shipwrecks associated with Waterford Archives - Waterford Harbour Tides & Tales

05/09/202320/10/2023

Egeria – A True Story of Shipwreck

By Dorothy McMahan

With excerpts from On Shipboard by Anne Starrett Craig

Information gathered by Dorothy McMahan and Chuck McMahan

Olivia Murray, a page regular with a family connection to the Waterford coast, brought this guest blog to my attention. The story is one of those wonderful accounts that can be so easily lost, or remain as a footnote in history unless someone, very often a family member, has the resolve to go out and do the hard digging. Mind you in this case it’s generations of family. I am indebted to the kindness and generosity of Dorothy and Chuck McMahan for what you are about to read. It offers a unique glimpse into one human story and how it impacts a family, just one of thousands associated with wrecks that have happened along the Waterford coastline in days past.

This is a true story that needs to be preserved in the annals for the descendants of Captain Henry A. Starrett. Our knowledge of the factual information of the story has been expanding over almost 150 years and over four generations. As I retell it here I will add the various chapters in the chronological order in which they unfolded, beginning with the oral history as I heard it in my childhood and beyond.

The best way to begin is by quoting from my grandmother Anne Starrett Craig’s booklet of her memories of life On Shipboard with her parents, Captain Henry and Ellen “Nellie” Starrett. This is basically the oral history with which I grew up living in the same household
with her in Belfast. We children heard many other stories of her childhood but this is the one we most vividly remember.

…While the ship {was in port}…my mother and I usually managed a visit to the small New England town which we called “home”, because there my mother’s relatives lived, with their latch-string always out to us. One autumn it was decided that we should spend the winter there, my father making the trip to Liverpool without us. My first taste of school and of a New England winter was a pleasant adventure to me. But my father’s adventure was the most disastrous of his life as a sea captain. In late November there came to us from the owners of our bark, “Egeria”, a telegram; “Cable dispatch. Egeria totally lost. Captain Safe at Waterford. No particulars.”

The particulars, which came to us later, were these–Off the Irish coast in storm and fog the vessel had been driven ashore in spite of all that could be done. The anchors would not hold. The shore was sheer rock. The ship at the last was thrown by each oncoming breaker against a high detached boulder—some of the men had already been washed overboard. My father saw only one possibility of escape –to jump onto that rock as the ship was dashed against it. He watched his chance, and succeeded in keeping his footing on the rock. The little group of men set up a cheer an one by one they followed his lead. But even then they found themselves far from safe—on an isolated rock, with the tide rising toward them and the fog still dense. If only the fog would lift!

And it did lift, and the vigilant coast guards, ever on the look-out for ship-wrecked sailors, saw these men in distress. They shot them a line, and soon were able to bring them all safe to shore. Not long afterward the tide had completely covered the rock on which the men had stood. My father reached home just in season to join the large family gathering about the Christmas tree. And the next fall saw us sailing again, on a long voyage this time, bound around Cape Horn for San Francisco. We were all going, including my small brother.
On Shipboard
Anne Starrett Craig
Published by Courier-Gazette, For Farnsworth Museum, Rockland, ME 1961

It would be well to digress here and relate a few facts about those “relatives” Anne mentions. The “small New England town” is Belfast. The “relatives” were the Peirce family, a prominent Belfast family in those days. Nellie Starrett’s sister, Maria, was the wife of Hiram Peirce. Their house stood approximately where the present Belfast Area High School is now located. There were several other Peirce families in the neighborhood. I have always understood that the Christmas gathering in Anne’s memories took place in the large brick house on High Street opposite the end of John Street.

It was with Hiram and Maria that Anne and her mother were staying through this winter of 1871. Hiram was quite an entrepreneur with several business operations in the town. Possibly the most innovative was an electrical generating plant at the mouth of Goose River in East Belfast. Evidence of this is still visible from Searsport Avenue, and the property between the shore and the road is presently owned by Central Maine Power Co. Hiram also owned a mill on Goose River on Swan Lake Avenue. The present Mill Lane is a connecting road between Searsport Avenue and Swan Lake Avenue and would have been a link between the two businesses.

Shipyards at Belfast, Maine 1905. Accessed from Wikipedia public domain

Before we leave the Peirce family it is important for the family story to understand that the family name Peirce, spelled E before I is pronounced to rhyme with ‘nurse’ or ‘purse’. Far be it for me to commit the error of pronouncing it otherwise. However in the present time, it has been changed in many places to the more common Pierce. It seems to be erroneously so in Grove Cemetery Interment records. One landmark that holds true to the original is the Peirce School on Church Street, founded by the estate of one Lena Peirce and named for her.

Moving forward, we leave the 1800s and jump into the electronic age of the 1990s. My five years of work with the Starrett papers at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport yielded new insight into many of the stories I had grown up with. My computer spot was in the stacks looking down over the library offices and if I stretched my neck I could catch a glimpse of Captain Starrett’s model of the Frank N. Thayer. Finding bits of information often had me laughing loudly enough to catch the attention of those below. Imagine my delight at finding ‘bird seed’ among the stores put on board for one long voyage. Grandma Craig’s telling of her canary came to life. The loan of a fire pump to a coal-carrying vessel on fire in the Pacific was well documented as the loan was repaid later in port. The news was that the vessel had survived the fire and made it to port.

