Hello Bute Listers, After waffling for the better part of a year over the expence, I finally broke down and sent an order requesting a records search of the Maritime Museum Archives holdings of Memorial University, St. Johns, Newfoundland, and have now received 15 photocopied pages of data. The pages are comprised for the most part of the "Agreement and Account of Crew" and a small portion of the "Official Log Book" of the voyage of the Merchant Marine vessel, the Brig "Glaucus", out of Greenock, Renfrewshire, registered tonnage 226, under sail, who departed Greenock, Christmas Day, 25 December, 1869. Her first port of call was to have been St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. On board were thirteen men, five of whom were natives of Buteshire, including the Master of the Brig, and one Ayrshire native. They had all signed on for a voyage "not to exceed" 12 months duration. Other ports of call were anticipated following completion of the voyage to Newfoundland. The ten log book pages, written in the direct, blunt entries of the authorized crew, were recorded in the main without benefit of capital letters or periods to mark sentences, making the reading a deciphering challenge, even with specs and magnifying glass. More akin to a Hollywood movie, these few short pages tell an awesome and awful story of Mid Atlantic winter gales, howling winds, heavy squalls of rain, hail, snow, a shifting cargo of iron, torn sails and shattered equipment due to heavy seas overwashing and flooding the ship and, finally, in the second to last entry provided, on 6 February, 1870, somewhere south of Greenland, the death of the Master of the brig when he and the ship's Mate were washed overboard from the deck by a wave, while attempting to take navigational observations. The Mate was saved. The Master drowned despite efforts by the crew to save him. The Master of the brig was my gg uncle, Thomas Todd Smith of Arranton Cottage, Lamlash, Arran, Buteshire. I am going to begin transcribing the log book pages, if anyone should be interested. I haven't quite decided how I should post them, perhaps on my personal website but, following is the Crew List of this dreadful voyage of the "Glaucus". The remaining crew, throwing the cargo of iron overboard, made it safely back to Greenock in the badly battered, damaged ship, 23 February, 1870, after a voyage that took 44 days sailing into the storms attempting the Atlantic crossing and 17 days running with the wind turning back for home. "February 7th 1870 - Lat. by Obs. 49* 15' N - Long. by Obs. 30* 57':45 W (sic) -10.30 AM" - ... "bent a main Topsail & set the fore Topsail & staysail & foresail & kept away for the North Channel" Alexander McMillan, Acting Master I hope you recognize an ancestor. -name (signature), age, place of birth, ship on which he last served and home port of same, date and place of joining this ship, capacity (rank) Thomas Todd SMITH, 34, Buteshire, "Lavinia" of Greenock, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Master Alexander McMILLAN, 30, Arran, "Assize"(sic) of Greenock, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Mate Thomas STEWART, 20, Arran, "Europa" of Glasgow, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Bosun Alexander HAMILTON, 25, Buteshire, none, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Carpenter & Seaman William LEITCH, 22, Lamlash, none, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Steward & Seaman Thomas McMILLAN, 27, Belfast, "Starfield" of Glasgow, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Cook & Seaman Christopher LAWSON, 24, Norway, "Glaucus" of Greenock, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman William BROWN, 30, Norway, "Glaucus" of Greenock, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman John UNDERWOOD, 20, Gloucester, "Wandsworth" of Glasgow, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman William THOMSON, 22 Gottenburgh, "Wandsworth" of Glasgow, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman Theodore WILSON, 22, Windsor, Nova Scotia, "McLeod" of Liverpool, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman William KIRKLAND, 28, Ayrshire, "Lizzie Morrow" of St. Johns, Newfoundland, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman Joseph LITTLE, 20, Isle of Man, "Research" of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, 23 Dec.1869, Greenock, Able Bodied Seaman Regards to All, Pat McCabe [email protected] http://www.mccabeclan.com/scottish.html