owned by Paull & Co., also of Sunderland, with Forbes still her captain, for continued service from Sunderland to Toulon. It seems likely that the change of 'ownership' to Paull & Co. have have been just a change in her managing owner. I suggest that because in 1844/45, LR reports Ranson & Co. as again the vessels owner, though now with J. Mowatt serving as the vessel's captain. For more service to Toulon in 1844/45 & from 1845/46 thru 1847/48 for service from Leith, Scotland, to Prince Edward Island, Canada. LR of 1848/49 lists Ranson & Co. as the vessel's owner but provides little detail, which suggest that the vessel had already been lost. The owner's name is clarified by The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 as meaning 'Newton, Ranson & Co.', of Bishopwearmouth. The webmaster has, so far at least, not learned what happened to the vessel & when. If you can tell us about the circumstances of the vessel's loss, do consider being in touch, so your data could be included here. #2288 2   Arve 281/310, later 316 & 285 tons 25734 1840 The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1840/41 thru 1869/70 (except for 1853/54) & not thereafter. It was owned, thru 1852/53 per LR, by H. Moon of Sunderland. Who had owned a vessel of identical name that LR of 1839/49 advised had been wrecked. For initial service from Sunderland to Bordeaux, France, then, in 1842/43 & 1843/44, from Hartlepool to 'Maurits' (Mauritius?), from Sunderland to the Mediterranean in 1844/45 & thereafter for service from Hartlepool to the Mediterranean. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 lists her then owners as being H. A., C. S., M., & J. Moon & T. B. Ord, all of Bishopwearmouth, along with G. Moon of Hartlepool. The equivalent directory of 1854/55 lists Henry A. Moon, Chas. S. Moon, S. Moon, Thos. B. Ord & Margt. Moon, all of Sunderland & George Moon of Hartlepool. With Rich. Sharp her then captain. From 1854/55 to 1869/70, per LR, the vessel was owned by Merryweather of Hartlepool, for continued service from Hartlepool to the Mediterranean, then for service ex Liverpool, in 1857/58 for service from Hull to the Baltic, later ex Liverpool & Hartlepool, in 1861/62 & 1862/63 for service from Swansea to the Mediterranean & thereafter for service from Hartlepool to France. Turnbull's Register of 1855 lists Merryweather & Co., of Hartlepool, as the then owners of the 316 ton brig. Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 lists the owners of the 285 ton brig to be William Merryweather, Thomas Gray & Edward Waddingham, all of Hartlepool. Became of 285 tons, per LR, in 1861/62. The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1867 & 1870, both list J. B. L. Merryweather, of Hartlepool, as her then owner. 95.0 ft. long, signal letters PHFN. On Nov. 16, 1872, per line 2707 here, the 285 ton brig was abandoned in the Baltic, while en route from Gefle (now Gävle, Sweden), to Hartlepool with a cargo of timber. Crew of 9 - none lost. Then stated to be owned by J. B. L. Merryweather. Can anybody tell us about the circumstances of the vessel's loss? #2281 3   Eston Nab 179 later 162 tons 22442 1840 A snow or brig. So far as I can see, Eston Nab, which was launched in Sep. 1840, was never listed in Lloyd's Register. I cannot therefore advise you who initially owned the vessel. It would appear likely, however, that the vessel was always registered at Stockton, County Durham. Eston Nab? A rocky outcrop that overlooks Eston, N. Yorkshire (River Tees). The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9 lists Eston Nab, in May 1848, as owned by Richard Watkin of Hartlepool & Richard Brown of Middlesboro'. Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1856, in 1855 data, advises that R. Brown of Middlesbro' then owned the 179 ton snow, with J. McKenzie her then captain. Such owner name is clarified by Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 to mean Richard Brown - the vessel in 1858 was of 162 tons. Signal letters NLMC. No crew lists seem to be available. A little 'best efforts' operational history. Eston Nab would seem to have had quite a number of captains, some of them for more than one period. Many voyages up & down the E. coast, of course. 'Henderson' thru the summer of 1841 with voyages to Memel (then E. Prussia, now Klaipėda, Lithuania), Dantzig (then Prussia, today Gdańsk, Poland) & Travemunde (mouth of the river Trave at Lübeck, Germany). Maybe Harrison, but possibly an error. 'Cass' for about 3 years with voyages to St. Petersburg, Russia, & to Honfleur, France. In a Mar. 16, 1844 (in red) report from Scarborough, the vessel, 'Cass' in command, en route from London to Stockton became beached. It was expected to be got off without damage & in a few days was towed into Scarborough, presumably for inspection. 'Henderson' again, with voyages to Riga, Latvia, & Hamburg, Germany. 'Brown' (Edward Brown) from 1845 thru 1847 with voyages to Riga, Hamburg, Kioge (near Copenhagen). A report from Stockton dated Sep. 26, 1847 tells us that Eston Nab, Edward Brown in command, en route from London to Stockton in ballast, had got onto rocks near Stockton. It was got off, making water. 'Binning', sometimes listed as 'Benning', from late 1847 thru 1853 - many voyages to St. Petersburg & Hamburg. 'Brown' again from late 1855 thru 1857 (Dantzig, Hamburg). And 'Binning' again (Dieppe, Bordeaux/Gironde, France). 'Wheatly' in Aug. 1859 to Honfleur. Returning to many British ports - Stockton, London, Shields, Whitby, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Liverpool, Bridport (Dorset) & Wisbeach (Cambridgeshire) included. On May 16, 1862, per line 2736 here of a U.K. Government 1862 wreck list, the 162 ton square sank in a collision at sea, while trading 'coastwise'. Minimal detail but stated to have been with a crew of 7, none of whom were lost & then owned by Richard Brown. This page tells us that Eston Nab in fact collided with Boreas (a steamship built at Stockton in 1856, owned by General Steam Navigation Company) off Yarmouth, Norfolk. These (1 & 2) contemporary newspaper reports tell us that the weather was thick at the time of the collision in Yarmouth Roads & that the impact of Boreas created a large hole in the brig's side. At about 10 p.m. Eaton Nab, carrying a cargo of coal, went down directly. Her captain (Hutchinson) & 4 hands saved their lives by jumping on board the steamer, but the captain's wife & son, & two apprentices also, went down with the vessel. Hutchinson's wife's feet had become entangled in the rigging & Hutchinson could not help her to safety. So 4 lives were, in fact lost. Captain Lewis was in command of Boreas at the time of the collision. The survivors were landed at Hull. Nick Johnson advised that some of his relatives were aboard Eston Nab at the time & lost their lives. Strangely, perhaps, the Mercantile Navy List still listed the vessel in 1864. Is there anything you can add? #2596 4   Lady Prudhoe 323/377 tons 14075 1844 One list of Sunderland built ships states that this ship was built by J. Stobart. Another list, completed, I believe, from the registry records at Sunderland, names her builder as being 'Stobart & Soppit'. The barque, which was launched in Feb. 1844, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1843/44 thru 1864/65. It was, per LR, owned, thru that entire period by 'Nicholson' of Sunderland. For service from Sunderland to Cuba (thru 1850/51), from Swansea, Wales, to Cuba (from 1851/52 thru 1854/55), from Swansea to Coquimbo, Chile, noted for its gold & silver mines (from 1855/56 thru 1858/59) & thereafter ex Swansea to the West Indies (in 1859/60) & to South America (from 1860/61). Lady Prudhoe is listed in a number of NE Shipping registers. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 lists W. Nicholson & Sons as her then owners, as also does the equivalent directory of 1854/55 (with Thos. Moore her then captain). Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1855 lists the 377 ton vessel as owned by Wm. Nicholson, William Nicholson, jun., & John Nicholson, all of Sunderland, with T. Moore her captain. While the equivalent register of 1856 lists the owners of the vessel, now of 353 tons, as being W. Nicholson, W. Nicholson, jun., & J. Nicholson, all of Sunderland. Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 clarifies the names to mean William Nicholson, William Nicholson Jun. & John Nicholson. Under 'Nicholson' ownership there were many captains. T. Price thru 1849/50, E. Charlton thru 1851/52, P. Smith thru 1854/55, T. (Thos.) Moore from 1855/56 thru 1858/59, 'Rousey' in 1859/60, E. Thirkell thru 1862/63 & P. Clements from 1862/63. It would seem that some of the vessel's voyages to Cuba, likely with coal, returned to the U.K. with copper ore ex mines at Santiago, Cuba. Just a little operational data. On Dec. 17, 1846 the vessel left Newport, Wales, for Jamaica (Charlton) with 473 tons of coal. In mid Jun. 1847 the vessel was at Swansea, Wales, with some turtles ex the Crooked Islands (Bahamas). One of the turtles weighed 300 pounds. 100.0 ft. long, signal letters LKQG. Crew lists for just one year seem to be available. Lloyd's Register of 1864/65 notes that the vessel had been 'Abandoned'. The vessel was not recorded in the Mercantile Navy List of 1865. I cannot tell you for sure when the vessel was lost nor tell you of the circumstances. But it would seem that the vessel was likely lost on Aug. 3, 1864. The vessel was wrecked & abandoned about 45 miles WNW of the islands of Diego Ramirez, a group of Chilean islands in Drake Passage about 100 miles SW of Cape Horn. It would seem that the captain & crew were rescued by Calypso, an American barque. 4 of the crew members were later transferred to Caledonia, an American ship, & landed at Callao, Peru. The British Government, I read, gave Captain L. S. Andrews, the captain of Caledonia, a sextant to thank him for his taking on board such crew members. As per this report ex Parliamentary Papers Vol. 65. I have not read what happened re the other crew members. Can you confirm the exact date of the abandonment & advise the circumstances? Or otherwise add to this modest effort at recording the vessel's history. #2301 5   Lyra 247 tons 1845 A snow. One list of Sunderland built ships, available to the webmaster, states that this ship was built by J. Stobart. A second lists states 'Stobart & Soppit'. A vessel which had a very short life. Lyra, which was launched in Oct. 1845, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed in 1845/46 & 1846/47 only. Per LR, the vessel was owned by Reed & Co., of Sunderland, for service from Sunderland to London. With 'Parsons' always her captain. LR of 1846/47 notes that the vessel had been 'Lost'. It would seem that Lyra did not serve London ex Sunderland, at least it did not in the spring of 1846. On May 26, 1846, it was reported from New York that Hero, which had arrived at Quebec, Canada, had come across the water-filled Lyra on May 6, 1846 at 46W/59N (SW of the southern tip of Greenland). Lyra which had been en route to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, had her bow-sprit stove in & 9 ft. of water in her holds, having struck ice off the Banks of Newfoundland. And was under the command of 'Parsons'. As per this 'Lloyd's List' report (in blue). This report, also 'Lloyd's List', tells us that Lyra hit the ice on Apl. 24, 1846 & that Hero landed her crew at Quebec City. I note that Hero was built at Sunderland in 1845 & is site listed here. Can you add anything additional? Or correct the above text in any way? #2590 T. STONEHOUSE Alas, I know nothing about this shipbuilder. I have read that he built 28 ships between the years of 1846 & 1866. 1   Rangoon 384/413 later 374 tons 534 1853 A barque. Rangoon, which is noted to have been registered, at Sunderland, on Jan. 6, 1853, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1853/54 thru 1869/70 & not thereafter. It was owned, per LR, thru 1855/56, by 'Buchanan' of Sunderland for initial service from Sunderland to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), then ex London in 1854/55 & for service from London to India in 1855/56. With, again per LR, J. Cambell serving as the vessel's captain in 1853/54, 'Gribble' in 1854/55 & 'Austin' in 1855/56. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5 lists the vessel, in Mar. 1854, as owned by Joseph Buchanan & Thos. Crozier, both of Sunderland, with Wm. Ellis her then captain. Turnbull's Shipping Registers of both 1855 & 1856 still record Buchanan & Crozier as Rangoon's owners - the 1855 edition listing Charles Gribble as her captain. However LR of 1856/57 references 'Blackaller' of Liverpool, as her new owner, thru 1863/64, for service ex Liverpool to South America (thru 1858/59) & to India in 1859/60, & then ex Liverpool. With H. Lewis serving as the vessel's captain from 1856/57 thru 1858/59 & 'Stapleton' from 1859/60 thru 1863/64. The webmaster has not tried to search for early operational history re the vessel - there are just too many references to the term 'Rangoon'. He did however note i) that Rangoon left Sunderland on Feb. 7, 1853 for Point de Galle, Ceylon, with 'Campbell' in command & arrived at that port on Jul. 7, 1853 with 'Cambell' noted to be her captain. It went on to Colombo, Ceylon. ii) On Aug. 28, 1854, the vessel, 'Gribble' in command, arrived at Madras (now Chennai), India, ex London, & on Sep. 15, 1854 left Madras for Coringa (Andhra Pradesh), India, & Calingapatam (now Kalingapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on the Bay of Bengal coast) & London. iii) On Apl. 23, 1859, Rangoon, 'Stapleton' in command, arrived at Madras ex Liverpool & went on to Bangkok, Thailand. The vessel was clearly again sold. LR of 1863/64 records H. Taylor of London as her new owner for service from London to New Zealand ('NZ') with G. Pearmain consistently noted to be her captain. Such ownership is confirmed by Mercantile Navy Lists ('MNL') of 1865 & 1866 both of which list Henry F. Taylor, of London, as the then owner of the now 374 ton Rangoon. While the vessel is LR recorded thru 1869/70 no owner's name is included from 1866/67. I now know such omission was because the vessel had become registered at Sydney, New South Wales ('NSW'), Australia, on May 9, 1866, owned by John Anderson of Sydney. While Sydney registered it was transferred twice, first to Anderson's widow, & then to Samuel Lindsay of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The vessel became Melbourne registered on May 8, 1867. 'Lindsay' soon sold the vessel - on Feb. 28, 1868 - to John Smith of Melbourne, the vessel's owner at the time of the vessel's loss in Mar. 1870. We thank the National Archives of Australia for making available, in most detailed documents, Rangoon's registry records at both Sydney & Melbourne. 114.5 ft. long, signal letters HDGP. A couple of crew lists are available here. The MNL is a puzzle re this vessel. It records the vessel as Melbourne registered in 1868, owned by Samuel Lindsay of Melbourne (correct) & from 1869 thru 1881 (1870), still registered at Melbourne, & owned by John Smith of Melbourne (both correct & incorrect - John Smith did own Rangoon from Feb. 28, 1868 until it was wrecked, not in 1881, but rather in early 1870). As is set out below. Some 'best efforts' operational history with reference to NZ & Australia. It would seem that Rangoon was cleared for departure from London on Nov. 30, 1863 with George Pearman (maybe correctly 'G. Le Pearmain') in command. With about 100 emigrants bound for Napier (E. coast of N. Island, NZ). A list of the emigrants published in NZ in Mar. 1864. Soon after departure, the vessel encountered fearful gales in the Channel which delayed her considerably. She was also delayed as a result of colliding off Deal, with Lord Maidstone (a barque built at Pictou in 1840) - & had to put into Ramsgate on Dec. 19, 1863 with damage later described as trifling. Maybe a little more than trifling? Since she only sailed again for Napier on Jan. 16, 1864 (ex Downs on Jan. 24, 1864), on what proved to be an incredibly long voyage, with extended bad weather encountered, a voyage so long that she had to put into Sydney on Jun. 2, 1864 to replenish her provisions & water. She had to advertise for someone to fund the necessary