Hi I am stumped on my ancestor Captain Andrew Gowans who sailed to foreign ports out of Greenock What I know about him: - He was born in Kingsbarn Fife on 26th Dec 1796 - He married Prudence Bell in Greenock on the 8th Mar 1824 - He was captain of the "The Gypsy" from 1837-1840 - He was captain of the Euphemia between 1844 -1850 - He captained the maiden voyage of the Walter Baine in 1851 (for Baine and Johnston) - The family tombstone says he was lost at sea in Jan 1855 I have copies of the crew agreement lists for the voyages above - on most of those he did not have a ticket - on the final voyage he has a ticket 40189 - which I presume he was awarded due to the length of time he served as a captain. On a visit to Kew I looked at the mariners deaths c 1855 and did not find his name. As I live in Aus I am unable to make frequent visits to Kew. I also looked for other voyages in 1852 and could not find any in the crew agreements in 1852 from Greenock. The ships register indicates he handed the Walter Baine over to Archibald Brown Any ideas of where I can go next to find him - I would love to know what ship he fell off! Gillian

Hi Gillian You know there is a copy of his 1851 Certificate of Service which can be seen at ancestry.co.uk? That lists his time at sea from when he went to sea in 1818 up to 1851 and the names of the vessels. The certificate is on p.202 of the particular bit - the other info on pp 203-4. Will give some thought to how you might find details of his death - local newspapers may be the best bet. Cheers Piers On Saturday, 12 October 2013, Gillian Mauchan wrote: > Hi > > I am stumped on my ancestor Captain Andrew Gowans who sailed to foreign > ports out of Greenock > > What I know about him: > > - He was born in Kingsbarn Fife on 26th Dec 1796 > > - He married Prudence Bell in Greenock on the 8th Mar 1824 > > - He was captain of the "The Gypsy" from 1837-1840 > > - He was captain of the Euphemia between 1844 -1850 > > - He captained the maiden voyage of the Walter Baine in 1851 (for > Baine and Johnston) > > - The family tombstone says he was lost at sea in Jan 1855 > > I have copies of the crew agreement lists for the voyages above - on most > of > those he did not have a ticket - on the final voyage he has a ticket 40189 > - > which I presume he was awarded due to the length of time he served as a > captain. > > On a visit to Kew I looked at the mariners deaths c 1855 and did not find > his name. As I live in Aus I am unable to make frequent visits to Kew. I > also looked for other voyages in 1852 and could not find any in the crew > agreements in 1852 from Greenock. > > The ships register indicates he handed the Walter Baine over to Archibald > Brown > > > > Any ideas of where I can go next to find him - I would love to know what > ship he fell off! > > > > Gillian > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] <javascript:;> with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Gillian, Sadly I have little to add to what you already know, but the Caledonian Mercury for 15 May 1851 reported under "Leith Shipping" that "Walter Baine, Gowan, at St. Johns Newfoundland 12th ult [ie. April 1851], from Clyde."  Thereafter I have been unable to find any mention of him in connection with any ship.  Another master named Gowans is mentioned as in command of a brig named Rival of Montrose, and this continues until 1859, but he was a J. Gowans according to Lloyd's Register. It's always possible that he was otherwise occupied after 1851, and might have been lost while on his way back to Scotland in 1855.  Alternatively he might have become master of a North American coastal vessel trading locally. Regards, Peter Klein ________________________________ From: Gillian Mauchan <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 12 October 2013, 9:47 Subject: [MAR] Andrew Gowans Hi I am stumped on my ancestor Captain Andrew Gowans who sailed to foreign ports out of Greenock What I know about him: -          He was born in Kingsbarn Fife on 26th Dec 1796 -          He married Prudence Bell in Greenock on the 8th Mar 1824 -          He was captain of the "The Gypsy" from 1837-1840 -          He was captain of the Euphemia between 1844 -1850 -          He captained the maiden voyage of the Walter Baine in 1851 (for Baine and Johnston) -          The family tombstone says he was lost at sea in Jan 1855 I have copies of the crew agreement lists for the voyages above - on most of those he did not have a ticket - on the final voyage he has a ticket 40189 - which I presume he was awarded due to the length of time he served as a captain. On a visit to Kew I looked at the mariners deaths c 1855 and did not find his name. As I live in Aus I am unable to make frequent visits to Kew. I also looked for other voyages in 1852 and could not find any in the crew agreements in 1852 from Greenock. The ships register indicates he handed the Walter Baine over to Archibald Brown Any ideas of where I can go next to find him - I would love to know what ship he fell off! Gillian ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message