The Model of the Frank N Theyer: Image courtesy of the Penobscot Marine Museum, PMM Image # 2008.1.

But the most rewarding of all came when I discovered papers regarding the wreck of the Egeria. Up until then, we had only known that it was near Waterford, on the Irish coast. Here was a copy of a letter from Captain Starrett to the owners dated Nov. 22, 1871, saying that he would be going back to Ballymacaw in the morning to arrange for the sale of the Egeria and cargo – a salvage operation. There was also an invoice for new clothing (a pretty complete wardrobe!) as well as other letters concerning drawings of the wreck. A flyer advertising a steamship offering passage from Cork to New York was a clue as to Captain Starrett’s return across the Atlantic.

Missing were the usual papers concerning the details of leaving a port and arriving at a new port. From these papers, it is possible to establish the dates of leaving and of entry. These would have been in the cabin on board so of course were lost with the sinking of the Egeria. No mention of what the cargo consisted of was present.

Sadly, also gone were Captain Starrett’s charts. These can be used to establish dates of departure and reach a destination. In those days charts were usually the property of the captain and represent a substantial outlay of funds.

So then we knew the destination of the voyage was Liverpool according to Anne’s writing, the date of the wreck, and the exact location. It might be presumed that they had not had time enough to reach Liverpool and be on a return voyage, given the usual time spent off-loading and loading new cargo, whatever that cargo might have been but not much more.

Enter once more the electronic era. My son Chuck and I searched and found a website maintained by a family who actually spent vacations in Ballymacaw in the very buildings of the Coastguard men who rescued the Egeria crew. We corresponded by e-mail, saw photos, and learned more about the area. They had access to the Coastguard records and we were able to match our knowledge with the dates and information in those records. It is a beautiful area but a truly forbidding coast – sheer rock as Anne says. All this was exciting and brought the story to life in a really wonderful way. But then the website was taken down and we were without answers once again.

Recently Chuck has once again made contact with the originator of the website through Facebook. He has learned more about Ballymacaw. Through her, he found the following news item from the Irish Times of Nov. 22, 1871.

An excerpt from the Irish Times of the tragic loss of five lives and the rescue of many more. Sourced from Olivia Murray.

At last! So many questions were answered. The cargo was flour which may be how the inlet came to be known colloquially as “Flour Hole.” She inward bound for Liverpool and departed from Boston in September, about two months crossing the North Atlantic. One has to wonder what happened to the eight other men who survived. Were they able to find other berths? And who notified the families of the men washed overboard? But for us, it puts to rest so many questions we had wondered about over the years.

The Flour Hole, Ballymacaw, Waterford. Photo Chuck McMahan

Olivia’s cousin Jimmy Nolan gave us an intimate guide to the Flour Hole. Photo Chuck McMahan

We imagine this is the rock that the crew lept to and were rescued from. Photo Chuck McMahan

To return to Anne’s booklet – she closes this story with the sentence “We were all going including my small brother.” The “small brother” obviously arrived during the winter or spring. The women in our family have been known to speculate that Nellie, having given birth in a ship’s cabin once, did not care to repeat the experience. Anne was born in Singapore harbor in April 1865. Her brother, Francis (Frank), was born in Belfast in May 1872, in a comfortable house with friends and family to offer help.

But what if that decision had not been made in the autumn of 1871? If Nellie and Anne had been on board the Egeria, would they have been able to jump to the rock? Would Henry have jumped himself? Would the men have jumped if their Captain had not shown that it was possible? So many unanswered questions! However, if the answers to any of the above had been “no,” I would not be writing and you would not be reading this story.

What we do know is that Captain Starrett spent the early months of 1872 raising money to buy shares in another vessel. It was customary in those days for a captain to own at least a small part of the vessel. Without easy communication between ports on opposite sides of the oceans, it was an incentive for a captain to share in the profits or losses that the vessel might incur. He needed to make good business decisions on his own.

However, he was able to raise the funds and the voyage Anne speaks of was on the Frank N. Thayer. They were six months from leaving New York on September 9, 1872 (per the date on the ‘Crew List’) to arrival in San Francisco on March 3, 1873 (per ‘Inward Pilotage’ receipt).

The model that Captain Starrett built is of the Frank N. Thayer which is presently in the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. The family oral history says that both Nellie and Anne helped to create parts of the rigging and the tiny American flag that used to fly from the masthead.

The late Elizabeth “Libby” Mills, sister of (Right) Dorothy “Dot” McMahan. The two grew up in the house in Belfast with their brother Edward.. Libby just finished a lifelong project of transcribing and publishing her Great-grandmother Nellie’s journal from Nellie’s first two years at sea, known as Nellie’s Diary. Limited private publication. More information on that project is here Photo Marti Stone

Dorothy (Dot) with the oldest and youngest of her seven grandchildren, Rebecca McMahan-Leyva, and Robin McMahan. Photo Marti Stone

Over the years I have tried to picture Henry’s homecoming and “the family gathering around the Christmas tree.” Was it a total surprise or did they have enough communication to know that he was on his way? Who got the first and biggest hug? There must have been both tears and laughter with the sheer relief that he was safely home. We know that there were to be twelve more years of voyages with his beloved family aboard before his retirement from the sea in 1884 to settle in Belfast in the house where my mother and then my siblings and I grew up and where we heard all these stories and more from our grandmother, Anne Starrett Craig.