purchases! And there she changed captains - John Harwood being in command for the final leg of her voyage from Sydney (left Jul. 3, 1864) to Napier where she eventually arrived on Jul. 23, 1864. There would seem to be confusion as to the events that followed. She advertised for wool re a return voyage to London, but such voyage never took place. Rather Rangoon left Napier & on Oct. 9, 1864 arrived at Wellington (also N. Island, NZ) to repair damage sustained on her voyage from the U.K. There she stayed for about 11 months until Sep. 6, 1865 on which date she left Wellington for Sydney - John Harwood in command. There were clearly other factors in play. It would seem that the vessel had been seized at Napier by creditors for debt & amazingly spent much of her time in Wellington as a coal hulk. It is noted above that on May 9, 1866 the vessel became Sydney registered, owned by John Anderson. On Jul. 22, 1866 the vessel, 'Anderson' in command, arrived at Wellington ex Newcastle, NSW, with a cargo of coal & left to return to Newcastle on Aug. 9, 1866. Alas, on the day after Rangoon arrived back at Newcastle (Sep. 2, 1866) 'Anderson' died in his 40th year, presumably precipitating the ownership changes referenced above. I have read that he 'had been ailing for some time'. The vessel made a number of voyages back & forth from Newcastle to Wellington, with 'Quayle' in command, with cargoes of coal. On Mar. 29, 1867, Rangoon was reported as sold, with coal aboard, at a Sydney auction the result of this & similar advertisements. Sold for £1,000 with S. Lindsay reported to be the purchaser. The vessel moved to Melbourne where she was drydocked, presumably for inspection & repair. The vessel traded from Newcastle to Melbourne, Sydney, & Port Wallaroo (N. of Adelaide, South Australia) with coal, with 'H. P. Scott' in command. Leaving Port Wallaroo with copper ore from the Moonta Mines. It would seem that, along the way, Rangoon & Pioneer, a schooner, were in collision at Melbourne. George Jackson, S. Lindsay & A. Sayers were later captains. On Mar. 23, 1870, per line 126 here, the 384 ton Rangoon was stranded at Minnamurra River, on the NSW coast (S. of Wollongong & Pt. Kembla), while en route from Newcastle, NSW, to Melbourne, in ballast. Vessel then stated to be owned by John Smith. In fact, the vessel, under the command of Captain Sayers, proceeding in the other direction (i.e. to Newcastle to load a cargo of coal), was driven ashore at 2:30 a.m. on Mar. 22, 1870, having encountered a major storm with hurricane force winds. It ended up stuck between two rocks on the rocky shore of a small island with steep cliffs. Crew of 10 - none lost. Smith & Lindsay of Sandridge (now Port Melbourne, a Melbourne suburb) were noted to have been the vessel's then owners - I think incorrectly. Captain Sayers put up the wreck, in situ, for auction, & most of the wreck was acquired (for £105) by a Captain Buchanan whose 4 man crew was in process of stripping items of value from the wreck until the night of Apl. 25, 1870 when gaint waves from yet another storm swept the vessel away & swept away also the items which had been salvaged - copper, sails, ropes, chains etc. The captain's salvagers were fortunate to escape with their own lives having spent 3 nights in pelting rain & no shelter on the top of the island, before they could be rescued - by Buchanan & others. Can you add to, or correct, the above account? #2615 JOHN STOREY Of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. Alas, I know nothing about this shipbuilder. But he must have been a prominent shipbuilder indeed in his time. I have read that he built 86 ships between the years of 1821 & 1843. 1   Captain Cook 158 later 193 & 210 tons 2112 1826 A snow, later a schooner & a snow or brig. Captain Cook, which was launched in Mar. 1863, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1827 thru 1862/63 with the exception of 1839/40, 1840/41, & 1845/46. But ... for many of those years the data is fragmentary. Thru 1833, LR lists Fleck & Co. as the vessel's owner for service from London to Sunderland in 1827 & from Leith, Scotland, to the Baltic from 1828 thru 1833. With J. Fleck, per LR, always the vessel's captain. A little operation history (Fleck). a) On Oct. 30, 1826, Captain Cook arrived at Newhaven, East Sussex, in a damaged condition at the end of a voyage from Memel (then E. Prussia, now Klaipėda, Lithuania). b) On Dec. 17, 1827 the vessel took on board the crew of Vine, which vessel, a South Shields brig under the command of Joseph Nixon, had been struck in the stern & sunk by Brothers, commanded by John Reed, also a South Shields brig. Off Orfordness, Suffolk. A court case resulted (Newcastle, Mar. 8, 1828), the court finding in favour of Vine. 'Fleck' was then described as being 'master & part owner of Captain Cook'. In the years from 1834 thru 1838/39, LR lists the vessel at 156 tons, registered at Sunderland, with T. Bull her captain - and that is all - no owner name, no rig, no build data, no proposed voyages. Maybe 'Ball' instead. Other possible vessel captains 'Bainbridge', 'Wilson' & 'Atkinson'. When LR coverage resumed in 1841/42, & thru 1844/45, the vessel was owned by Captain & Co. of North Shields with 'Davidson' stated to be such captain. For consistent service from Newcastle to the Baltic. In 1844 the vessel (Davidson) served Le Havre & Fecamp, both France, ex Newcastle. From 1846/47 thru 1850/51, LR lists Captain Cook, now a 193 ton schooner (210 tons from 1848/49), owned by Straker & Co. of North Shields for service from Newcastle to London with 'Tadman' her captain (thru 1848/49) & S. Bocock (from 1848/49 thru 1850/51). On Oct. 17, 1846, the vessel, en route from Shields to London with 'Tadman' in command, arrived at Yarmouth Roads with loss of sails & bulwarks. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9 lists the vessel as Newcastle registered & in Jul. 1848 owned by 'Strakers & Love' of N. Shields. LR of 1850/51 offers minimal detail which might suggest that the vessel was in process of being sold or was then out of commission. From 1851/52 thru 1862/63, LR lists G. Morrison of Shields as the vessel's then owner. But the North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/55 lists Captain Cook as Shields registered & owned, in 1854, by Joseph Straker & Geo. Wilson Morrison, both of North Shields, with Hy. Riddle her then captain. Which ownership data is confirmed by Turnbull's Shipping Registers of both 1855 & 1856, with H. Riddle her captain in the 1855 edition. Where LR referenced, the vessel's proposed voyages (Morrison) were ex Shields to i) Barcelona, Spain, (1851/52 & 1852/53) ii) the Mediterranean (1853/54 & 1854/55) & iii) Amsterdam (1856/57). Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 lists Robert Morrison of S. Shields as her then owner. The vessel's captains while Straker/Morrison owned? Per LR, J. Chater briefly in 1851/52 & from 1856/57 thru 1862/63, T. Bennett from 1851/52 thru 1852/53 & D. Irwin from 1853/54 thru 1855/56. Per LR, the vessel became a snow again from 1853/54. The Mercantile Navy List references Captain Cook as Shields registered from 1857 thru 1863 & does not list the vessel in 1864. Shields registered on Dec. 18, 1848 (scroll to #2112). A puzzle is that such link also notes that the vessel had been lost, per an advice (I think it means) dated Nov. 20, 1871. Despite that last reference, the webmaster believes that the vessel was not lost in 1871 but rather lost in 1863. And suspects the accuracy of the fragmentary LR data of 1855/56 thru 1862/63 (G. Morrison owned with J. Chater her captain). But has no better data to now provide. What finally happened to the vessel? Wikipedia advises (thanks!) that on Sep. 6, 1863, Captain Cook, a brig, en route from N. Shields to Hamburg, Germany, foundered in the North Sea, off the coast of Norway. Further that all her nine crew members were lost. Data which is more than surely confirmed by these contemporary newspaper articles (1 & 2), which both reference Fisher (W. Fisher) as Captain Cook's then captain while the 2nd of which provides names of the lost - which included the captain's unnamed 9 