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Wales (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Wales => Anglesey => Topic started by: justmej on Thursday 20 December 07 00:13 GMT (UK)
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I am in the middle of reading a book, about the awful tragedy of the steam clipper, the Royal Charter, which broke up against rocks, in a hurricane force 12 gale, when over 450 passengers died.
Most on board, were returning home from the Australian goldrush, with their small personal fortunes on them, as well as a consignment of gold, which was stacked below in the strongroom of the ship. They left Melbourne, on 26 August, 1859 and were due in Liverpool in under 60 days.
During the night of 25/26 October, 1859, only a handful of passengers were to survive, when all, including families with young children, were thrown into the sea, as the ship broke up within yards of the coast, at Moelfre, Anglesey. On board, were two of my ggg.uncles, brothers, James (aged 31) and Richard Oliver (aged 27), both miners, returning home to their families; they were amongst the hundreds of poor souls who never returned and who lost their lives.
The little church of Llanallgo became the morgue and some are buried in the churchyard there, others were buried in the churchyards nearest to wherever their bodies may have been washed ashore.
I know this is probably a crazy quest to go on, but would dearly like to find out, if and where they were ever buried. So far, I have been unable to find a death registration, for either of them, although, not knowing which registration districts I am looking for does not help. Would their deaths have been registered if their bodies were never recovered?
I would welcome any suggestions that might possibly help.
justmej
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I don't think it sounds like a crazy quest at all....it sounds fascinating.
Have you seen this website? You might find some useful links there.
http://www.theshipslist.com/Research/Resource.htm
I'm thinking maybe there was an Inquiry or inquests or something. It might list the names of those whose bodies were recovered. A long shot of course but you never know :)
The site may point you in the right direction for finding those.
Milly
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And this site..
http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/desclist1_nofr?inst_id=27
Welsh archives - in particular the Anglesey County Records Office
Milly
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Milly
Thank you for the links - will have a look at them. There was an inquest and have read quite a lot on the tragedy from 'The Times' newspapers at the time, although, have not come across any list of people recovered. I do have a list of the passengers on board.
Once again thanks for your interest.
justmej
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Hi justmej
A newspaper report at the time:
http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/ROYALCHARTER.html
Also have you consider the deaths might be recorded several months after the accident due to a inquest being held etc. ??
H
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Hi hiraeth
Many thanks for the link - I have seen it before and printed it off, although it seems to have had some more added into the article, which I have not previously seen.
Although, I have not looked for the brothers in quite a while, I have previously searched a long way after the event, for their death registration, without any success so far.
justmej
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http://www.royalcharterchurch.org.uk/wreck.html
You might find this interesting.
There are tales that many passengers had their gold on their persons, and because of the weight they perished, others who managed to survive lost it on the way to safety on land.
It`s said that many local families became very rich from this tragic event.
But 28 very brave men from Moelfre helped rescue many survivors.
The stretch of beach where this happened is a most lovely spot , as is most of Anglesey .
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Hi wilcoxon and thank you for the very interesting link about the tragedy.
Have read the book The Golden Wreck the Tragedy of the Royal Charter, by Alexander McKee, which gives great detail on the events that happened. Did read that many passengers were carrying their gold and how much of it was also washed ashore with the wreckage.
Have seen pictures of the area and it does look lovely and it's therefore difficult to imagine the terrible scenes, that the locals must have witnessed, following the storm in 1859.
My G.Grandfather was born in 1860, not long after the tragedy and was given the names 'James Richard', in memory of his two uncles that perished.
justmej
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My g-g-grandfather was supposedly one of the divers involved in the salvage operations on the Royal Charter, although whether as part of an official project I don't know. He would have been about 30 at the time and I wonder whether he may have been the William Pritchard who was one of the twenty-eight: his wife was from the Mat(t)hew family and another two of the 28 may have been her brothers/cousins, although Anglesey was well-endowed with Pritchards and Mathews! My grandmother was always very proud of her seafaring heritage, but I'm afraid there was probably a good deal of "gleaning" of anything that was washed up from the wreck or could be brought up by diving or trawling.
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Hi meryll
Welcome to RootsChat!
It sounds possible that your William Pritchard could be the one mentioned amongst the twenty-eight. As for the Matthew men mentioned, as one had the unusual name (surely!) of Israel, that might help you find if he was related to your GG.Grandmother.
Since my original posting, I have found that James Oliver, did have children when he died. I did know that he was married but not that they had any family. I have been in a touch with a decendant from his side, although she knew nothing about the tragedy of the Royal Charter, so was able to give her the information I had.
I found the info, to get me started, from a hand written family tree that a late cousin of my mum's had done, many years ago. It has been a great help :) and so interesting (as well as sad!) to find out what happened to this family.