Dorothy (Dot) McMahan Photo: Marti Stone

My thanks again to Dorothy and Chuck for allowing us this truly unique glimpse into their family archive and putting flesh on the bones as it were of a shipwreck and a coastal placename. Thanks also to Olivia Murray for the assistance. I am open to publishing guest blogs from time to time – once they help to promote and preserve the maritime and fishing history of the community.

Post Publication edit. This story was published on the 5th of September on the occasion of Dorothy’s 98th Birthday. Despite her ill health her son Chuck said she was thrilled to see the story published. Dorothy later passed away on the 25th of September. But her story of the Egeria lives on here now, as will her memory for all her loved ones. Thanks to Chuck and Dorothy for sharing this, and Rest in Peace Dorothy.

25/11/2022

Tragic end to the PS City of Bristol

The City of Bristol departed the quay of Waterford in November 1840 for her home port of Bristol in a gale of wind. Anxious to keep to schedule the vessel would sail into one of the worst storms that season. She would later run aground, break up and all but two of the twenty-seven souls aboard would die.

PS City of Bristol – photo accessed from http://www.brecon-scuba.org/page.php?id=283

The City of Bristol (1828) was a familiar ship in the coastal trade of Ireland. She was a paddle steamer, built of timber, 209 tons, 144ft long and 35ft wide including her paddle wheels. She was two-masted, schooner rigged, and had main, quarter, and forecastle decks. Built by the War Office Steam Packet Co, in Bristol she was owned and operated locally by a consortium of local merchants. However, at the time she was lost the ship was in the ownership of the Bristol General Steam Navigation Co and had just undergone an extensive refit. The vessel was a regular into Irish ports including Cork and Waterford but especially Dublin it seems – where she was known to carry troops to and from the island, and also convicts amongst the more usual freight.

A contemporary advert highlighting the regularity with steam brought to sailings, and also perhaps some of the pressure that Captain Stacey may have felt in meeting his schedule. Sourced from Waterford Mail – Wednesday 11 November 1840; page 3

On Tuesday 17th November the steamer departed Waterford’s quay for her home port of Bristol. The vessel had become a regular on a route that had a long history between the ports of Bristol and Waterford. At 10 am she was observed outbound at Passage East. Her Captain, John Stacey who had only taken charge of the vessel in the previous six weeks. Stacey however was described as knowing the route well, having served man and boy on it, first on sailing ships and later steam. Rounding the Hook he decided to return, following what was described as “…a frightful sea…” He anchored in Duncannon Bay, where he awaited the abatement of the storm, setting off again at 11 pm that same night.

Aboard the City of Bristol was an estimated 21 crew and possibly 6 deck passengers. Of the passengers little is known, most it seems were stockmen (John Sullivan is the only name of the stockmen recorded it seems), along to care for the livestock aboard. The ship’s manifest included; 575 barrels of Oats, 113 barrels of Barley, 2 tierces (casks) of lard, 120 flitches of bacon (a side of a pig ), 280 live pigs stored in pens on deck, and 15 head of cattle housed in the forehold.

As she crossed to the Pembroke coast later in the afternoon of the 18th of November the storm once more rose in strength from the SE and in near zero visibility due to snow Captain Stacey decided to seek shelter behind what he believed to be Worm’s Head to the east of Swansea. With only glimpses of land and features, Stacey was in a very difficult navigational position. After 6pm land was sighted, however, Stacey was mistaken in his calculations. He was actually at Burry Holmes a few miles to the north (perhaps as little as 2!), and instead of finding a safe anchorage where they could have weathered the storm, breakers were spotted. The captain reacted swiftly trying to get the ships head to the wind and this was partly successful, but she grounded by the stern and when she turned broadside to the waves, all hopes of getting off were lost.

They had grounded in Rhosilly Bay, close to the village of Llangennith and although the cries could be heard from the shoreline, the locals were powerless to help. The crew could do nothing in the savage seas to launch a boat for fear of being washed off the deck. As the tide rose and the seas with it, there was little they could do except lash themselves to the rigging and hope for rescue. Broadside to the pounding waves she was battered and beaten and finally at highwater sometime close to midnight, the ship broke in three parts and all aboard were tossed into the surf.

Location of the wreck in the Bristol Channel (Or the Severn Sea as it was also referred to at the time occasionally)

Stacey had planned to make Worms Head where he was assured of a safe anchorage to weather the storm, however he was north of it, close to the village of Llangennith

Perhaps miraculously, three of the crew made it alive to shore, but only two survived. An unnamed man was dragged from the waves but never regained consciousness. Seaman William Poole was saved when a timber beam he grabbed in the water carried him in. He suffered three broken ribs and could barely walk when he floated ashore. He was clutched from the sand by locals who were standing by. The ship’s carpenter, Thomas Anstice managed to swim the distance and walked out of the surf towards a fire that was blazing as a beacon on the beach. Both men would later give evidence at a local inquest and helped to identify the bodies of those of their crewmates who were fortunate to be given back by the sea. 72 pigs and 4 cattle also made the shoreline and walked off the beach to safety. Here’s a list of the crew that died which includes a photo of Captain Staceys grave.