year old son. Is there anything you can add or correct? #2501 2   Attaliah 177 later 213 & 197 tons 22454 1827 A snow or brigwhich was launched in Mar. 1827. A vessel which had an amazingly long life. And a vessel that did not end up wrecked on some distant reef or shore. Attaliah is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1826/27 thru 1844/45, then a 3 year LR silence, from 1848/49 thru 1854/55, a 19 year LR silence, & from 1874/75 thru to 1878/79. I note that Lloyd's Register Foundation makes available a single 2-page document re this vessel - a Lloyd's survey from 1834. Attaliah's initial owner per LR, thru 1832/33, & also the vessel's captain thru such period was 'Lathrington' of Sunderland, For service, per LR, i) from Greenock, Scotland, to Riga, Latvia, in 1826/27 & 1827/28, ii) from London to Quebec, Canada, in 1828/29, iii) from Liverpool to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1829/30 & 1830/31, & iv) ex Cork, Ireland in 1831/32 & 1832/33. In 1834, again per LR, the vessel became owned by the 'Skerry' family of Whitby, Yorkshire, specifically by J. Skerry, for service as a Sunderland coaster thru 1844/45 at least. It is clear that the 'Skerry' family owned Attaliah for a great many years, all the way through to 1877/78. About 44 years. And it would seem that J. Storm was the vessel's captain for many of those years, thru 1854/55 per LR. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, however, in 1853 data, records the now 213 ton Attaliah as registered at Whitby & owned by Jona. & Jas. Skerry, both of Robin Hood's Bay ('RHB'), Yorkshire - with John Storm her captain. Turnbull's Shipping Registers ('TR') of both 1855 & 1856 (in 1855 data), record J. & J. Skerry, of RHB as the vessel's owners with T. Jefferson her captain. While Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 lists her then owners as being James & Jonathan Skerry & John Storm, all of RHB. LRs of 1874/75 thru 1876/77 list J. Skerry of Whitby as the owner of the now 197 ton snow, while LR of 1877/78 reports the vessel, then owned by Mrs. S. Skerry, had been sold to B. S. Robinson, also of Whitby. The Mercantile Navy List records Attaliah from 1857 thru 1878, always registered at Whitby. Owned from 1865 thru 1876 by James Skerry, in 1877 by Mrs. Sarah Skerry, & in 1878 by Benj. T. Robinson - all of RHB. The above ownership data is essentially confirmed by a 1908 Whitby shipping history book, which tells us that Attaliah, said to be a brig of 177 tons & incorrectly listed as Attalia, had become Whitby registered in 1834, owned by Jn. & J. Skerry. Further that in 1877 its owner became B. T. Robinson. 89.0 ft. long. The webmaster has not researched the operational history of Attaliah. But he did happen to come across reports re the following late 1872 events. i) On Aug. 16, 1872, Attaliah was reported to be in Lady Dock, London, having arrived from Cronstadt (St. Petersburg, Russia) with 'Fardel' said to have been in command. At 4 a.m. on Sep. 21, 1872, the vessel left London for Sunderland in (loam) ballast, with James Storm in command. I read with his wife & two children also on board. On Sep. 23, 1872, when S. of Flamborough Head, the vessel encountered a gale which caused most of the ballast to be lost overboard & resulted in much water in her hull. By Sep. 25, 1872 the ship's pumps had choked & failed. Richard, a Ramsgate fishing smack, John Dixon in command, came alongside & stayed nearby for about a day. At 5 p.m. on Sep. 26, 1872, when off Goree (I think Goeree, a S. Holland delta island), the ship was abandoned. All aboard Attaliah took to a ship's longboat from which they were taken on board by Richard, which later landed them, at 7 a.m. on Sep. 29, 1872, at Ramsgate. The vessel was expected to sink but it did not. On Sep. 27, 1872, Attaliah, with damaged sails & rigging & 14 or 15 ft. of water in her holds, was taken into Terneuse or Terneuzen (SW The Netherlands), found off Westcapelle (Westkapelle, Walcheren Island, Zeeland, The Netherlands) by City of Ghent (190 tons, built at Grimsby in 1871), a steamship, 'Snowdon' in command. 'Storm' & his crew must later have travelled to retrieve the vessel - on Oct. 18, 1872 the vessel, presumably repaired to some degree, arrived back at Whitby. The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society later awarded John Dixon of the fishing smack Richard £20 for his rescue efforts. Some contemporary news reports 1, 2 & 3. ii) On Dec. 08, 1862, Attaliah, now with Edward Kirk in command, left Hartlepool for London with 330 tons of coal. At 6.30 p.m. on Dec. 10, 1872, when in Yarmouth Roads, Attaliah was in collision with Pallion, a brig built in Sunderland in 1857, John McLachlin in command, en route from Sunderland to Ostend, Belgium. Both vessels were assisted into Lowestoft. It would seem that both vessels suffered damage. Attaliah was towed into Lowestoft by Pioneer, a Yarmouth tug - but the matter of the Pioneer fee for service later ended up in Lowestoft Police Court. Related news reports 4, 5 & 6. The Whitby history book also tells us that the vessel was broken up in 1878 - as is confirmed by LR of 1878/79. Can you add anything additional? #2876 3   John and Mary 260, later 260/287 tons 1827 A snow or brig. The vessel, which was launched in Feb. 1827, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1829 thru 1847/48. It was owned, thru 1835/36 per LR, by J. Storey of Sunderland (Storey & Co. from 1834), i.e. by its builder, for service i) ex Sunderland thru 1832, ii) from Exmouth, Devon, to Quebec, Canada, in 1833 & iv) from Sunderland to London in 1834 & 1835/36. With, per LR, W. Hodgson her captain thru 1832, P. Major in 1833, M. Toplin for a portion of 1834 & C. Needham in the balance of 1834 & in 1835/36. In 1836/37, the vessel became owned by Ridley & Co., also of Sunderland, thru 1838/39, for service ex Sunderland, with J. Marshal LR recorded as her captain. A major event in the history of John and Mary occurred in 1838. This U.K. Government report (respecting shipwrecks of ships carrying timber), tell us at pages 26 & 144 in the downloaded volume, that the vessel left Miramichi, New Brunswick (now Canada) on Oct. 30, 1838 for Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. In fact, carrying a cargo of timber. En route, the vessel, 'Marshall' in command, was on Nov. 28, 1838, abandoned in a waterlogged condition. The vessel was 'carried into St. Ives a derelict', was sold & repaired for sea. St. Ives is on the N. coast of Cornwall. Such report also indicates that three of the vessel's crew had been drowned. Was the vessel repaired at St. Ives, I wonder? Initially, when the webmaster read such U.K. report, he thought it likely that the vessel had been abandoned off the N. coast of Cornwall. It is now clear that such an assumption would have been quite wrong. The vessel, after it left Miramichi, encountered severe gale force conditions & soon became waterlogged with 4 ft. of water in her hold. Indeed she capsized - but with 'the great exertions of her crew' was righted - alas with one crew member, a boy, being lost overboard & with her foremast gone. The main mast next fell to the decks, killing a sailor & maiming several members of the crew. The remaining crew lashed themselves to the mast stumps - & remained in that condition for five long days. All of these events took place off, not off the coast of Cornwall, but rather off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. After those awful five days, the vessel was found by Kingston, a ship, under the command of Captain Keys, bound for Newport, Wales. (It would seem, per LR, that Kingston, was built at Bristol in 1817. LR lists R. Keys as being her then captain). Captain Keys took the surviving crew aboard and, though not specifically stated in the articles I have read (below), must have taken the hull of John and Mary in tow. Such hull ended up, it would seem, taken into St. Ives. The John and Mary crew were later landed at Bristol, all requiring treatment, at the infirmary there, for frostbite, fractured ribs etc. What an awful experience to have had to endure. I read that 'Marshall' was one of the