As well as these two brothers dying in such awful circumstances, their parents also lost another two sons, within three years of each other, both at the age of two years........tragic!!! Mind, their mother went on to live well into her 90's, even after all the grief she must have suffered.
Hope you manage to find if your Pritchard and Mat(t)hew families were connected.
justmej
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Hello - I have a good friend who is a member of the St. Gallgo church and may be able to give you some help in your search. St. Gallgo will celebrate next year the anniversary of the wreck of The Royal Charter. Email me privately and I'll give you her email address. --Julie
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Hello Julie
Welcome to Rootschat. Thank you for your offer and I am sending you a separate message, although, it might be wise to remove your e-mail address from your message, by clicking on the 'modify' button and deleting.
justmej
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A much more modern case where no body was found and so no inquest and possibly no death registration
http://archive.thisisbradford.co.uk/2003/7/29/109824.html
In the past no body literally did mean no inquest or death registration since without the body a cause of death couldn't be established. However if you look at the end of any death registration quarter you will find, particular in Victorian times, large numbers of unknown people whose deaths were registered each quarter, so even if a body washed up sometime afterwards, if it couldn't be identified the death was registered but as an unknown. With deaths out at sea if a body was washed up it might be many miles away and sometime later.
If you put in the December quarter 1859 in FreeBMD and chose the Anglesey registration district but don't enter a name and then search you will see a list of unknown death registrations appear. There are about 30 males.
http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl
Even today in modern day death registration quarters it is surprising to see just how many unknown peoples' deaths are still being registered.
Regards
Valda
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A much more modern case where no body was found and so no inquest and possibly no death registration
No body so seven years before a certificate can be issued ! :o
Thanks for the links Valda - very interesting.
Not a death at sea, but when I was trying to find the death cert of my late brother, who died in a road traffic accident, I had trouble locating the registration, although I had his date of death. This was due to an inquest being held, and a court case, so it was not registered until the following year.
justmej
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Hello
I'm a new member and have only just caught up on the "Royal Charter" thread. My 3xgt.uncle, James Russell, was one of the returning gold seekers on her final voyage in 1859. He and his family featured fairly prominently in McKee's book "The Golden Wreck". He survived the wreck but lost his wife and 2 young daughters, one of whom was washed ashore at Moelfre and buried locally (and so her death was able to be registered). To compound the tragedy, James' father died 6 weeks later in West Lothian. In 1884 he returned to Australia, where 3 brothers and 2 sisters had settled, and also to the farm in central Victoria that he had "selected" before returning to Scotland. He also pursued some more gold mining ventures before dying at his sister's (my gt,gt.grandmother's) neighbouring farm in 1897.
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Welcome to RootsChat IRT! :)
I have not looked at this side of the family of late. How odd that last evening I should spend my time reading through many old newspaper articles of 1859, about the tragedy of the Royal Charter, and then come across your message today!
I remember coming across James Russell's name in the book 'The Golden Wreck'. Interesting to hear, that he eventually returned to Australia, following his survival.
I'm sure you will enjoy being a member of RootsChat. You will also find, that everyone is extremely helpful on here, with any queries you might have.
Regards
justmej
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Last week I attended the commemoration service at St Gallgo's church for the 150th anniversary of the disaster, and in the congregation were descendants of victims, survivors and rescuers, some of whom had travelled from Australia and the USA (made my 170 mile jaunt look like a mere detour). Lots of information available besides "The Golden Wreck", some of which can be found via the internet, but there are also items produced locally and on sale in various places around the island. One publication gives copious detail about the salvage operations and the contemporary newspaper coverage. Oriel Ynys Môn has an exhibition of various artefacts including the ship's bell. Channel S4C screened a documentary about the disaster which is still available on Clic (the equivalent of i-Player) for a few weeks.
While I was there I finally confirmed my links to three of the 28 rescuers and also discovered that Coxswain Dic Evans of the "Hindlea" and "Nafsiporos" lifeboat rescues was a cousin, and the staff at the Llangefni Records Office were really helpful despite an unusually busy period because of half-term holidays.
The monument to the victims of the shipwreck which now stands in the churchyard is in need of repair, so if anyone out there would like to contribute to the cost of restoration there is information at http://www.royalcharterchurch.org.uk/ and the parish bank account name is Llaneugrad & Llanallgo P.C.C. Just a little plug for those who have helped to carry on the work of Stephen Roose Hughes for the last 150 years!
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Meryll
I am pleased to hear you have finally been able to confirm your link to the rescuers involved with the Royal Charter disaster and how wonderful that you were able to make it to the commemoration service last week.