Meanwhile in Bristol, there was little by way of anxiety about the late arrival of the City of Bristol, where it was assumed that the vessel was sheltering from the violent storms. But by the second morning (Thursday) fears were mounting and a large crowd had gathered in the ports Cumberland Basin where the packet boats normally arrived. The first news came via County of Pembroke on her run from Tenby and further information arrived by other ships and post. The city was devastated by the loss, 13 of the crew were from the village of Pill, described by some as the nursery of Bristol seafarers.

Cumberland Basin in 1850s by ET Dolby. Sourced from https://bristolcitydocks.co.uk/cumberland-basin/

In the coming days, the full horror was realised and later a public subscription was established to try to help the widows and orphans who were left without an income. When the account was published in May of the following year £900 had been raised for the families and it allowed a payout of £15 to the widows involved and £14 to each of the 34 orphaned children.

Locally, the Waterford Mail gave widespread coverage of the loss but it did include some details pertaining to the city. For example about Captain Stacey, who in some quarters was held liable for the loss, there was the following:

“Captain Stacey, the master of the unfortunate vessel, had been known here for forty years, during which time he had been in sailing vessels and subsequently in steam packets between this port and Bristol. Intelligent, zealous, active in the onerous and responsible situations that he most creditably filled for many years, was held in high consideration by his various employers ; while in the walks of private life and social intercourse he was most highly esteemed and respected, and few could depart more deeply regretted a numerous circle of friends than Capt. John Stacey. His melancholy fate is indeed the subject of general, public, universal sympathy and regret.”
Waterford Mail – Wednesday 25 November 1840; page 2

Of the cargo:

…300 brls of oats, 2 trs of lard and 100 pigs, belonged to Mr. Finnucane, of Ballybricken, and we believe, very little has been saved of the property. Mr. Fennelly, a bacon merchant in Clonmel, lost 50 bales of bacon ; Mr. Murphy, of Clonmel. 100 sacks of oats; and Mr. Cooney, 100 sacks of oats.
Waterford Mail – Wednesday 25 November 1840; page 2

of the passengers, we learn that “among those who perished was a lad named Thomas Henderson, the son of honest parents, in the clothes trade in Patrick Street. Apparently, Thomas was travelling to London to purchase second-hand clothing for the family business.” Slaters Commercial Directory of Ireland (1846 ed) lists Thomas Henderson as running a Clothes Dealer business at 29 Patrick St. He is one of numerous such outlets on this street. The property is now Ryans’s Shoe Repairs (and collectibles!) The Mail also mentions “… a young man of the name of Walsh, who lately came here from Liverpool, and was returning by way of Bristol, also perished” No details are given about the only female passenger aboard but apparently there were two others who were aboard the City of Bristol, but who at the last minute stepped off the vessel and she sailed without them. Both ladies were unnamed and no other details emerged as far as I can tell – they would have got a book deal out of the same fortune in this day and age.

Today’s piece is taken from reportage at the time from an article in The Wexford Independent, 25th November 1840, The Waterford Mail, cited above and George Harries – Early Bristol Paddle Steamer Shipwrecks, 1993, The Longdunn Press, Bristol and Tom Bennett, Shipwrecks Around Wales Vol 1, 1987 Happy Fish Press, Newport, Wales. I’d like to thank Frank Cheevers who originally shared the story with me on Facebook

25/09/202028/10/2021

A Blighted Barque- Earl of Beaconsfield

When the owners of the four-masted iron hulled sailing barque Earl of Beaconsfield (1883) saw their new ship enter the River Clyde, they must have hoped for a handsome return on their investment. But although fate has a large role to play in anything to do with shipping, the owners could never have foreseen just how blighted, ill-fated if not damned this ship would be and that within the year she would be sunk after several major incidents at sea, and have never successfully made a single trip.

An example of a four masted barque rigged vessel of the era **SV Herzogin Cecilie** . By Allan C. Green 1878 – 1954 – State Library of Victoria. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10540452

The Earl of Beaconsfield was launched by Russell & Co, Port Glasgow on the 5^th of December 1883 for the firm of A. McAllister & Co, West India Dock Rd, London. The vessel was 269’ 1″ long by ×40’2″×24’3″ and had a tonnage of 1960 GRT and 1893 NRT.[i]

Her maiden voyage started from Glasgow under Captain Kerr and a crew of 31 with freight of coal and general cargo. Her trip would take her down the Irish Sea to the Tuskar Rock along the southern Irish coast where the deep-sea pilot Captain Warden would depart, and then southwards through the Atlantic to Cape Horn and subsequently up the American coast to San Francisco.[ii]

Captain Warden departed the vessel as planned and the ship set her sails for the South Atlantic but the weather had other ideas and as the wind picked up and the seas rose, the crew of the Earl of Beaconsfield found themselves facing a serious test of their new ship. Despite their best efforts, the crew was unable to make any appreciable headway and ultimately they found themselves bearing down on Ballyteigue Bay, Co Wexford on Tuesday evening 12th February. Both anchors were dropped and as the winds continued unabated the ship’s cargo shifted causing a serious list to port which only added to the threat of the mountainous seas that crashed aboard.[iii]

Earl of Beaconsfield following salvage at Buttermilk Castle close to Cheekpoint. Poole. Andy Kelly Collection.

