Collina founders off Holland

The Collina of Ipswich foundered off the coast of Holland on the morning of June 17th 1841.

See the Collina's position in Google Maps  Her owner William Read of Ipswich was accused of inciting  her master William Simpson to sink her. The report of Read and Simpson's trial was recoded in the Nautical Magazine in 1844 -

'John Brady, examined by Mr. C. Jones: I am a mariner, residing in Barking, in Essex. My business is the Cod fishing. In the month of June, 1841, I had the command of a smack called the Sarah, and I went in her to the coast of Holland. I was off that coast in company with some other smacks. I was lying off the Brown Bank on the eastern edge. There were about eight other smacks lying off the same place. About six o'clock one morning I was roused out of my berth by the watch, and I immediately went on deck, and my attention was directed to a brig which was in sight. This brig I afterwards found at to be the Colina. She was about six miles off, and appeared to have been deserted by her crew, and to be in distress. Her canvas was only three parts set, and there was no signal of distress hoisted. The wind at that time was south-west, and the weather fine. I called all hands and made towards the ship. I neared her very soon, and was about half a mile distant when she went down. I then took up the crew who were in the long-boat. They had been taken on board a Dutch galliot, which they left to come on board of my vessel.'

In The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 it is recorded: WILLIAM SIMPSON was indicted for feloniously and maliciously casting away and destroying a vessel called the Colina, with intent to defraud John Irving and others; to which he pleaded. GUILTY . Aged 28.— Transported for Life. Before Mr. Baron Gurney.

Image Gallery for Lost Brig Site - Version one

I have added an 'Image Gallery' to the lost brig site. I did a 'search' of jpeg files from the website folders; copied these to a new folder; got Picasa to index these and build a website from the files found. I have not yet made links from the images back to the website. I am thinking about how I can do this, easily, on a regular basis. The original Image Gallery is still on the site.

New Gallery of Images for the brig Elizabeth Jane Website

I have long held the view that websites often conceal as much as communicate. The Elizabeth Jane's site in its current state is, I think, an example of this. People like to see pictures and use them to decide what they want to know more about. I have decided to make a 'gallery' of all the images on the Lostbrig site with the help of 'Picasa', Google's free image cataloguing and image editing software. Picasa is able to generate a website, which can be published like any other website; and it will also upload images to a Picasa Web Album where they can be shared by a web or email link. This should happen quite soon, though I am unsure at the moment how I will make the connection between the website image and its location.

Registration Documents of the Sloop Samuel

I have recently received, from the North East Lincolnshire Archives, the registration document of the Samuel of Grimsby. The Samuel rescued the crew of the Elizabeth Jane when she was abandoned in July 1854. The Samuel was built by Samuel and George Bennett in 1849 and was registered at Grimsby on the 17th July 1850. Her registration document shows that she was a sloop.

Thanks to the work of a descendant of the Bennett brothers, I now know that the Samuel was built at the Barnby Basin which was at the end of the Barnsley Canal. Cawthorne and Kexborough are the closest modern settlements to its remains. The site of the Barnby Basin may also be seen on Google Maps.


The Barnby Basin is now filled in, but there are photographs of remaining cottages at Barnby see: http://www.billogs.com/cb/yorkshire.htm . A link from this page provides much information about canals in the area at the time of the Samuel. Google Books has much contemporary information about the Barnby Basin and its surrounding area:

More about Ebenezer Robertson

I have recently been in contact with Richard Pinner a descendant of Ebenezer Robertson's family. He has given me interesting photographs from a family bible detailing births and deaths in the Robertson family over about a century. This information is closely related to William Read's will and the chart of William Read's immediate family. The photographs from the bible, a transcription of the recorded births and deaths, and the biblical texts mentioned will be published soon. Please note: In William Read's will 'Ebeneezer' is spelled with two 'e's; in the family bible 'Ebeneezer' is spelled with one.

Key People in William Read's Will

All the names in William Read's will have been added to the Key People page of this site. Those who are related to Read have had their relationship explained by using MyHeritage's Family Tree Builder's website to build text relationship charts which explain each individual's relationship to Read. It is possible to search this site for each name or individual.
The confusion as to the identity of Read's Executors is now clear: they cannot be the William and Thomas Taylor who are bank clerks as Read's exceutors are separately listed as beneficiaries. The two remaining candidates are therefore Thomas Taylor grandfather of the clerks and his son William who is father of the clerks. Read therefore was able to protect the interests of his wife by appointing her brother William and his son (her nephew) as Executors.
I have begun to add some images to the Stockton on Tees page; including a print of the port Stockton in 1825 which is two years before the Elizabeth Jane was registered there. Stockton is important in the history of the Railway and this connects in well with Read's later journey to Liverpool, the introduction of steam as a motive power, the start of the demise of sail and the rise and rise of coal.

