Gingerme, hello!
I have been trying to establish how G-G-Grandpa died and have not had a lot of success except his demise and burial in Hong Kong. What follows is supposition...I have heard of stories that he died at sea and probably did, however, his job as a shipwright would have took him to all sectors of ship maintenance including upkeep of timbers, decking, outboard rigging, fixtures and repairs to the hull. He could have been working on the outside of the hull suspended by rope-tackle or a safety harness. IF this was emergency repairs and out at sea he could have slipped his harness into the sea and drowned but the question remains...how did he get recovered by his shipmates. Unless he was still attached to ropes and they pulled him in,either dead or died later.
If they were well out at sea, say, more than 4 days from port, then most likely he would have been buried at sea. We know he was buried in Hong Kong, so the ship was either close in to port or actually in port. IF hull-ship repairs are not too urgent they are usually done when port is reached.
I believe he died in port by falling into the sea whilst repairing the hull. It may have been some time before his body was found floating in the Hong Kong harbour.
His shipmates along with the 1st officer would have taken his body to Old-Hong Kong infirmary in a cart hired from the locals. Certification of cause of death by the coroner and then registration of death. His men, possibly the whole crew and captain would have held a short service at the local church where he was then interred in O-HK churchyard, believe October 1878. A head-stone was bought by his men. Details of old Edward's ID to the registrar in H-K MAY HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY WHAT THEY KNEW OF HIM rather that by official documents which may not have been on hand, hence the sketchy report of him being from Blackway(Blackwall), aged 51yrs(did he tell his pals he was 51 in fact he was 61). His middle name,Henry has been omitted on the cemetry documentation...maybe his mates didn't know his middle name.
Lastly...his closest shipmates, possibly two and the First Officer would have passed the news on to his family in person many, many months after his death when the ship arrived back if it did, maybe a couple of his mates embarked back to England on another ship to give the news to his children living at Blackwall, Ellerthorpe St?
This could explain the theory that he died in 1880...the delay in getting news back home?
One interesting thing to ponder on...shipwrights in those days sometimes made a couple of spare coffins along with the ships main carpenters. As Edward was a skilled carpenter.....did he make his own coffin?
...Daniel Collingwood...i'll post again when i find more on all of our ancestors!