All through the night, the crew battled to stay alive. As the storm persisted the ship became increasingly damaged. The bow was stove in, spars snapped and rigging fell onto the deck. Rockets were shot from the ship into the night sky. Although seen, there was nothing those on shore could do to help except to raise the alarm. A message was sent to the lifeboat station at Duncannon which dispatched the lifeboat overland to Fethard arriving early on Wednesday morning.[iv]

Duncannon lifeboat station. Authors collection.

Duncannon’s lifeboat was a self-righting rowboat called the Richard and Anne. The station was founded in 1869 and served on station for 17 years until 1886. Duncannon was closed as two new stations were then operating at Dunmore East and Fethard on Sea.[v]

The GWRC steamer Waterford passed close by on Wednesday morning and attempted to get close to offer assistance, signals were exchanged but it was deemed too risky to get close. Meanwhile, the Duncannon lifeboat was rowing towards the scene, but because of the gale could not render any immediate assistance. They returned subsequently when the winds moderated and dropped the crew of 32 and a stowaway, to Fethard where they were cared for by locals and an agent for Lloyds.[vi] According to information supplied by Nick Leech author of The Lifeboat Service in Ireland, Station by Station the crew of the lifeboat didn’t get back to Duncannon until almost 9pm on the 14th, a 26 hr rescue. (Although this does not tally with the details I have, I’m also working to try piece together another rescue of the crew of the Stowell Brown. This may account for the discrepancy as this occurred at or around the same time). The crew of the Earl of Beaconsfield were subsequently transported to Waterford and then by the Clyde steamer Skerryvore directly to Glasgow.[vii]

*An oil painting of the Lynmouth lifeboat Louisa, by artist Mark Myers.©RNLI*. *A contemporary craft of the Richard and Anne*

A view of the scene from Fethard Dock recently. Authors collection.

Meanwhile, the Waterford Steam Navigation Co has dispatched the tug Dauntless (which a few years later would play such a courageous role in the failed attempt to save the crew of the Alfred D Snow) and the Duncannon steamer PS Tintern to salvage the wreck. A telegram summoned the tugs Stormcock and Cruiser of the Liverpool Salvage Association too. On arrival at the scene, the Waterford boats were met by a group of Kilmore fishermen who had rowed to the scene and carried out some work on the hatches to help maintain the ship. An agreement was reached between the parties. The anchor cables were so taut from the strain they had endured that extra expertise had to be brought from the Neptune Ironworks in Waterford to release the anchors and then the long tow to Waterford commenced. [viii]

The ship was towed to a safe anchorage at Buttermilk Castle. Having being unloaded and patched up, the Earl of Beaconsfield was subsequently brought back to the Clyde by the tug Stormcock, but this was not without incident. For at 4 am on the 6^th March both the tug and the barque each in turn collided with the schooner J M Stevens. The schooner subsequently sunk in the Firth of Clyde. The crew was saved having managed to scramble aboard the Earl of Beaconsfield.[ix]

Following repairs, the barque was again readied for San Francisco, and a report from the 12^th May 1884 stated that “…She is commanded as formerly by Captain Kerr…and the entire crew, 33 in number, were engaged at Greenock….[she]… carries to the outport about 2,700 tons cargo, principally coal. She is despatched by Messrs T. Skinner Co., Glasgow“[x]

Having negotiated the southern ocean and rounded the Horn, the Earl of Beaconsfield caught fire in the pacific just weeks away from finally reaching San Francisco. On the 13^th of August, the cargo of coal combusted. The vessel was subsequently destroyed by fire in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of Santiago, Chile. The crew took to the lifeboat and were subsequently picked up by a passing vessel and landed at Valparaiso. Amazingly, in recording the demise of the ship, a local paper recorded two other incidents with the ship and bad weather before she ever reached Wexford in February at all. If ever there was a case of an unfortunate vessel, surely the Earl of Beaconsfield has earned the title.[xi]

Following publication of this blog, I got the following email from Kevin Brice:

I just wanted to thank you for your blog entry of the 25/09/20 concerning the barque Earl of Beaconsfield which I only came across recently.

Many years ago, sometime in the early 1970’s, my father brought home a very large book he had found in a skip on his way home from work (he always cycled to and from work so I guess it was always easy for him to see what was in the skips he passed). Anyhow the book, on closer inspection, turned out to be a ships log book written up by the Mate of the Earl of Beaconsfield. Even as a teenager I was fascinated by the beautiful writing and spent a lot of time trying to read the text and understand it.

Obviously this was a time way before the internet so it took a long time to find out any information about the ship. Eventually a query to the National Maritime Museum in London cast some light on her and her voyage, this being the second one in your story, taking coal from Greenock to San Francisco, catching fire off the coast of South America which resulted in the crew being rescued. This info, whilst being really helpful, didn’t really extinguish my desire to know more about the ship and her history.

I’ve kept this log book ever since and, over the years, have found out little snippets of information about the ship from the internet and every so often go back and make another trawl to see if anything extra has been added, so it was wonderful to come across your account of her short but undeniably fascinating life including a photo of her.

How this log book came to be in a skip in Worthing, Sussex some 90 years after the crew were brought safely to Valparaiso in Chile is anybodies guess but it has become one of my treasured belongings so thank you once again for adding another layer to her story.