survivors. Do read these contemporary reports (1, 2 & 3). I had read, here, that the vessel had been abandoned on Dec. 13, 1838 & thought that date was likely incorrect. Such Dec. date presumably relates to the arrival of John and Mary at St. Ives, on Dec. 14, 1838. I also read there that on Feb. 15, 1839 'Tredwyn' of Padstow (further E. along the N. coast of Cornwall), bought the vessel, likely the repaired vessel, for £400. LR tells us that from 1839/40 thru 1845/46, the vessel, now of 260/287 tons, was owned by 'Tredwen', of Padstow. Apparently John Tredwen (per 'The Cornish Overseas ..' by Philip Payton), was a Padstow shipbuilder. And, while 'Tredwen' owned, John and Mary 'was engaged in the classic export of emigrants and import of timber that made the Atlantic trade so lucrative in North Cornwall'. LR confirms that the vessel, while 'Tredwen' owned, consistently served from Padstow to Quebec. With A. Harvey her captain thru 1843/44 & J. Oliver from 1843/44 thru 1845/46. Per LR, W. Henry of Quebec owned the vessel briefly (from late 1845/46 to early 1846/47) for service ex Dublin, Ireland. With 'McMillan' serving as her captain. Later in 1846/47 'Jessimin' of Dundee, Scotland, became the vessel's owner - for service ex Liverpool. With 'Young' her captain. What finally happened to her, I wonder? So far at least, the webmaster has not seen any references to her loss, in or about 1847. Need help! #2383 4   Cyrus 233 tons 1830 A snow or brig. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1831 thru 1843/44 & not thereafter. Its initial owner, thru 1833, was 'Hubbard', likely of Sunderland, with 'Bell' or J. Bell' serving as the vessel's captain. In 1834, per LR, 'Wilkinson' of Sunderland became the vessel's owner, thru 1843/44, for service thru 1835/36 from Sunderland to Archangel, Russia, ex Sunderland from 1836/37 to 1838/39, & from Liverpool to Hamburg, Germany, from 1839/40 thru 1843/44. Throughout such period of Wilkinson ownership, LR lists 'Nicholson' as the vessel's captain. It seems likely that Hubbard & Wilkinson were, in fact, business partners. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 lists Wilkinson, Hubbard & Co., of Bishopwearmouth, as being the Apl. 1848 owners of the 233 ton brig. As per line 1717, here, on Sep. 7, 1852 the 233 ton square stranded near Hartlepool, while on a voyage from Hamburg to Sunderland. No cargo is indicated. Crew of 9 - none lost. Then stated to be owned by John Wilkinson. The webmaster has now found this Government Report page, which provides greater detail as to the events of Sep. 7, 1852. The vessel, valued at £1,500, was en route, in ballast, from Hamburg to Sunderland, with Nicholson in command & a crew of 8. The vessel came ashore just WNW of the Heugh Lighthouse at Hartlepool & had moved a little to its then resting place. We know from the history above that Nicholson was an experienced captain. The page tells us that he had not passed any examinations, presumably examinations necessary to be a master at all. The words also refer to 'Great Neglect'  - of meaning unspecified but perhaps critical of the actions of the captain. Is there anything you can add? Or correct? #2306 5   John and Amelia 155, later 163 tons 1832 A snow or brig. John and Amelia would seem to have been Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1834 thru 1844/45, a 3 year LR silence, & again in 1848/49, in 1850/51 & 1851/52. From 1836/37 thru 1844/45, the vessel was owned, per LR, by 'Patterson' (of Newcastle in 1836/37 & of North Shields from 1837/38). For service from Newcastle to France thru 1840/41 & ex Newcastle (with no destination referenced) thereafter. With 'Patterson' always noted to have been the vessel's captain. It seems likely that the vessel was owned by 'Patterson' prior to 1836/37 & maybe was the vessel's initial owner. LRs of 1834 & 1835/36 are cryptic indeed. But they do list the 155 ton vessel as Newcastle registered with 'Patterson' her captain. With no other data whatsoever. It would seem that in the 3 years of LR silence, i.e. from 1845/46 thru 1847/48 John and Amelia was still owned by 'Patterson'. I say that because the North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 lists the Newcastle registered vessel, in Jul. 1848 data, as then owned by W. & J. Patterson of N. Shields. In 1848/49 the vessel, now noted to be of 164 tons, was LR indicated to be owned by 'Thompson' of Shields, with J. Wright now serving as the vessel's captain. Data which is repeated in LRs of both 1850/51 & 1851/52. For service, where indicated, from Newcastle to London. The webmaster first listed this vessel having seen, in a U.K. Government report, that John and Amelia was wrecked S. of Sunderland on Oct. 27, 1852. At line 2090 here, the vessel there noted to be then owned by Josh. Minikin, & with a crew of 7. Look at all the vessels that were casualties at the end of Oct. 1852! A more detailed list of 1852 vessel losses was also U.K. Government published - you can read the page that relates to John and Amelia here ex here. It states that the vessel, en route from London to Shields in ballast was struck by a heavy sea, as a result of which the ballast shifted. The vessel drove onto shore near the S. entrance to the docks at Sunderland - through stress of weather. 'Stephens' is there noted to have been the vessel's captain at the time of the loss. I have read that the vessel was stripped & 'is so much damaged that she may be considered a wreck'. This article tells you about the storm & the resulting damage to shipping. The losses were so extensive that John and Amelia was not even given a mention by name! This article notes that the vessel's crew were rescued by the Sunderland lifeboat. Can you tell us anything additional? #2453 6   Thomas and Margaret 166 tons 1834 A snow or brig. Very little data is available re this brig, which was launched in Apl. 1834. It was, the webmaster believes, listed, if cryptically so, in Lloyd's Registers of 1836/37 thru 1838/39 - of 167 tons, registered at Sunderland, with J. Johnson her captain. And that is all - no owner name, date & place of build, rig, proposed voyage etc. The vessel is listed in the North of England Maritime Directory of 1848-9, in Apl. 1848 data, as registered at Sunderland & owned by T. Robinson of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. We do know what happened to her. On Dec. 17, 1852, in a cryptic reference at line 2162 here, Thomas and Margaret, stated incorrectly to be a barque, was wrecked near Sunderland. The vessel had a crew of 7 & was then owned by Thomas Robinson. This page tells us (incorrectly as to the date it would appear) that the vessel was rather lost on Dec. 15, 1852. That it was en route from London to Sunderland in ballast when it struck on rocks near Ryhope (just S. of the harbour entrances at Sunderland) due to, if I understand its meaning correctly, 'the vessel having missed stays' & perhaps was uncontrollable. The listing adds that 'Holburn' was the vessel's then captain with a crew of 7 all told. This Lloyd's List ('LL') report (in red) states that the vessel was lost on Dec. 17, 1852 with 'Osborn' then her captain, but a LL report on the following day stated that Richard Holburn, Thomas and Margaret's master, had, on Dec. 17, 1852, filed a deposition re the vessel's loss. Is there anything you can add? #2479 7   Integity 163 tons 1835 A snow or brig. Integrity, which was completed in Mar. 1835, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1835/36 thru 1841/42 &, so far as I can see, not thereafter. It was owned, per LR, for such entire period by J. Storey, i.e. by its builder, for consistent service from Sunderland to London, with 'Ramsay' always her captain. It would seem that, along the way, Integrity was acquired by the 'Elliot' or 'Elliott' family of Sunderland. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9 records the vessel, in Apl. 1848 data, as owned by T. R., & P. Elliot of Sunderland. The equivalent directory of 1854/5, in Mar. 1854 data, lists her then owners as being Jane Elliott & George Parkinson, both of Sunderland, with John T. Elliott noted to be her then captain. I note that the vessel is not listed in Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1855. I learn that 'Elliott' was the vessel's captain certainly from the spring of 1849 when the vessel served London ex Seaham. Integrity clearly did not only serve London. There are many references to the vessel, in the following years, serving French ports incl. Honfleur, Dieppe, St. Malo, & Le Havre. The vessel certainly traded to Archangel, Russia, in 1851 & in 1854 made a number of voyages to Carthagena, Spain. On Oct. 14, 1854, the vessel is reported to have arrived at London ex Villa Nova (S. bank of Douro River, across from Porto, Portugal) & Adra (Mediterranean coast of Spain, W. of Almeria). On Oct. 28, 1854, Integrity was entered out from London to Antwerp, Belgium, with a cargo of guano. It may have left rather later than Oct. 28, 1854. I say that because 11 days later, on Nov. 08, 1854, en route to Antwerp, the vessel grounded on Long Sand (Thames Estuary, Essex) & became a wreck. Her crew were landed at Harwich. The vessel's captain at the time of her loss was John Thomas Elliott, who is noted, from Harwich on Nov. 09, 1854, to have filed a deposition re the loss of his vessel. The webmaster has not read details as to the circumstances of Integrity's loss. A contemporary news report. Can you add anything additional? Or correct the above in any way? #2757 8   Protector 372 later 361 tons 26696 1836 This vessel, a barque which was completed in Apl. 1836, had a long life but its data record is confusing, particularly the Lloyd's Register ('LR') record from 1843/44 thru 1845/46. Protector is LR listed from 1836/37 thru 1869/70. It was initially owned, in 1836/37 & 1837/38, by J. Storey of Sunderland, i.e. by its builder, with B. Robson serving as the vessel's captain. For service from Sunderland to Quebec, Canada. In 1838/39, the vessel became owned by Hall & Co. of London for service from London to St. Vincent (there are many places of the name) thru 1839/40 & ex London thereafter. With 'Glasgow', 'West' & 'Wood' serving as her captains. The webmaster notes that from Jan. 29, 1844 thru Mar. 25, 1844 at least, Protector, then lying in the West India Export Dock in London, was offered for private sale. One of the advertisements. It would seem to have been bought by 'T. Gillespy', possibly for service from Liverpool to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Such ownership is confirmed by this Lloyd's Survey report date May 20, 1844 at a time of ownership change. In passing, I note that Lloyd's Register Foundation kindly makes available 12 Lloyd's Surveys re the vessel covering the years from 1838 thru 1856. The vessel became owned by 'Gardner & Co.' of London in 1844/45 or 1845/46 thru 1851/52, always for service ex London, to New Zealand ('NZ') from 1846/47 thru 1849/50. 'Hunter' is stated to have been the vessel's captain during the period of 'Gardner' ownership, with 'Dove' for a short period in 1844/45. I have only spotted one voyage to NZ at the NZ 'Papers Past' archives. On or about Mar. 10, 1847, the vessel, under the command of A. M. Hunter, sailed from London to Wellington, NZ, arriving there on Jul. 21, 1847 with 5 passengers & a varied cargo. It went on to Nelson & Auckland, both NZ, & left Auckland for Lima, Peru, on Sep. 22, 1847, with a cargo of wool etc. In 1852/53, Protector became owned by 'Cliff' of Liverpool (from 1859/60, W. Cliff), per LR for the balance of the vessel's lifetime. With 'Simmons', 'Collie' & 'Fisher' serving as the vessel's captains. 'Flanagan' also it would seem. Marwood's North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in Mar. 1854 data, lists William Cliff of Liverpool as the vessel's then owner & Henry Simmons her then captain. The change of ownership must have been in Dec. 1851, witness this Lloyd's Survey report date Dec. 27, 1851 re a change in her owners. Under 'Cliff' ownership, per LR, Protector served the West Indies i) ex London (in 1852/53 & 1853/54) & ii) ex Liverpool (from 1859/60 thru 1869/70). In the intermediate years the vessel served ex London including from London to Liverpool in 1854/55 & 1855/56. It would seem that the Merchant Navy List ('MNL') does not agree that 'Cliff' was Protector's owner in her later years. From 1865 thru 1870, MNL lists Bernard Hall of Liverpool as the vessel's owner or managing owner. 101.5 ft. long, signal letters PMFR, LR first records the vessel at 361 tons in 1850/51. What finally happened to Protector? Line 17 on this U.K. Government 1867 wreck listing page tells us, with a date of Dec. 1866, that the vessel went missing during a voyage from Havana, Cuba, to Liverpool - with a crew of 11. The vessel was clearly regularly serving Jamaica at the time. I learn that on Dec. 23, 1865 Protector, 'Collie' in command, arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, after a 47 day voyage from Liverpool with a general cargo. It went on to Montego Bay, NW Jamaica, & on May 19, 1866 arrived back at Holyhead (Anglesey, N. Wales) for Liverpool. On Jul. 16, 1866 ('Collie'), Protector again left Liverpool for Jamaica arriving at Kingston, Port Royal, on Sep. 05, 1866 after a 60 day voyage. I have not spotted when it left Jamaica on its return journey but on Nov. 13, 1866, en route from Black River, SW Jamaica, to Liverpool, it put into Havana in a seriously leaky condition - making 22 inches of water per hour. The vessel had to be docked & its cargo discharged to effect the necessary repairs. There is very little later data. All we know is that on Dec. 08, 1866 Protector left Havana to resume its voyage to Liverpool. And was never heard from again. As per these contemporary news reports - 1 & 2. Can you tell us anything additional? Or correct the above text in any way? #2898 9   Apolline 440/513 tons 1837 Apolline? A woman's name of Greek origin, meaning 'belonging to Apollo' - You can read about Apollo here. Apolline, which was launched in Jan. 1837, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1838/39 thru 1854/55, always noted, thru 1853/54 at least, as being a ship. That was not so. It clearly was a barque. From 1838/39 thru 1841/42, the vessel, per LR, was registered at London & owned by Hankey & Co. of London, for consistent service from London to Jamaica - with 'Rogers' always her captain. 'Hankey' must have liked the vessel name. They (Thomson, Hankey & Co.) later owned another vessel of the name, built at London in 1846. But, even though LR referred only to Jamaica, I read that on Nov. 11, 1838 Apolline left the Downs (E. coast of Kent), ex London for Hobart, Tasmania, arriving there on Mar. 12, 1839. With Anthony Rogers in command. Further that on Apl. 20, 1839 the vessel left Hobart for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with a cargo of colonial produce - i.e. wheat & flour. On May 12, 1839 the vessel was entered out of Sydney for India & arrived on Jul. 15, 1839 at Passawang (where is it?). From Feb. 27, 1840 thru Mar. 27, 1840, the barque, then lying in the West India Export Dock at London was offered for private sale. One of the advertisements. I note that such advertisement states that the vessel was built in 1837 at Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, & had a full-length female figurehead. It would seem that Brass & Co., of London, must have acquired the vessel, since LR records 'Brass' as the vessel's owner from 1841/42 thru 1849/50 per LR. With 'Deane' briefly & then 'Thomas' (from 1841/42 thru 1845/46 at least), & then O. May in 1848/49 & 1849/50. Her service while 'Brass' owned? Per LR. i) ex London from 1841/42 thru 1844/45 & in 1849/50, ii) from London to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1845/46 thru 1847/48, iii) from London to Madras (now Chennai), India, in 1848/49. I note however, that Apolline was advertised in Apl. 1840 for a departure to Adelaide, South Australia, with Anthony Rogers her captain. I read that the vessel left Gravesend, London, for Port Adelaide on Jun. 10, 1840 with 'Rogers' noted to be her captain, but left Deal, Kent, on Jun. 11, 1840 with 'Deane' in command. The Australian press ('Trove') has the dates & captains differently, noting that the vessel left London on May 09, 1840 & Plymouth on May 28, 1840 with 'Rogers' in command (surely in error), arriving at Adelaide on Oct. 12, 1840. So far as I can see, 'Deane' is first 'Trove' mentioned as the vessel's captain on Jul. 06, 1841 when the vessel was at Canton, China, before, presumably, returning to London. The vessel had arrived, William Deane in command with about 28 passengers, as per this page (search for Apolline). Her charterer, I read, was Henry Weston Phillips who sailed to Australia on the voyage. Interestingly, it had aboard the very first camel brought into Australia. A second 'Brass' Apolline voyage to Australia left London on May 21, 1842 & Plymouth on Jun. 02, 1842. With 222 emigrants & a general cargo under the command of J. Thomas - bound for Hobart, Tasmania, where it arrived on Sep. 24, 1842. The vessel later left Tasmania on Oct. 18, 1842, in ballast & with 'Thomas' still in command, for China. From Oct. 19, 1849, the vessel, then lying at London, was advertised for sale, at a public auction to be held in London on Oct. 31, 1849. The vessel clearly did not sell at that auction. Since from Nov. 06, 1849 thru Jan. 22, 1850 Apolline was advertised for private sale. Advertisements. 