An example of contents in a ship master's chests for a voyage from Liverpool to Bombay in 1865 (MHA, St. John's, Nfld). Death of Captain Walter Nicol, Cursetjee Furdoonjee, from the Official Log Book: "May 28th 1865 at 130 P. M. lat. 40 degrees 11 South long. 20 degrees 30 East We Sailed from Liverpool in the Ship "Cursetjee Furdoonjee" on a Voyage to Bombay. At 8 A.M. on the 1st of April, Captn Walter Nicol joined the Ship in the River. Weighed Anchor and proceeded down the River. The Tug-Boat Knight Templar Towing the Vessel. April 2nd. The Knight Templar left us off the Tusker. Captn. Nicol came on Deck to look at the Light House, but only remained a few Minutes on Deck as he was very poorly, on the 3rd inst. he told me to take care of the Ship, as he was not able to interfere with anything, he gave me Charge of the Chronometer and everything concerning the Ship, in fact he gave me full charge of the Ship; he was then confined to his bed, getting worse every day as we went on. I offered him to call at St. Vincent, but he would not. While on the Coast of Brazil seeing he was declining fast, I offered him to put him at Rio Janeiro, but he would not, he Continued weaker & weaker every day, till May 28th when he Breathed his last, at 1-30 P.M. his body was worn out to a mere shadow, his decease was, we had anticipated a Decline, a Putrid Sore Throat, and an ulcerated leg. At 5 P.M. Burried him in the deep, his leg being badly mortified. (signed) Francis Norman Mate George Anderson 2nd Mate William Johnson Steward William Lindsay Carpenter " -------- "May 28th 1865, 3 p. m. Took an Inventory of the Deceased Captn Nicol 28 Pair of Trousers. 1 pair Shoes 14 Pocket Hangerchief. 5 Caps & Hats 19 Pair Stockings. 3 Pair Boots 12 Vests. 3 Blanket. 1 Hat Brush 2 Pair Parallel Rules. 1 Silk Umbrella 4 Crimean Shirts. 2 Comforters 12 Singlets. 1 Mattress Cover 1 Bed Rug. 1 Quadrant 6 Pair Drawers, 1 Paper Box 4 Bags. 8 Coats. 1 Barometer 3 Doz paper Collars. 1 Hat Box & Hat 3 Pair Braces. 10 Neck Ties 1 1/2 Doz Linen Collars. 1 Portefollio 3 Pair Mittens. 17 Towells 3 Pair Cotton Sheets. 1 Sextant 1 Hair Mattress, 1 Sumpisometer 8 Pillow Slips. 1 Chronometer 1 Writing Desk, 1 Silver Watch & Gold Chain A Purse Containing 4£ 10s in Gold 10/6 in Silver. 3 Pence and 6 penny ! Small Box containing sundry medicine. 1 Chest of Books 2 Deal Chests. 1 Box Containing sundry Papers. 2 Pair Dividers 10 Striped Shirts 21 White Ditto 1 Cloths Brush 1 Ennema 1 Chart Box containing 33 Charts (signed) Francis Norman Master William Lindsay Carpenter Wm Johnson Steward " When the ship arrived in Bombay in early July an auction was held of the belongings. Most went to crew members. James Horsburgh, O. S., age16 or 17, formerly on the Annie Walker of Anstruther, bought the quadrant. James was likely Capt. Nicol's nephew. Norma On 17-Jul-11, at 9:10 PM, Piers Smith-Cresswell wrote: When he owned them, they would have contained his clothes, books, and other personal possessions. They might have looked something like this at http://tinyurl.com/6awr6yn Piers Sent from my iPod On 17 Jul 2011, at 21:50, Sue Maxwell <suemaxwell@comcast.net> wrote: I recently found an article that referred to my ggg grandfather, Shubael Swain, who was a ship master, who moved from Nantucket to NYC. He did his sailing there between 1810 and 1840ish. This article was written many years after his death, but was about his son's family, who had moved to Cleveland. They talked about owning his sea chests, and I am just curious to know what might have been in them. Thanks, Sue