The cover of the Log Book which was retrieved from a skip. It covers the last journey from Grennock to San Franscico unfortunately, from a local perspective it would have been interesting to have a first hand account of the incident

I would like to thank David Carroll for his help with the details of the Duncannon lifeboat Richard & Anne for this story. David is busy finalising his history of the Dunmore East Lifeboat station, further details here.

My new book of maritime yarns and history is due to be published in the coming weeks. Published by the History Press it will be available from all good bookshops and online. If you would like to receive a signed copy by post please email me at tidesntales@gmail.com. I can also post as a present for Christmas or other occasions with a specific dedication. The cost incl P&P is €17 to anywhere in the world – I will send an e-invoice via Pay Pal which can be paid with an account or with any credit card.

29/11/201908/12/2019

Mino – “As rotten a ship as ever put to Sea”

Whites & Penrose slipways, Waterford. Andy Kelly Collection

On Saturday morning, 30^th October 1875 the schooner Mino of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford was run ashore on the Wexford shore by her captain and crew. Aground on the sandy shoreline the first wave to break over her stern carried the timbers away and this was quickly followed by her afterdeck. As locals rushed to the scene, the crew who were huddled in the bow, were assisted ashore with the help of ropes and cared for in local homes. The crew of the Mino were fortunate to have survived, but was this a case of bad weather, poor seamanship or something more sinister?

*The strand at Ballyhealy – with thanks to Kev Somers. Erosion is a real problem in the area and we must assume that the **Mino** grounded further out from the present shoreline.*

Ballyhealy on the map, located between Kilmore Quay and Carnsore Point

The Mino, was a 180 ton, two masted schooner, built in Prince Edward Island in 1858. The schooner was advertised for sale in Liverpool in May of 1862 and was subsquently bought by Captain Thomas White of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford for £229. In an advert of the time the Mino was described as “…a most remarkable vessel; carries 140 tons, on 9 feet water; sails without ballast; takes the ground; is well found in stores, and quite ready for immediate employment. This vessel is admirably adapted for the coasting trade, and sold in consequence of being too small for present owner’s use. Dimensions: Length 73 feet, breadth 20 feet , depth 9 feet ”[1]

White became the vessels master and used the ship in the coastal trade that she was so suited to, carrying cargo such as wheat and pit props from Waterford and returning with such staples as coal. In 1872 it would appear that White stood down from his position and Captain Pat Brien of Wexford took command, followed by Captain Crotty, Captain Michael Barry of Cheekpoint and lastly, Whites brother in Law, Edward Kavanagh.[2]

Small promo here for Brian and Jacks new book. The launch will take place on Thursday Dec.12th at the Wexford Library at 7pm. The Book is a hardback cover 450+ pages with 300+ images,many in colour. A must for my Christmas stocking if anyone is looking for ideas!

According to Kavanagh the Mino departed Waterford (20^th September 1875) for Cardiff with pit props and then to Newport to take on a 125 tons of coal.[1] The departure was delayed for sometime due to weather and eventually they sailed on the 16^th October for their stated destination, Cheekpoint, Co Waterford. They put into Milford Haven on the 23^rd due to “stress of weather”. When they again set sail on the 29^th October they again ran into heavy weather off the Smalls. The Mino started to take water and although two pumps were manned, the water gained on them and the ship became unmanageable. At 5am on the morning of the 30^th October Kavanagh ran the Mino ashore on Ballyhealy strand. Thanks to local assistance, himself and his crew were saved.[2]

Later that morning the scene was visited by William Coughlan the Collector of Taxes and Reciever of Wrecks at Wexford. Members of the coastguard were also present and the condition of the wreck was immediately obvious to them. The Mino had practically fallen apart and it would seem that Coughlan was determined to get to the bottom of it. A shipwright from the Board of Trade was summoned and from the 6^th-7^th of November Robert Bell surveyed the wreck. He confirmed what most onlookers could determine for themselves, that many of the Mino’s timbers were in a rotten state.[3]

An advert from the front page of the Wexford People – Saturday 27th November 1875

The wreck was eventually auctioned off but I could find no reference to the cargo of coal which was destined originally for a Mr Davis of Waterford. If the schooners owner, Captain White, was feeling the loss of his ship and income, things were only going to go from bad to worse.

Just after Christmas 1875 Captain White was summoned to appear at a preliminary hearing at the Callaghane Petty Sessions to explain why he should not be prosecuted under a charge of sending men to sea in an unseaworthy ship. The shipowner faced stiff questioning before the presiding magistrates—Hon Dudley Fortescue, chairman ; Sir R J Paul, Bart: Capt Armstrong, Capt Coughlan, P Fitzgerald, Esq, and G I Goold, Esq, R.M [1]

I’m not aware of any photo of the Callaghane courthouse, but as we can see from this old OSI map, the building was located beside the RIC barracks after the present pub on the main Dunmore East – Waterford road.