More about William Read's Will

By reading William Read's will I have, together with some addition information found at http://genforum.genealogy.com/robertson/messages/7093.html, been able to build a chart of William Read's immediate family. William Read looks quite isolated on it. He appears to have had no children with his wife Mary, though Maria Hare's child was (I think) judged to be his by a court. His sister Sophia is the only direct relative mentioned in his will, though she was already dead when Read wrote it in 1866. I do not yet know the order (or status) of Read's mother's relationships to Mr Mack, Mr Gill and Mr Read, though she clearly had children with them.

William Read's Will

I have begun to analyse William Read's will hoping that the characters named will reveal and suggest new lines of enquiry.

Voyage of the 'Orwell'

William Read commented that 'the "Orwell"... ...landed her passengers, having completed her passage of 100 miles'. Today I investigated this further by retracing the paddle steamer's voyage from Ipswich using a Google Map and its Distance Tool. It appears that Read probably disembarked at Billingsgate Market. This point on the Thames was close to the Spread Eagle Inn and is, according to Google, 97.7634 miles from Ipswich.

More about Bridlington

More photographs have been added to the Bridlington page using a Google Picasa Web-Album. These photographs were taken on the 155th anniversary of the loss of the Elizabeth Jane and the setting-down of her crew at Bridlington Quay, then about three miles from Bridlington town, by the Samuel of Grimsby. To date nothing is known about this vessel. Bridlington seemed very sad that evening. Few people were there, and bars and cafes were empty. In 2009 The George is the pub nearest to the harbour and seems likely to have been there in 1854. Did Captain Archer treat his crew to a drink to celebrate, or were they 'teetotal' or 'temperate'?
From The Sailor's Magazine and Naval Journal 1833

While writing and looking-up teetotal etc., I came across Henry Vincent, who has connections with Hull and Yorkshire, and in 1842 stood for Parliament at Ipswich in 1842and 1847 as an independent. He was a printer by trade and knew Tom Paine, and was influential in the early Working Men's Association and campaigned for universal suffrage. See Chartists.net and Chartist Newspapers online.According to the print of 'French and English Sailors...' at The George, English and French sailors wore the same uniform. Presuming these are navy men, what did merchant seamen wear?

Francis Hammond - Related Trials

By carefully reading of the trials (trial 2) associated with Francis Hammond I have been able to identify the location of his rented shop in Oxford Street: 'I am waterman (who waters horses, not to be confused with a man who works on the river) of the coach-stand in Oxford Street, at the corner of Argyle Street (spelt 'Argyll' on Google Maps), opposite the prosecutor's shop'. We also know that his 'shop-woman' was called Mrs Bean. In 1856 he was 'in partnership with Mr. Middlemist as lightermen, (see also Watermen) at No. 82 Lower Thames Street', near Billingsgate Market (wiki). Francis Hammond would have known the area before the first Billingsgate Market building was built on Lower Thames Street in 1850. According to the Billingsgate website this proved to be inadequate and was demolished in 1873 to make way for the building which still stands in Lower Thames Street today. The current market is at Trafalgar Way, London, E14.
See Lee Jackson's page on Billingsgate at his VictorianLondon.org . Mogg's Strangers Guide To London 1834 shows the area that Hammond could have passed through to reach his shop, and Billingsgate.

The WolframAlpha Search Engine

The WolframAlpha Search engine tells me that on July 8th 1854 the night of Elizabeth Jane's loss, the moon was 'waxing gibbous'( 92.36% illuminated) and that there were nearly 17 hours of daylight on that day.

Meeting on the River of Life - Mohawk and Loyalist Exchanges

Meeting on the River of Life - Mohawk and Loyalist Exchanges May 22 to May 30, 2009 The Tyendinaga Economic Development Centre, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territoryand June 6 to July 6, 2009The Archives and Collections Society, “The Victory”, 205 Main Street, Picton
This exhibition sounds very interesting as early settlers were often helped by the natives of the land they settled and in many cases would not have survived without their help. The exhibition 'traces the 11,000 year history of human occupation along the Bay of Quinte and reexamines the relationship of the Mohawk and Loyalists neighbours who settled here 225 years ago.' The parent of Thomas Hugh arrived in Nova Scotia at about this time. 'The secondary theme of this exhibition is to commemorate the special relationship between the MohawkNation, which settled at Tyendinaga, and the Loyalists who sought a new life in the County and the surroundingregion. The two very different peoples were joined together in common interest in the original Mohawkhomeland in the Mohawk Valley. United as allies, the Mohawk and Loyalists also shared the Silver Covenant ofPeace, an alliance that cemented their friendship together.' However, also see: Solidarity with Tyendinaga and Six Nations and Statements from Six Nations Confederacy members on Tyendinaga stand-off and No One Is Illegal-MONTRÉAL

Maritime Museums

A page listing Maritime Museums has been added to this site.