Hi newbie on the list. I was interested in this sea Chest especially the Captains Log book. I am currently trying to ascertain whether Captain Robert Evans of the "Colombo" which sank in the violent cyclone of October 1864,is the spouse and father of Mary Ann EVans and children Robert, George and Maryann. Also to gather as much information as possible of the movements of this ship. I have now been shown an article in Australia thanks to a list member, that the "Colombo" was on her return journey to Hull, Yorkshire. Now would the Captains log be recorded in India somewhere as well. She left from Calcutta so since it sank it would have been lost but would have been handy if Captains, in the possible occurrence of being lost at sea, would need to record his Log Book contents on arrival to port of destination in this case Calcutta. Thanks Edie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Norma Brown" <browndm@sympatico.ca> To: "Mariners Rootsweb" <mariners@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 11:23 PM Subject: Re: [MAR] contents of a ship master's sea chests? An example of contents in a ship master's chests for a voyage from Liverpool to Bombay in 1865 (MHA, St. John's, Nfld). Death of Captain Walter Nicol, Cursetjee Furdoonjee, from the Official Log Book: "May 28th 1865 at 130 P. M. lat. 40 degrees 11 South long. 20 degrees 30 East We Sailed from Liverpool in the Ship "Cursetjee Furdoonjee" on a Voyage to Bombay. At 8 A.M. on the 1st of April, Captn Walter Nicol joined the Ship in the River. Weighed Anchor and proceeded down the River. The Tug-Boat Knight Templar Towing the Vessel. April 2nd. The Knight Templar left us off the Tusker. Captn. Nicol came on Deck to look at the Light House, but only remained a few Minutes on Deck as he was very poorly, on the 3rd inst. he told me to take care of the Ship, as he was not able to interfere with anything, he gave me Charge of the Chronometer and everything concerning the Ship, in fact he gave me full charge of the Ship; he was then confined to his bed, getting worse every day as we went on. I offered him to call at St. Vincent, but he would not. While on the Coast of Brazil seeing he was declining fast, I offered him to put him at Rio Janeiro, but he would not, he Continued weaker & weaker every day, till May 28th when he Breathed his last, at 1-30 P.M. his body was worn out to a mere shadow, his decease was, we had anticipated a Decline, a Putrid Sore Throat, and an ulcerated leg. At 5 P.M. Burried him in the deep, his leg being badly mortified. (signed) Francis Norman Mate George Anderson 2nd Mate William Johnson Steward William Lindsay Carpenter " -------- "May 28th 1865, 3 p. m. Took an Inventory of the Deceased Captn Nicol 28 Pair of Trousers. 1 pair Shoes 14 Pocket Hangerchief. 5 Caps & Hats 19 Pair Stockings. 3 Pair Boots 12 Vests. 3 Blanket. 1 Hat Brush 2 Pair Parallel Rules. 1 Silk Umbrella 4 Crimean Shirts. 2 Comforters 12 Singlets. 1 Mattress Cover 1 Bed Rug. 1 Quadrant 6 Pair Drawers, 1 Paper Box 4 Bags. 8 Coats. 1 Barometer 3 Doz paper Collars. 1 Hat Box & Hat 3 Pair Braces. 10 Neck Ties 1 1/2 Doz Linen Collars. 1 Portefollio 3 Pair Mittens. 17 Towells 3 Pair Cotton Sheets. 1 Sextant 1 Hair Mattress, 1 Sumpisometer 8 Pillow Slips. 1 Chronometer 1 Writing Desk, 1 Silver Watch & Gold Chain A Purse Containing 4£ 10s in Gold 10/6 in Silver. 3 Pence and 6 penny ! Small Box containing sundry medicine. 1 Chest of Books 2 Deal Chests. 1 Box Containing sundry Papers. 2 Pair Dividers 10 Striped Shirts 21 White Ditto 1 Cloths Brush 1 Ennema 1 Chart Box containing 33 Charts (signed) Francis Norman Master William Lindsay Carpenter Wm Johnson Steward " When the ship arrived in Bombay in early July an auction was held of the belongings. Most went to crew members. James Horsburgh, O. S., age16 or 17, formerly on the Annie Walker of Anstruther, bought the quadrant. James was likely Capt. Nicol's nephew. Norma On 17-Jul-11, at 9:10 PM, Piers Smith-Cresswell wrote: When he owned them, they would have contained his clothes, books, and other personal possessions. They might have looked something like this at http://tinyurl.com/6awr6yn Piers Sent from my iPod On 17 Jul 2011, at 21:50, Sue Maxwell <suemaxwell@comcast.net> wrote: I recently found an article that referred to my ggg grandfather, Shubael Swain, who was a ship master, who moved from Nantucket to NYC. He did his sailing there between 1810 and 1840ish. This article was written many years after his death, but was about his son's family, who had moved to Cleveland. They talked about owning his sea chests, and I am just curious to know what might have been in them. Thanks, Sue ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message