It was decided that White had questions to answer and in March 1876 he appeared before Judge Barry in the Waterford Azzies where over two days he was tried by a jury of his peers. The evidence was overwhelmingly against the man. Both the coastguard and Receiver of Wrecks were clear as to the condition of the craft, his ex captain, Michael Barry explained how a Board of Trade official in Wales had cautioned of the ships unseaworthiness and that he had communicated this to White, prior to leaving the ship. The master of the Mino Edward Kavanagh deposed that he thought the ship was fine up to the storm in the Irish Sea, but his evidience was undermined when it was revealed that he was a brother in law to White. Two other crew, the mate Michael Power, and a sailor named John Milton, stated they were unaware of any issues as regards the craft. Their evidence was all the more strange because arguably the most convincing prosecution evidence shown in court was parts of the ships timbers.[2]

In his own defence White gave a good account of himself, stating that he had skippered the ship up to four years previously when ill health caused him to withdraw. He had regularly had the ship overhauled on the Penrose Graving Bank in Waterford and had spent large sums to maintain the ship. However, he could only provide three receipts for small repairs totalling £12 for the years 1873/4. And he could offer no witnesses to vouch for the claimed work, despite the fact that they were supposed to take place in the city. The judge, perhaps in frustration, asked White if he had a bad memory to which White replied “A very bad one”! Two local businessmen spoke up on Whites behalf; Shipping agent Downey and corn merchant Thomas Quigley![3]

The Graving Bank I am most familar with in the city was located where the present Bus Station is based. Basically this was a portion of the shoreline that dried out when the tide ebbed and allowed workmen to overhaul a ship. Photo courtesy of Damien McLellan.

A ship in the graving bank in Waterford, listing in and allowing access to the hull

The jury retired but quickly returned with a guilty verdict. Judge Barry sentenced Captain White to two months in jail and was reported to have stated that the Mino was as rotten a ship as ever put to sea!. The irony was that if Kavanagh had not managed to ground the ship and save his crew, White would probably have never been prosecuted. The Mino would be just another statistic of wrecks on the Wexford shore.

Postscript:

But that is not the end to my story. I grew up with stories of Captain White and his extended family who lived in Dobbyn’s House, Cheekpoint. The family had a strong connection with the sea, and as is often the case, were no strangers to tragedy. For example I was told that a son of the family died at Cheekpoint quay following a fall from a mast of their ship. I can’t say that this was Thomas Whites son, or that the fall was from the Mino. I have yet to find any proof. But I did find one very sad and curious event that might change the readers opinion of this account. For four years previously, a twenty year old sailor on the Mino was drowned in the Barrow following a boating accident. His name was John White and he was described as the Captain of the Mino’s son. [4] In the court case White stated that he had stood down as Captain four years before. Was this event the cause of his retirement as master? Ultimately was this the reason for his ill health? In the modern era such an event would be considered important as regards the Captains mental health, and would almost certainly be used in his defence as a contributory factor.

The Anderson/White/Hill family plot in Faithlegg

Thanks for dropping by and reading. If you have any observations, questions or extra information I would be delighted to recieve them, in the comments section below or by email to tidesntales@gmail.com. I publish a new story on the maritime heritage of Waterford harbour on the last Friday of each month. I also post daily updates on Facebook and Twitter. Andrew Doherty

25/10/201902/12/2022

Passagemens daring rescue

On a dark November night in storm-force winds and driving rain, an Arklow schooner scurried up Waterford harbour in search of shelter. Within sight of the Spit Light below Passage East, the ship healed over stuck fast in the sand and her crew took to the rigging from where they signaled in the hope of salvation. Luckily for them, their signals were answered and four men departed Passage East in a fishing yawl. But the odds were against them and nothing but expertise and luck would ensure a positive outcome.

Passage East, Co Waterford via Tommy Deegan Waterford History Group

The schooner France Jane was built in 1858 in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her Arklow owners were Anne and Thomas J. Troy and she weighed 87 tonnes.[i] She was on a run with corn from Belfast to Courtmacsherry under Captain Furlong.

Like many schooners at the time, the Frances Jane would take any opportunities for cargo that were available, competing as they were with the more regular running steamships. Bulk cargos were a staple freight, or bagged or barrelled produce, anything that didn’t have a crucial delivery date. trips to smaller ports and out-of-the-way locations were also a means of making freight. Earlier in the summer, she had been tied up in Arklow with a cargo of coal which was advertised at knockdown prices in an attempt to clear her hold.[ii] In another sailing in September coal was again her cargo into her home port.

The run to Courtmacsherry was cut short by a strengthening gale of southeast wind, by far the worst to meet off the Hook, and in an effort to make shelter, the schooner made her way into the harbour. As the rain came down and the winds strengthened she beat her way further in until she ran aground on the Drumroe Bank.

1787 map of the harbour entitled “An actual survey of the harbour and river of Waterford and of the bay of Tramore” by Robert Sayer (1724? -1794). Accessed from Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Public Domain)
To access a higher resolution go to https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b53011020p/f1.item.r=tramore

A close-up of Sayer’s chart showing the Drumroe Bank, outside of Passage Strand. Note the spit light has yet to be built and a light perch marks the bank instead.

Once stuck fast on the hard sands, her fate was sealed. With no other options, the crew took to the rigging to escape the surging seas breaking over her side, and lamps were lit and waved about in the hopes of a rescue. Fortunately, their lights were seen, and on Passage East quay four fishermen prepared their small open fishing boat to meet the challenge.