Sierra Leone

Added information and links to Sierra Leone page. Elizabeth Jane sailed there in 1823 soon after Freetown had become a British Crown Colony (1808). Sierra Leone was a source of slaves and became a home for freed slaves, but it has had a troubled and difficult history, and its people still suffer today. Many interesting, sad and moving items can be found on the Sierra Eye site which claims to be a collection of 'the most interesting, curious and funny articles published around the internet related directly or indirectly to Sierra Leone.'
By chance today: Journey without Maps. Humphrey Hawksley retraces the journey undertaken on foot by Graham Greene from Sierra Leone across Liberia in 1935. Hear whether West Africa has changed. Is it better or worse than it was 70 years ago? BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents was broadcast on Thursday, 30 July, 2009 at 1102 BST and was repeated on Monday, 3 August, 2009 at 20:30 BST. See Sierra Leone Timeline at the BBC.

19th Century Newspaper Research

Some newspaper research added to Timeline.

Francis Hammond's House

A page called Identifying Francis Hammond's House at Leicester Square has been added to this site. It shows Francis Hammond's house (he was a staymaker and once part owner of the Elizabeth Jane) and enables maps and views of Leicester Square to be compared. See also: Leicester Square

John Cutler Ramsden

Very interesting information about John Cutler Ramsden arrived.

155th Anniversary of Elizabeth Jane's Loss

A trip to Bridlington on the evening of the 155th Anniversary of the loss of the Elizabeth Jane and her crew being put down at Bridlington Quay by the 'Samuel' of Grimsby. and to compare a print from 1830 with the same view of the town today.

New additions to Lostbrig site

A long awaited photograph of the Elizabeth Jane's nameboard has been added to the site and a 'make-over' has begun which will include the addition of lots of new material. Some of this new material, which will be added to the Timelines soon, can be found at: 

http://lostbrig.net/latest_news.html 

The Story of the Lost brig Elizabeth Jane

The part of the world that we now call Canada lies on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean. The cold waters around Canada are full of fish, and for centuries ships sailed from Europe to catch them. Whales and seals also live in this part of the world and were caught for their fat, which became a fuel for lighting homes and for cooking.

Story of the Lost brig Elizabeth Jane first draft version continued... ...and in progress.

WolframAlpha meets Elizabeth Jane

The WolframAlpha Search engine was launched recently. It might offer some interesting insights into the loss of the Elizabeth Jane and other ships. Her crew appear to have abandoned her on the evening of Saturday 8th July 1854. They were picked up by another ship and taken to Bridlington. A search for 'tides, whitby, 9th July 1854' with the WolframAlpha engine reveals (if it's accurate) that the sun set on the Saturday 8th July at 8.37 pm and rose the next day at 3.38 am. The engine shows that the second high tide on the Saturday was at 2.03 pm and the following low tide was at 8.29 pm. The information it provides about sun, moon and tides, makes it possible to more knowingly imagine the ways and circumstances in which Elizabeth Jane might have come ashore, been unloaded, broken up, and her remains taken back to Robin Hood's Bay.

Yet another Collina!

Like buses, you wait a lifetime; then two, and then a third comes along. First Read's Collina/Colina, then the Bideford Collina, and now the Penzance Collina. From the records of English Heritage we read of the wreck of an English cutter which in 1871 caught fire following an explosion of her petrol cargo caused by a collision with another vessel which ignored instructions forbidding any other vessels to moor nearby. She was a sailing vessel, constructed in 1860 of wood with iron bolts. See Collina at English Heritage's 'PastScape'.

What did an early 19th century Nova Scotian brig look like?

I'm still hoping to find a drawing/plan of a brig of the type built in Nova Scotia in the early part of the 19th century. I need enough detail to be able to accurately visualise its construction so I could 'make it'; perhaps in a computer. Can anyone help?