Thank you for mentioning the S4C documentary too. I have just sat and watched this and found it very informative, as well as an extremely moving documentary.
justmej
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My g-g- granfarther was the customs officer or "tide waiter" who was the recieving officer for items washed ashore from the royal charter, He rode over every day from Beaumaris with his daughter on the back of a white horse. He lived in green terrace Beaumaris, the little cottage behind the jail
He was a Pritchard. My mother remembers playing "shop" with the records when she was a little girl in WWI
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alfiesmail
How interesting to hear about your gg.grandfather's involvement in the Royal Charter disaster.
Did you see the link that hiraeth put on reply #4? It gives information about the tragedy. I noticed that one of the seaman saved was a George Pritchard. No family connection with yours?
Oh, and welcome to RootChat! :D
justmej
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Hi justmej
I am trying to trace my GGgrandfather who was a mining engineer and went to Australia I think he might have been on the Royal Charter do you have a list of passengers his name was Benjamin Carr.
Thanks Alan...
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Hello Hunter51
There's no Benjamin Carr in the Royal Charter listings for the 5 voyages she made to and from Melbourne between 1856 and 1859. However, a John Watkin Carr, aged 33, arrived on her first voyage in April 1856. The indexes of early passenger lists to and from Victorian ports (usually Melbourne) can be searched online on the Public Record Office Victoria website: www.prov.vic.gov.au/indexes
-- IRT
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Thanks for your time justmej.
Alan...
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Hello Alan
This link, also given by hiareth on reply #4, gives more information about the Royal Charter and also includes a passenger list of those on board at the time of the tragedy...
http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/ROYALCHARTER.html
justmej
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Did you see Who Do You Think You Are this week with Monty Don? ne of his ancestors was killed in the Royal Charter shipwreck off Anglesey...
Milly
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Yes Milly that's why I was asking because I can not find any trace of Benjamin Carr after he was in Australia and his wife is a widow back in Gateshead so I thought he might have been on the Royal Charter but will have to keep searching.
Thanks All..
Alan...
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Hello,
I have just come upon this website and I am wondering if you are related to William Richard Pritchard born Penrhoslligwy about 1811.he was a
stonemason and married Jane Jones born about 1814.
I am also related to Dic Evans via his grandmotherMargaret Pritchard.
Martin 42
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When was Benjamin Carr born.
There is a man of that name imprisoned for 1 month for larceny October 1853 West Riding, Yorkshire, but no age or address given.
Nothing showing for a mining engineer
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Thanks Benjamin was born 1823.
Can anyone look up a ship called the SS City of Adelaide it sailed from Melbourne to Sydney on The 20th May 1876 I have been told there was a Benjamin Carr onboard and wondered if the ship came from Sydney to England with him onboard.
Thanks Alan...
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In a book I have about Anglesey in general there is a section about the tragedy. Published 1999.
" Rumours spread that some locals were, by studying the tides , able to look amongst the rocks for the spoils and reaped a rich harvest. There may be some truth in this story as not so many years ago an old cottage near Moelfre was being modernised and a bag of gold thought to have come from the wreck was found in the chimney "
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Hello folks,
My name is Lee and I'm the ancestor of John Richardson (b) 1808 Warton, Warwickshire. He and his brother Keeling Richardson (b) 1818 Warton, Warwickshire were convicted of poaching and attempted murder in 1844 at the Stafford Assizes and thus transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania).
Keeling Richardson found alluvial Gold in the "Nook" in 1852 and began a gold rush, and the town known as"Mangana" grew in the Fingal valley, Tasmania.
http://www.fingalvalleyhistory.com/Mangana.htm
The creek is still named "Richardson's Creek".
The younger brother "James Richardson" who was a miner went in search of his brothers after receiving news of the gold find and returned home with some of the gold on board "The Royal Charter".
Well as you all know The Royal Charter sank off the coast of Anglesey, Wales in the storm of 1859.
James Richardson and his friend David Bell were Two of the many casualties who sadly died that night, and James's body was brought out of the sea nearly a month later.
Upon his body was £1 6s in pocket, £10 10s in belt, a gold ring with a heart upon it, Two small locks of hair in separate pieces of paper - marked on outside "David" and "George" also a receipt for a registered letter in Melbourne, August 24 1859, for "William Richardson" from "David Bell".
I have teamed up with family members in Tasmania, Peter Day of St Allgo's Church & Shaun Holden in order to solve where James Richardson is buried. So far James has not shown up on any of the burial registers for some of the local churches, but there are still some to check.
I would like to ask if anyone on here may have any extra bits of information that could help?
James Richardson was born 1825 Warton Warwickshire and his parents were William & Elizabeth Richardson of the same area.
At the moment I have copies of Two original pages from the passenger list of The Royal Charter as it left Melbourne. I also have newspaper articles from The Angelsey Archives reference James's body being recovered. I also have both James and David being upon the passenger list from the Public Record's Office Of Victoria and a few other bits and bobs...
Any assistance would be very much appreciated,
kind regards,
Lee.