James Hearne, the skipper, had three other men with him, James Pepper, Richard Galvin, and Michael Sheehy. All the men are listed in the 1901 census as living in Passage East and all are married with a family. Hearne (age 36, fisherman) is married to Mary, a dressmaker. They have four children, the two eldest William and Ellen were born in Liverpool. Pepper (40, fisherman) is married to Statia and they have five children at the time. Richard Galvin (37, sailor) is married to Ellen, they are living with his mother-in-law, Catherine Daley. They have five children and a niece is also living with them. Patrick Sheehan (40, sailor) is married to Kate, and they have two teenage children.

Their small yawl was well used to facing the weather of the harbour and their experience would have told them that in the conditions, the closer they got to the stricken vessel the greater the danger they would face. As they pushed away from the quay they laid out the sweeps (oars) and bent their backs to their task. Rowing hard against the wind and rain, the men, who had no time to gather oilskins, were quickly soaked to the skin and the cold must have penetrated their jerseys despite the exertions. At one stage an oar was lost, and another snapped in two against the force of the seas. But on they battled with the two oars and eventually came alongside Frances Jane.

A similar yawl as described in the piece, taken at Ballyhack, Co Wexford.
NLI, Lawrence Collection. Robert French Photo

Hearne jumped aboard the stricken schooner and helped each of the sailors into the outstretched hands of his crewmates in the yawl. No details are given of the complexities of this, but I’m sure they would have come in under her leeward side (if the tidal conditional allowed) and in the shelter provided, make the transfer. Again nothing is made of the men going below to gather any valuables etc, mind you it was probably little enough they would have had. I also have no information on the names of Captain Furlong’s crew that night. Eventually, a sail was hoisted to bring them home, the sails filling with the now helpful wind, and soon they were at Passage East quay where the sailors and the fishermen alike were cared for with the attention that only a fishing and sailing village would know instinctively.[iii]

After the storm comes the calm it is said, and indeed such was the case in the days that followed. The schooner was seen wrecked and forlorn, but it was hoped that if the weather stayed calm she might be got off. Her cargo of wheat was salvaged and was later advertised for sale. “Mr. Patrick Bolger, auctioneer, New Ross, announces a very important sale of 260 barrels of fine Australian wheat, the salvaged cargo of the schooner Frances Jane, which recently came to grief in the harbour”[iv]

The schooner was not so fortunate, however, as the weather worsened and she became a total loss. I don’t know the ultimate fate of the crew thereafter, but I’m sure after a good night’s sleep, they were probably looking for a new berth to make their living from and would have shipped out at the earliest opportunity.

The rescue was widely reported and the skill and bravery displayed was eventually recognized. On Friday 30^th January 1903 at the Waterford City Petty Sessions a public ceremony was conducted at which the four men were recognised by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. Mr. Wardell, secretary of the Tramore Lifeboat Committee, and Mr. Edward Jacob, Lloyd’s agent in Waterford, introduced the men and their accomplishments before asking that the magistrates present them with the certificates. Jacob explained that it was “…only common justice to the men that the attention of the Institution should have been called to their heroic action. The Institution considered the deed they had done was an act of the greatest bravery, and when the great risk that the men had run of losing their own lives was pointed out to them they could scarcely credit it. They even wrote for further particulars, and when finally satisfied they very handsomely rewarded men an act of downright actual courage and bravery, and would long be remembered”

All four received a velum certificate from the RNLI and £2 each. James Hearne and Richard Galvin were there to receive the award in person. Kate Sheehan and Statia Pepper attended instead of their husbands. The article gives no explanation for this, but most likely they were both at sea?) Hearne received an extra acknowledgment for the damage caused to his vessel of 55 shillings. (the damage included the sweeps, gunwales, and sails)

An advert from the front page of the New Ross Standard – Friday 05 December 1902. Accessed from British Newspapers Archive.

The wreck was an annoyance to fishermen and boatmen, but not to the normal traffic of the ports. An article in the Passage Notes of February 1903 rails against this injustice rightly pointing out that the wreck is an impediment to salmon fishermen and a risk to local boatmen, making a specific reference by description to the hobbler trade, though not by the name. The author articulates the view that because the wreck does not impinge on “…the grand electric lit steamers…” or the “…gondoliers…of the wealthy…” it has been ignored by the Harbour Commissioners. But I’m sure that after a few weeks the fishermen and sailors adapted, it is after all in their nature. Marks would have been taken and soon by day or night the position was identifiable by sighting hills, trees, spires, and other buildings along both shores of the harbour. Indeed the children of Passage helped too, as there was one account I came across that mentions them hacking and sawing away on the timbers of the wreck.

It was not until the summer of 1951 that the wreck was finally removed warranting a few lines in the Munster Express: “The Remains of the wreck of the Frances Jane, mentioned in this column last week, was removed from the Spit Bank by orders of the Harbour Commissioners during the week…”[iii] Sad to think the names of the Passagemen involved didn’t get a mention on this occasion, especially when you consider their bravery that night in the rescue of the crew of the Frances Jane. At that stage, all those men would have been dead of course, and would be recalled only by family and by the village elders who rarely let such memories die. A brave deed worthy of remembering and never to be forgotton.

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I’m indebted to Brian at www.arklowmaritimeheritage.ie for the information I have included on the schooner Frances Jane. Thanks also to Fintan Walsh who had first shared an account of the men and which got me interested in the story.