Sally The London Times of Feb 27, 1875 reported the loss of a passenger steamer -- in part: "The Hong Kong, steamer, from London to Japan, struck on a sunken rock off Abdel Kuri and foundered....In the list of passengers furnished to us by the owners occurs the name of Mrs. Jane Walton, with her children, Alfred, Esther, jane, Thomas, and Nellie, and according to the brokers, this lady was going out to join her husband at Yokohama...." The ship was owned by Messrs. Watts, Milburn, and Co., of 85, Gracechurch-street, London. The loss was twelve drowned, including Jane Walton and her five children. Regards.. Marj At 10:14 AM 10/17/2008, Sally Haden wrote: >Hi folks > >I am new to the list and hope that someone will be able to help me >find out more about the fate of a vessel somewhere in the Far East in >1875. > >On 22nd February 1875 an English woman and her five young children >drowned at sea somewhere en route to Japan. Her name was Jane >WALTON. She was to join her husband Thomas in Japan, who was there >on contract in a British-Japanese project to build Japan's first >industrial glass factory. I am writing a book about the project >because my great grandfather was there too. > >This was not emigration. > >Jane and her children were on board the "Hong Kong" (registration >number 65570). I have read an anecdote related many years later by a >friend of Thomas Walton which said that the ship was in a monsoon at >the time of the drowning. I don't know if the ship was lost, or just >some of the passengers. > >As the glass factory project was probably financed by the big >merchant company Jardine Matheson & Co. it is quite possible that the >ship was owned by Jardine Matheson & Co. > >I don't know where the ship was registered and I don't know where to >look. The ship might have departed from Britain, or it might have >been a smaller more local vessel which ran between, say Hong Kong, >Nagasaki and Shanghai. Jardines had big interests in all those places. > >All I have is the GRO "deaths at sea" record which, as I understand >it, is the record made by the GRO when they received the information >from the Register General of Shipping and Seamen (RGSS). It says the >registration was received 24th June 1875, which is four months after >the event. > >I have not yet found any newspaper reports, but haven't searched very >thoroughally yet. > >I would really appreciate any advice about this! > >Cheers! > >Sally >in England > > >------------------------------- >visit TheShipsList Website >http://www.theshipslist.com/ >------------------------------- >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