'Tyrie' of London presumably acquired it. I say that because in 1850/51, per LR, J. Tyrie of London owned the vessel & likely was its final owner. For service, per LR, ex London in 1850/51, from Milford, Wales, to Cuba in 1851/52 & 1852/53, from London to Cuba in 1853/54 & finally in 1854/55 served as a London Transport ('Lon. Trnspt' - which I suspect means a ship chartered by the Navy to carry naval supplies etc.). With W. Stanbury her captain from 1851/52 thru 1854/55. There are many references to the vessel's trading with Cuba & particularly Cienfuegos-de-Cuba - located mid S. coast of the island. Likely carrying coal outbound from the U.K. & returning with cargoes of timber - both cedar & mahogony. With William Stanbury in command. We know that it was William Stanbury because of a couple of court cases over wages unpaid to members of his crew. Both of which (1 & 2) are worthy of the reader's interest. Note that I provide only a portion of the 2nd item - the full report is very lengthy indeed. Some 'best-efforts' operational data while 'Tyrie' owned. i) On Nov. 21, 1850, the vessel en route from Cienfuegos to Milford with 'M'Clemon' said to be in command, put into Falmouth leaky & with damage incurred in a storm on Nov. 18, 1850. It earlier on its voyage, under the control of a pilot, had grounded leaving Cienfuegos. ii) On Apl. 21, 1852, the vessel came across a waterlogged & abandoned brig at a point about 1,100 miles SE of Newfoundland. The vessel, which was named Melrose, was thought likely to have been an American or colonial vessel. iii) On Sep. 26, 1853, the vessel put into Havana, Cuba, in distress - but no detail as to what had happened can be located.  From Jan. 13, 1854 thru Jan. 27, 1854, Apolline, then lying in the West India Export Dock at London, was offered for private sale - by Jno. G. Tyrie, presumably her then owner. And on Feb. 21, 1854 the vessel was offered for sale at a public auction held at the Royal Exchange, London. I cannot tell you if the vessel sold or not. I note that the Lloyd's Register Foundation has kindly made available 11 survey documents re the vessel. None of them tell us who built the vessel or her dimensions. However, via Google Books, a 'Roebuck Society' publication tells us that Apolline was built by John Storey & was 110.2 ft. long. What finally happened to Apolline? On May 18, 1854, the vessel, with W. Stanbury in command, left London for Bermuda with a cargo of naval supplies - and arrived there on Jul. 11, 1854. It was cleared out of Bermuda on Jul. 27, 1854 for departure to Cuba. 'Lloyd's List' later reported, on Oct. 04, 1854, that Appoline (surely means Apolline), with Stanbury in command, had been wrecked 1 mile W. of Baracoa (eastern tip of the island of Cuba) on Aug. 25, 1854. It would seem that such report was verbatim published by other newspapers in the following days. But what exactly had happened & what were the circumstances? I cannot tell you. I can spot no later reference to the vessel's loss. Can you add to or correct the above text? #2866 M. STOREY Alas, I know nothing about this modest shipbuilder. Who, so far as the webmaster can see, built just a single vessel, Elizabeth, a schooner, listed below. 1   Elizabeth 88, later 78 tons 12649 1845 So far as I can see, this modest vessel, named Elizabeth, which was lost in 1861, was never listed in Lloyd's Register. There are a few other sources, however, for data about the vessel. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/9, in Apl. 1848 data, lists the 88 ton schooner as registered at Sunderland & owned by Harty, Storey & Broad of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. Marwood's North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in 1854 data, records Elizabeth, now registered at Stockton, as owned by John Joseph Smith of Stockton & William Wilson of Whitby, with Wm. Wilson serving as the vessel's captain. Which data is confirmed by Turnbull's Shipping Register of 1856 - J. J. Smith & Co. & W. Wilson. The Mercantile Navy List records the vessel as registered at Maryport (Cumbria coast & Solway Firth) from 1855 (from Apl. 23, 1855) thru 1862, most likely owned by local owners. What finally happened to Elizabeth? On Apl. 06, 1861, per line 1722 here of a U.K. Government wreck listing, the 78 ton schooner, proceeding coastwise, was stranded at Laxey Bay - on the E. coast of the Isle of Man, I see. Crew of 4 - none lost. Then stated to be owned by Wm. Melmore. I learn that Elizabeth, under the command of Joseph Thompson, was in the process of unloading her cargo of coal at Laxey when the winds increased. The boat was taken out to sea for safety but drifted back onto the rocks. And sank - very early on Sep. 07, 1861 or so I understand. The crew were able to throw a rope to shore & be drawn along it to safety. As per these (1 & 2) contemporary news reports. Can anybody add to, or correct in any way, the above text? #2725 STOTHARD T. STOTHARD Alas I know nothing about this shipbuilder. But I have read that he (or they) built 25 ships between the years of 1840 & 1861.  I have now read references to M. & N. Stothard & also to Newby Stothard, stated to have been of Pallion. Need help. 1   Glide 199/184 tons 1842 A snow, which was launched in Mar. 1842. The webmaster records this vessel as built in 1842 because two Sunderland build lists, available to the webmaster, so indicate. But, I should state clearly that Lloyd's Register ('LR') always records the vessel as built in 1841. The vessel is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1841/42 thru 1846/47, then a 5 year LR silence, & from 1851/52 thru 1854/55. During the first LR period, 'Doxford', of Sunderland, is named as the vessel's owner, with 'Hodgson' stated to be her captain. For service ex Sunderland, to Southampton thru 1842/43. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1848/49 records the vessel, in Apl. 1848, as Sunderland registered with J. C. Stafford, of Sunderland, as the vessel's then owner. During the second LR period, the vessel is registered at Hartlepool, owned by 'Meldrum', with S. Forster (in 1852/53 & 1853/54) or S. Forster (in 1854/55) noted to be the vessel's captain. For service from Hartlepool to France. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/55, in 1854 data, records the vessel as Hartlepool registered with John Meldrum & Sherinton Foster, both of Hartlepool, as the vessel's then owners, with Sherinton Foster her then captain. A little operational data per 'Welsh Newspapers Online'. In late Apl. 1842, the vessel ('Hodson') left Newport, Wales, for Stettin (then Germany now Poland), likely with coal. In Dec. 1848, the vessel, 'Olley' her captain, arrived at Cardiff, Wales, with 130 tons of potatoes ex St. Malo, Brittany, France. A few days later it put into Penzance, leaky. In Jun. 1849 & in Mar. 1853, the vessel, 'Calgey' in command, left Cardiff for Galatz (Galați, on the Danube, Eastern Romania, Black Sea) with cargoes of coal. This listing is first created as a result of the webmaster reading that a brig of the name, registered at Hartlepool, was wrecked at Scroby Sand (from Caister to Great Yarmouth, 4 miles off the Norfolk coast), on Jul. 10, 1854 - as per this page. While en route from Hartlepool to London. The vessel was driven onto the sand by the force of the tide, filled, & broke her back. The vessel's crew were all saved along with some stores. Can you add anything additional? #2299 2   Nepaulese Ambassador 345/375 later 352 tons 26234 1850 Nepaulese Ambassador, a barque, is Lloyd's Register ('LR') listed from 1851/52 thru 1861/62. It was, per LR, owned by Smirke & Co. of Sunderland, from 1851/52 thru 1855/56, for consistent service from Sunderland to Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. With W. Jackson serving as the vessel's captain. A Sunderland shipping website, which website requests no links or recognition, advises that the vessel was first registered at Sunderland on Oct. 31, 1850, owned by Nicholas Smirk Snr. & Nicholas Smirk Jnr. (both with no 'e' at the end). Such website also advises that on Oct. 11, 1852 the vessel was registered in the name of John Smurthwaite of Sunderland. Further that on Nov. 04, 1852 her owners became John & Elizabeth Smurthwaite. The webmaster has not researched the operational history of Nepaulese Ambassador. But notes, 'best-efforts', the following - by captain:-  Wm. D. Jackson - i) On Nov. 25, 1850 Nepaulese Ambassador left Sunderland for Hong Kong, with a cargo of coal, to arrive there on May 23, 1851. The vessel eventually arrived back at the Downs on Aug. 25, 1852, having traded, so far as I can see, while in the far east, between Hong Kong, Singapore & Calcutta. ii) On Apl. 05, 1853, the vessel arrived at Calcutta ex Sunderland. In Jun. 1853 the vessel left Calcutta for the Red River Colony at Fremantle/Perth in Western Australia, arriving there on Aug. 13, 1853 with a general cargo that included sugar, rice & wheat. It there loaded a cargo of timber in early Dec. 1853 for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, & arrived there on Dec. 23, 1853 with a few cabin passengers & 33 in steerage. It left Melbourne for Swan River (Perth) in late Feb. 1854 with a cargo of flour. On May 25, 1854 it arrived at Perth with a cargo of timber ex Bunbury, leaving on Jun. 25, 1854 for Adelaide & Melbourne with 8 cabin & 28 steerage passengers. On Jul. 12 or 13, 1854 the vessel arrived at Adelaide, South Australia, ex Swan River.  Burns - iii) On Sep. 12, 1854 Nepaulese Ambassador left Adelaide for Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka), now with 'Burns' in command, in ballast & with no passengers. On Nov. 25, 1854, it arrived at Colombo & on Feb. 10, 1855 left Colombo for London, where it arrived on Jul. 14, 1855, having put in at Cowes, Isle of Wight, due to lack of provisions. The North of England Maritime Directory of 1854/5, in Mar. 1854 data, records Eliz. Smurthwaite of Sunderland as the vessel's then owner with Wm. D. Jackson her then captain. The vessel must have been sold. I say that because on Oct. 04, 1854, the 'Inquirer' of Perth, advised that Nepaulese Ambassador had been sold at Melbourne, upon the instruction of the captain's employers (owners presumably). Bought by Edward Oliver it would seem. And that 'Jackson' had bought his own vessel. Turnbull's Shipping Register ('TR') of 1855 records the vessel, still Sunderland registered, as owned by Edward Oliver of Liverpool, with W. D. Jackson her captain (that last data likely in error). Edward Oliver, a Liverpool shipowner/shipbroker, is worthy of the reader's interest as clearly it was to Lewis R. Fischer - who in 1995 wrote a fascinating 12 page paper about the sale of Edward Oliver's ships after his death in Oct. 1854. The 'sale of the century' as he describes it. A paper you can access & download here. On Dec. 07, 1854, Oliver's fleet of vessels was sold at auction in Liverpool. He owned shares in an amazing 79 vessels, 75 of which he owned outright. Lewis Fischer tells us that all of Oliver's vessels sold that day including Nepaulese Ambassador which sold for £5,000. 3 other 'Oliver' owned vessels sold that day, likely 4, were also built at Sunderland. i.e. Clifton Hall, Marsden, W. S. Hamilton, & Pero. Do read Lewis Fischer's paper! We thank Lewis Fischer for his diligence in researching the data at the Mersey Maritime Museum which would seem to be the source for the sale pricing data. The sale was widely advertised - in London, in the northeast, in Ireland & of course in Liverpool. But the contemporary news reports prominently reference such auction sale as being initially of 77 ships then of 78 ships, but state that Nepaulese Ambassador was not sold that day. Nor, per such reports, were Clifton Hall, Marsden or W. S. Hamilton. The sale lists did not include Pero. Two reports - 1 & 2 (Sunderland built ships marked in red). But - hold the presses! Clifton Hall, Marsden, Nepaulese Ambassador & W. S. Hamilton definitely did not sell on or close to Dec. 09, 1874. All four were again offered for sale from Feb. 23 thru Apl. 02, 1855 - as were 32 other 'Oliver' vessels. Nepaulese Ambassador? It was finally offered for sale at a public auction held in London on Jul. 25, 1855. It did not sell then either. But I presume sold soon thereafter since the next news reports are to the vessel with 'Smith' now her captain. Contemporary newspaper reports - 3 (Sunderland built ships marked in red) & 4. In 1856/57, per LR, Nepaulese Ambassador became owned by White & Co., of Shields, who likely acquired the vessel in a private sale after Jul. 25, 1855. For service from Shields to the Mediterranean. With J. Smith always her captain. TR of 1856 lists her then owners as being G. & J. White & J. Smith of South Shields - per the Sunderland shipping website, from Jan. 28, 1856 (George & John White and John Smith). To become George White & John Smith on Jan. 20, 1857. Christie's Shipping Register of 1858 states George White & John Smith, both of South Shields. The Mercantile Navy List records the vessel as registered at Shields from 1857 thru 1859 & at South Shields from 1860 thru 1862. 107 ft. 1 in. long, 352 tons from LR of 1856/57. What finally happened to Nepaulese Ambassador? LR of 1861/62 notes that the vessel had been 'Wrecked'. On Dec. 27, 1861, per line 1549 here, the 352 ton barque was wrecked on the coast of Thessaly, (a region in NE Greece), while en route, in ballast, from Syra (Syros, Siros or Syra, a Greek island, in the Cyclades, located about 78 miles SE of Athens) to Salonica (now Thessaloniki, Aegean Sea, NE Greece). Crew of 12 - 11 lost. Vessel then stated to be owned by George White. What actually happened? I learn that on Sep. 24, 1861 Nepaulese Ambassador left Liverpool for Malta with a cargo of coal, with John Mowat in command & a crew of 12 all told. On Nov. 29, 1861, the vessel left Malta for Syra - where she was chartered to load a cargo of barley at Salonica for delivery to the U.K. On Dec. 23, 1861, the vessel left Syra & 4 days later, on Dec. 27, 1861 went onto the rocks on the coast of Thessaly during a heavy gale with snow & fog. At a place described as being 'in Zagora' and 'between Polidendey & Skllthea'. Nepaulese Ambassador became a wreck with only one survivor - John Brooksbank, the vessel's cook & steward. G. Montanine, the HM Consul at Salvonia, went to the loss scene where 'Brooksbank' described to him what had happened in great detail. George William White, the son of George White (her part-owner) was one of those who were drowned. As per these contemporary newspaper reports - 1, 2 & 3. Can you add to or correct in any way the above text? #2932 May I suggest that you navigate the site via the index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE To Thomas M. M. Hemy Data Page 41. All of the other Thomas Hemy pages, including image pages, are accessible though the index on Thomas Hemy page 05. [ ] £ á é ñ To the Special Pages Index. A SITE SEARCH FACILITY Search This Site for Get a Free Search Engine for Your Web Site THE GUEST BOOK - GO HERE E-MAIL THIS LINK Enter recipient's e-mail: