I was peering over the shoulder of Malcolm last week to see what he was cataloguing on Axiell. He had in his hands a diary written in 1816 by a young girl called Margaret but we don’t know who Margaret was?
Her accounts are called ‘Margaret’s Travels, 1816’ and she perhaps had some help from her brother William as he is referred to in the diary too. The diary has been transcribed and there are notes relating to the diary to help the reader. It was given to the Whitby Literary & Philosophical Society by Miss Broderick Robinson in 1974 – a descendant of the sailing ship company the Brodericks who together with the Fishburns owned the largest shipyard (wooden ships) from 1795-1830. Margaret may have had a connection with the Whitby Shipbuilders, possibly the Langborne family?
If you are interested in shipbuilders in Whitby, we do hold records and also log books and voyage records pertaining back to the late 17th Century before Steam Ships starting taking over.
So why is it important? The diary is a child’s eye witness account of an unusual event that took place when the ‘James’ returned. The ‘James’ was owned by Richard Moorsom and J Addison. She was used as a Whaler, at least between 1811 and 1825. In 1816 she was the only ship to go from Whitby to the Davis Straits and was the last whaling ship to return. The Whalers left in March for Greenland; returned late August – September. On their return, if a pair of whale jaw bones were truced up to the mast, then the waiting wives knew the ship was full!
Here are a few extracts taken from the diary:
Aug 23rd “After breakfast we went to bathe. It was a rainy, misty morning but, however we went to bathe.”
“A little while after the James came into the harbour attended by 15 or 16 boats & a great crowd of people on the pier.”
Aug 24th “As we were walking on the cliffs we saw a sailor who said the ship that was then coming into the harbour was in mourning – It had the colour half up; & and a blue line round the deck – the master was on board in a Coffin…A little while after we went into the town & as we were in a shop we saw some sailors carrying the coffin into the man’s house. Mr Barry told us it weighed 60 stone.”
Why did it weigh 60 stone, ladened down with ice maybe? Lastly, A rather amusing comment for August 31st:
“Aug 31st I don’t remember anything at all.”
This diary is available for anyone to read and maybe you know someone who knows Margaret!?
By Claire Marris
#HeritageFund #archivesforall
