Owner of ships in 1840s and 1850s

[jeanlit]

Interesting seaweed's comment:
"the Steam vessel PACIFIC was captained by Thompson and owned by Sydney and co London. It would not be unusual for the captain to be a partner in the vessel."

I wonder if he took over the sole ownership when the Sydney and Melbourne Steam-packet Co went out of business in 1855. (see Jamjar's reply).

Seaweed:  I didn't have any luck with the crewlist.org.uk but it may be my going to the wrong place or entering the wrong thing.   Thanks anyway.

It's all falling in place - an article in the Moreton Bay Courier, 2 July 1853, about a new company being formed is now obvious to be the Sydney and Melbourne Steam-Packet Co.

Jamjar:  The "Sarah Sands" is another story......

Jean

[Westoe]

Hello Jean,

Are you aware of a Mary Herbert, also in Australia, who is interested in the same people?
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/MARINERS/2007-02/1171576604

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/MARINERS/2006-10/1161354890

When researching ships, it is important to have the Official Number which is a unique identifier that remains constant through changes of registry, of ownership and of rigging. O N for SARAH SANDS of Liverpool was 23921.

The usual format in the Shipping News columns was "Vessel Name COMMA Master's Surname" and Googling for "SARAH SANDS, Thompson" using those quotation marks will get you hits like this:
http://www.dippam.ac.uk/ied/records/51360

and this:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1848-01-25/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1836&index=0&rows=20&words=Sands+Sands%2CThompson+Sarah+Thompson&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=%22Sarah+Sands%2C+Thompson%22&y=11&x=15&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

and this (near top of Column 5)
http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2014/New%20York%20NY%20Herald/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201849/New%20York%20NY%20Herald%201849%20-%200514.pdf

Googling for "SARAH SANDS" +23921 gets you interesting stuff like this, which may or may not be pertinent.
https://archive.org/details/balladofgoodship00todr

And ... there was a lithograph image of her by artist James Henry Lynch of which you may be lucky enough to find an image.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/james-henry-lynch/the-auxilliary-screw-from-steam-ship-sarah-sands-g4Qf-FCYz7-HRVrEvFEGHg2

See also pages 290 and 291 of this Google Book:

Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Bw7FAAAAMAAJ
Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain) - 1847

Cheers,
Westoe

EDIT: To go back to your original specific question about ownership, in January 1858, your WCT owned 1/8th of PACIFIC i.e. 8 shares out of 64 total. He sold those 8 shares off in three lots, two in April of that year and the single remaining share in August of that year.

Have a look at pages 622 - 624 inclusive of 643 pages (by Google's pagination) of this free download Google Book:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=39MSAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA86&lpg=RA2-PA86&dq=%22Corscaden+Thompson%22&source=bl&ots=dVLhSlicuy&sig=AVC2mJ6AU1HO-hhY461CiV_B-EU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR5dHWqczNAhWm7YMKHXfzDewQ6AEILTAD

[ShaunJ]

The article on the launch of the "Pacific" was most informative, thank you.  So does that mean it was virtually an enormous paddle-boat, with the big wheels on either side?

Yes.  There is a splendid engraving of the launching on Getty Images....
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/pictures/launch-of-the-australian-steamship-pacific-at-millwall-1854-news-photo-184260339

[hanes teulu]

Gore's Liverpool General Advertiser, 13 Aug 1846

"LAUNCHES - ... Sarah Sands ... with a steam worked screw propeller as an auxillary to her sails ... W. C. Thompson, formerly of the Stephen Witney line, is part owner and will command her ..."     

[jeanlit]

I'm starting with the latest post first:

Hanes teulu:  Yes, I've found a little about the Stephen Whitney, which was the vessel W C Thompson commanded before Sarah Sands, but I didn't realise that he was part owner as well.  Thank you for that.  [Westoe's EDIT at the bottom of the reply gave the actual breakdown of the ownership of the Pacific and the transfer of shares.  I'll have a look in Google for the Stephen Whitney and the Sarah Sands.}

And before the "Sarah Sands" he was the captain of the "St Andrew", which I found was wrecked in 1839.  The previous five ships of which he was mentioned as captain and the first one which he was a cadet on (from his Competence Certificate in 1857) I haven't tried to trace as yet.  In 1857 he had been at sea for 40 years.

Shaun J: How wonderful to see the engraving of the launch of the "Pacific" - I still would not have liked to have been on board coming across the "Roaring Forties" to Australia !

Westoe:  I will get back to you on all your informative links - thank you.

Jean

[hanes teulu]

I'm starting with the latest post first:

Hanes teulu:  Yes, I've found a little about the Stephen Whitney, which was the vessel W C Thompson commanded before Sarah Sands, but I didn't realise that he was part owner as well.  Thank you for that. 

Jean

So there's no confusion, the newspaper article refers to Thompson as part owner of Sarah Sands - am reading your post that he was part owner of the Stephen Whitney?

[Westoe]

Jean, please note that you will find the O N for PACIFIC at the top of the first page of the link that I gave in the EDIT. Official Numbers are crucial to differentiating amongst vessels with such common names.

Then Googling for PACIFIC +Official Number will lead you to another Google Book with good detail on her demise in 1871.

Cheers,
Westoe

[hanes teulu]

New York Newspapers - on line (Fulton)

The Oswego Palladiun 13 May 1886
Captain William C Thompson, the man who commanded the first Atlantic propeller, is dead

Is this "your" William, the Sarah Sands being screw driven? Other NY papers refer to the death of 85 yr old Captain William C Thompson, East Forty Ninth Street

[jeanlit]

Hanes teulu:

I'm sorry I did get confused - I didn't mean that Capt Thompson was a part owner of the Stephen Whitney.   I meant that I didn't know he was part owner of the Sarah Sands.

New York Newspapers - on line (Fulton)

The Oswego Palladiun 13 May 1886
Captain William C Thompson, the man who commanded the first Atlantic propeller, is dead

Is this "your" William, the Sarah Sands being screw driven? Other NY papers refer to the death of 85 yr old Captain William C Thompson, East Forty Ninth Street

I don't quite understand the implications of what you are saying? Are you making a distinction between the two?    I have assumed that this man died in May 1886, but with certain reservations until such time as there is evidence to prove he is William Corscaden Thompson.

As far as I know, he was definitely in New York when he died.