The Case of the Two 'Collinas'

I have been busy this week finding out what I can about William Read's Colina. I was surprised to find, when reading Hugh Moffatt's Ships and Shipyards of Ipswich, that he spelt the name of Read's deliberately-sunk ship as 'Collina', not 'Colina' as it appeared in the Nautical Magazine's 1844 account of the trial of William Read and the Colina's master, William Simpson. Hugh Moffat quoted from a number of local Ipswich sources such as the Ipswich Journal, so it seemed likely that his spelling would be right; so how did the High Court and the Nautical Magazine get the spelling wrong?

On-line searches found a brig called the Collina sailing between Canada and Bideford in Devon. At first she seemed, from the dates of her voyages, to be the ship that Read later bought, but further in the records I found this ship sailing the Atlantic when William Read already owned a 'Colina/Collina' at Ipswich. Later, Gary Carroll of Canada pointed out that the Bideford Collina was lost on about the 16th November 1840, sailing from Prince Edward Island to Bideford. It is recorded that she 'drove ashore near London...' and '...the whole of her crew, except two, were drowned.'

As Read's Colina/Collina was lost off Holland in 1841 they must obviously be different ships. At Google Books, a reference to Read's Collina (spelt 'Reed') shows that she was also built at Prince Edward Island, but in 1827. It is interesting, if confusing, that two ships could have been built in close proximity and be given the same name.

The Nautical Magazine's spelling 'Colina' could be explained by them transcribing speech, though they also made a mistake with the name of Read's lawyer, calling him 'Cobbs' rather than Cobbold', but how does this explain the use of 'Colina' in the printed version of William Simpson's indictment in official court records?

See http://www.lostbrig.net/brig_collina_colina.html for more detail.

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe - Agnes & Mary

Frank Meadow Sutcliffe's photograph of the brig Mary & Agnes has been added to the lostbrig.net site, courtesy of The Sutcliffe Gallery, 1 Flowergate - Whitby - YO21 3BA - 01947 602239

This image shows the Mary & Agnes at the mercy of pounding seas off Whitby in 1885. Though the Elizabeth Jane was lost in 1854, this photograph, together with George Weatherill's watercolours of lost brigs on the coast near Whitby, strongly evoke her loss. It is hoped that evidence might yet come to light that will give further insight into the loss of the Elizabeth Jane.

Will of William Read of Ipswich

The will of William Read, ship builder of Ipswich, has been obtained and is to be found on the lostbrig.net website. William Read left his book entitled 'Stalkard on Naval Architecture' to Ebeneezer Robertson his foreman. 'Stalkard' probably refers to Marmaduke Stalkartt's 'Rudiments and Rules of Ship Building Exemplified in a Series of Draughts and Plans with Observations Tending to Further Improvement of that Important Art.'

Descendants of Thomas Hugh 1783-1860

Contact has been made with Donna Barraclough and Liz Wallace who are descendants of Thomas Hugh, Mariner and joint owner of Elizabeth Jane at the first registration in 1817 at Guysborough, Nova Scotia. The names of his family members seem to explain how this ship came to be called Elizabeth Jane. Thomas Hugh was married to Jane Aikens and with her had two daughters: Elizabeth Sarah b: 1810 and Sarah Jane b: 1812. Jane Aiken's mother's name was also Elizabeth.

Nothing is yet know about Charles Brown who jointly owned Elizabeth Jane at this time.

George Weatherill - Whitby Artist (1810-1890)

I'm looking for a book of reproductions of works by George Weatherill (1810-1890) who painted in the Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay area. He painted many wrecks and as a consequence gives insight into the loss of the Ipswich brig Elizabeth Jane.

Wrecked Brig on Coast near Whitby
© Pannett Art Gallery, Whitby

Thomas Hugh part owner - Elizabeth Jane

Thomas Hugh (ca 1783/00/00 -1860/03/20) Part owner of the brig Elizabeth Jane. More information please!

A C Jost's  Guysborough Sketches, p 330-331. An inexpensive copy of this book or the text that mentions Thomas Hugh would be appreciated.

William Read & Enos. (Enoch) Page - Ipswich

Does anyone have information about these resiliant and innovative Ipswich shipbuilders/owners? Much information contained in Hugh Moffat's 'Ships and Shipyards of Ipswich 1700-1970', but more is needed to help research life and times of brig Elizabeth Jane 1817-1854.

Searchable online 19th C. newspapers?

Does anyone know where it is possible to search 19th century newspapers online?

Welcome!

Welcome to the lost brig website. Please free to comment, make suggestions, ask questions and give information to help us in our purpose of researching the world of the 'lost brig' Elizabeth Jane 1817-1854.