Shipwreck survivors and other arrivals 15

If your ancestor was part of a crew on board ship arriving at a South African port in the 19th c there is little chance of finding him mentioned in shipping registers. In the 20th c, with the large liners making regular calls in South Africa, records were kept of crew members usually at the port of embarkation. The crew list of Waratah, for example, is available. All of the latter went down with the ship.

Crew of Waratah

I have sometimes received queries from family historians who say their ancestor 'jumped ship' in South Africa. This wouldn't be a good place to start a search. Better to go to NAAIRS and see if there is a deceased estate file held for him at archives. If the man was divorced or was involved in a court case of any kind during his sojourn in South Africa there may well be evidence of that among the references. It helps if the ancestor had an unusual name: Joe Smith would bring up an avalanche of hits.

If the ancestor travelled to South Africa by ship but for some reason leapt overboard and was lost at sea, the only hope is the Deaths at Sea records.
molegenealogy.blogspot.co.za/2010/02/births-deaths-and-marriages-at-sea-uk.html
These include names of passengers and crew of the Titanic and Lusitania, incidentally.

Records at sea are online at www.bmdregisters.co.uk/  
These  cover over 150, 000 individuals (previously only searchable on microfilm) who were born, married or died on ships between 1854-1908. They are definitely not all-inclusive.

Union Castle Ship crew

Wreck of the Drummond Castle June 1896

On 28 May 1896 Donald Currie’s Company’s intermediate steamer Drummond Castle, on her way home from Delagoa Bay to England, left Cape Town on what was to be her final journey. A fortnight later she called at Teneriffe. A concert was held in the saloon on the evening of 16 June, most of the passengers going to their cabins afterwards as the deck wasn’t inviting – the sea was calm, but there was a drizzle and poor visibility in the hazy weather.

The ship was approaching Ushant, a locality known to mariners as among the most dangerous in the world, due to strong currents. Nevertheless, the Captain (Pierce) had not reduced speed and neither had soundings been taken. As a result, nobody realised the ship was caught in the treacherous currents and was being pulled in eastward. She struck the reef known as the Pierres Vertes between Ushant and an island to the south. Within a few minutes she had gone to the bottom.

Her sinking was so speedy that accounts of the disaster give little information. A passenger (the only passenger to survive) stated that the Captain believed the ship to be wedged on the rocks and had hesitated about lowering the boats. The Chief Engineer, however, in a heroic decision, raced below to prevent the boilers bursting. Horrified passengers rushed on deck but there was no hope for them or for the stricken ship. Four minutes after the vessel struck she was a mass of floating wreckage.

The following morning, fishermen saw two men clinging to some flotsam – Quartermaster Wood and a seaman, Godbolt – and these were taken on board the fishing vessel and landed on the island of Molene. A passenger, Charles Marquardt, also picked up by fishermen in the vicinity, was landed at Ushant.

These three people were the only survivors of the 243 souls on board the Drummond Castle. Those lost included Captain Pierce and his officers and crew numbering 101 and 142 passengers.

For several days, bodies continued to be washed up on the islands near the scene of the wreck. Many of the victims were buried at once in common graves as there wasn’t enough wood available for so many coffins.

Marquardt had cabled the Currie Company and as soon as the news broke, crowds flocked to the Castle offices in Fenchurch Street, London. Relatives of some of those on board travelled out to the islands near Ushant but all hope of finding further survivors was quickly abandoned.

The South African public was stunned by the news, which impacted directly on almost every town in the country. At the Cape, Parliament adjourned as a mark of respect to those lost in the calamity. Few wrecks have been as appallingly sudden as that of the Drummond Castle.

Unsuccessful attempts were made in 1929 to salvage part of the ship’s cargo. A huge rent in the hull was found where the Pierres Verte had ripped open the vessel’s side.

To be continued …passengers on the Drummond Castle 

Passengers to Natal: Venice July 1880

The Natal Witness of 15 July 1880 reported the arrival, 12 July, of Venice, C.R.M., of London, Brown, from Cape and intermediate ports, carrying passengers and a general cargo.

Passengers from Cape Town:
Captain and Mrs Heavy, two children, and servant
Mrs Staple, three children, and servant
Mr Bruss
Mr and Mrs Van Coller and child
Mrs F Wilson

Venice Passenger List: Natal Witness 15 July 1880

Mr Rossenburg
Messrs Dark and Stoner

From Algoa Bay:
Mr Kisher

From East London:
Miss and Master Butler
Mr Herman Rule
Messrs
Bonsseimer (?) and Dach

From London:
Messrs
C Holland
H Levy
HJ Poole
J Schoultz
Miss M Hunter
Mr and Mrs Everst and child
Mr and Mrs Watson and child
Mr and Mrs Pawson and two children
Miss Jane McQuadrie
Mrs Sullivan and three children
Mrs McKwan and three children
Mr and Mrs Locke and infant
Mr TBL Edgecome
Mr and Mrs Hopkins and child
Mr Walter Brayshaw
Mr and Mrs Gorrie and three children
Messrs
J Watson
D Jeckie
J Patterson
Spence
Alison
G Adamson
D McLellan
A McAlpine

Agent: DC Andrew

Births, Deaths and Marriages at Sea on FamilySearch

It’s impossible to count the number of queries received on this topic so the following should be good news for many family historians

The new FamilySearch  https://familysearch.org/  has added UK Maritime Births, Marriages and Deaths 1787-1933. For anyone who believes an ancestor may have died (or been born or married) while at sea between UK and South Africa - travelling in either direction – this is a search worth doing and it is free.

On the main page, scroll down to Browse by Location, then click on United Kingdom and Ireland. Up comes the list of available Historical Record Collections. Scroll down to UK Maritime Births, Marriages and Deaths 1787-1933. Click on that and fill in the resulting search form as best you can depending on how much you know: surname is obviously a must, and if you can include two forenames that could be helpful in identifying a specific person with a commonly-found surname. Choose the type of event – birth, marriage or death – and give a reasonable date parameter.

Testing this facility, I instantly found a relevant record for a death at sea: the ship was on a voyage from SA to UK in the mid-1880s. The first name of the deceased was given as Ellen, though family information gave her name as Helen. Since this person was of Scottish origin, and Ellen and Helen are virtually interchangeable in Scotland, this slight variation is acceptable. The middle initial given on the death record is as it should be and provides confirmation that this is the right person. The year of death, 1885, also fits.

I clicked on the name of the deceased: FamilySearch directed me to an image of the record viewable on a partner site www.findmypast.co.uk stating that ‘By clicking here you will be leaving FamilySearch.org. (fees and other terms may apply)’. Having a subscription to findmypast I followed the instruction and obtained an image file showing the death listed in the relevant register: as well as age (again confirming identity), cause of death was given, precise day, month and year of death, and name of ship.

'... when we go back to the sea,
we are going back from whence we came ...'

Passages to Natal 1865: Government-aided scheme

PUBLIC AID TO IMMIGRANTS:

Free Passages are not granted in England to Natal. People resident here can, however, nominate their relations or friends for assisted passages in the Emigration Commissioners' ships, on giving to the Colonial Government a guarantee for the repayment of the passage monies, at the rate of £10 per statute adult, within 12 months after the landing of the immigrants. Married persons, with the members of their families over 12 years of age, are required to repay the advance at the rate of £10 per annum. Any excess of passage-money beyond the £10 is made good out of colonial funds.

When the Emigration Commissioners have colonial funds in their hands for the purpose, they can likewise grant assisted passages to eligible candidates, provided such candidates can pay to the Commissioners, before embarkation, towards their passage, for each adult person of the age of 12 years and upwards - 2 children between the ages of 1 and 12 counting as an adult - £3 pounds 6s and 8d, with £1 for bedding and mess utensils on the voyage. The immigrant must however enter into a bond to repay to the Colonial Government £6 13s and 4d for each such adult, at a rate of £10 per annum in the case of a family. In the case of a single individual, the amount is to be repaid within 12 months after arrival.

This scheme has not latterly been promoted to any particular extent; although now that the tide of emigration from Great Britain is about turning from America in consequence of the long-continued war, and directing itself into other channels, we think that it may be again advanced with benefit to the colony. English people in general, if not the Scotch and Irish, have become convinced that there is no safety for life and property in the North American states; Canada has never been a resort for any large numbers of the poorer emigrating class; and the southern colonies are gradually becoming better known than formerly, and more highly appreciated.

[from The Natal Almanac & Yearly Directory 1865]

Rennie's Aberdeen Line brought
 many colonists to Natal.