How to make an entrance

[bigyetiman]

OH has a passion for sailing ships, her maternal grandads family were sailors going back generations, and one nice thing about being near the Thames we can get down to see anything interesting coming up. OH was sorting through some pics and thought you may like to see this pic of ARC Gloria the flagship of the Columbian navy visiting London, this is her preparing to go through Tower Bridge. The sailors were all singing the national anthem and the ships Labrador was on the bowsprit, hidden from view in this pic

 

[Marigold]

How beautiful. Has OH ever sailed on one?

 

[bigyetiman]

Oh yes, Oosterschelde, Wylde Swan, Loth Lorien. Stad Amsterdam. Me to on Loth Lorien and Wylde Swan will look out some pics
Whilst we were waiting for her, OH being the chatty kind started talking to the man next to her who was Columbian and was talking about the traditional Colombian hat he was wearing, and we ended up being invited onto Gloria for an official reception as he was the Colombian ambassador to the UK. Inside all the steps have Gloria in brass on all the risers.
She does have a knack with chatting up sailors, when BAP Union (Peru) and Cisne Branco (Brazil) visited London they were in West India dock and not open to the public. But she started chatting to the them and next thing we are on a guided tour.
Best port entrance Cuauhtémoc (Mexico), ARA Libertad (Argentina) that have cannons and fire them on arrival. Tarangini (India) who have crew on deck dancing

 

[dianefairhall]

How lovely. We have seen similar in the harbours of Whitby and Eyemouth but can't remember their names offhand. I also come from a line of mariners, including my Dad.

 

[bigyetiman]

We both love Whitby. I know Atyla a Spanish ship is a regular to Whitby.
Here are a couple we have been on, it's hard work but great fun, and we both love a rough sea

 

[dianefairhall]

Wow, great stuff! Remembered the one at Whitby was the Grand Turk:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/57/95/d5/5795d51d73228edf045ca5731ae17797.jpg

And this is the Tres Hombres that we saw in Eyemouth:

https://www.itv.com/news/border/update/2014-08-26/hop-onboard-the-only-engineless-cargo-ship/

 

[bigyetiman]

You are one up on OH she hasn't seen Tres Hombres yet. The Grand Turk was in West India dock for a while after she was HMS Indefatigable in the TV series Hornblower. She now has new owners and is called Etoile Du Roi. With a bit of luck Tres Hombres may go to Sail Amsterdam next year.
had a couple of day sails on Thames barges also.
Considering the limited space the food on all ships has been fantastic. Seen amazing sunsets, whales breaching at dawn whilst at the helm. Oosterschelde is a real lady of the oceans and circumnavigates the globe regularly, and often spends the winter months in Antarctica.

 

[dianefairhall]

We were very lucky to see Tres Hombres. We just happened to be staying in a fishermans' cottage in Burnmouth near Eyemouth as we love harbour/ coastal towns and went to have a look on the Sunday, and there she was, unloading. We were thrilled and watched for quite a while. I have my own photos but they're on my old computer so not easy to get.

 

[bigyetiman]

It is lovely it is a completely eco friendly boat, trading in the old way. A Dutch ship De Gallant also does some trade this way. A replica of the Cutty Sark is currently in production, can't wait to see that sailing. OH's grandad actually saw the original on one of her last ever runs, and it was the highlight of his sailing career. He ran away to see when he was fourteen as he didn't want to take over the family pub, his father was an ex sailor but didn't want him to go to sea. A case of, if the salt water is in your veins, it's the seafaring life for you. It was Royal Navy in WW1. Merchant Navy in WW2

 

[dianefairhall]

My family, the Fairhalls, originated in Sussex and were master mariners in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ancestors also include a few smugglers including Lucky Dick Ovenden. (Lucky, allegedly because he didn't get caught). It skipped a few generations but both my father and his elder brother joined the RN. Dad was in for over 25 years. It's definitely in the blood.

 

[bigyetiman]

Gosh, can't lay claim to any known smugglers, a must for a sea faring family though. The pub was by the Thames at Grays and had a passage from a cupboard leading to the river, and a look out in the roof that was allegedly to spot excise men. The pub was in the family for 5 generations, and it was the younger son that ran it, or in one case a daughter, whilst eldest son went to sea. Grandad always said in spite of being the younger son he always knew it was the sea for him.
He told us that once after being torpedoed he was waiting to be recalled onto a new ship during WW1 and took nan to the theatre in London and got given a white feather because the person thought he hadn't signed up. Grandad just showed them the torpedo badge sewn onto his sleeve, which you got given if you had been torpedoed and explained he was waiting for a new ship. I still have them he got 3 altogether

 

[Margaid]

Wow! People on here have such interesting family histories. Mine is so boring ...

 

[bigyetiman]

How far back have you gone ? I am sure you have some interesting family stories somewhere. trouble is when you are young and people are telling you family tales, you think it is boring, then when you are an adult and really want to know it is inevitably too late as the principal players are dead and gone.
It is interesting when you see an occupation listed for an ancestor that has ceased to exist due to modern technology. OH had straw plaiters in the family. Girls in villages would be put to work plaiting the straw for bonnets. It sounded pretty grim as girls would be taken to rooms and told they would be educated whilst being usefully employed, reality was slave labour for long hours. Scavenger was a good one, sort of an early dustman, and being of Dutch Jewish origin on her fathers side was thrilled to see "Jewish tailor" on a certificate. A friend had parasol makers in the family and a public hangman.

 

[dianefairhall]

According to the census one of my forebears was a Tripe Man (Master). I don't suppose you'd tell the enumerator that you were a smuggler. Straw plaiters I'd never heard of but some of mine were basketmakers, some were just baskets of course. I've recently made a breakthrough that has revealed my ancient Scottish ancestry, St Margaret was my 30th GGmother and Dervorguilla of Galloway my 25th GGmother, so I'm also descended from the Red and Black Comyns. Bethoc MacAlpin was my 32nd GGmother so I'm also connected to most of the dramatic personae in Shakespeare's play MacBeth. Sadly no family left to tell, now.

 

[bigyetiman]

I did Google Lucky Dick ad found a small piece on a Margate forum, he was the last of the Margate smugglers, but I did learn quite a bit about smuggling on the Isle of Thanet, and caves etc and tunnels that have been found.
Now descended from Macbeth that is something to boast about. Tripe man is a good one. My friend looked up in the 1890 census Queen Victoria, and of course all the staff were listed, included back stairs lamp boy, and page to the back stairs lamp boy. OH had clog makers and cigar makers on her fathers Dutch side. Sadly most of them died in concentration camps, apart from her Great Grandad who came to UK at the turn of the century.
Another occupation for a friends family was cat's meat man. Which we deduce was the man who went around the street selling "the lights" as lungs were called to people for their pets.

 

[dianefairhall]

Cats meat man - I reckon that beats tripe man. I wonder what the page to the back stairs lamp boy had to do? Carry the matches? I think you are right from an earlier post. Anyone who thinks their ancestry is boring hasn't gone back far enough. I had a 3x GG-aunt who was nearly hanged for setting fire to a haystack but was deported to Oz instead. She married another transport and they had 10 children so did quite well.

 

[bigyetiman]

My friend had a relative that was transported aged 10 for stealing a piece of bread and grew up married and had children, some of whom now live back in UK.
Part of the fun before everything went digital was going to look through old parish registers especially when the vicar had added comments of his own.
Whilst searching through weddings he had written by one couple's " he's a thief, she's a whore, they are well suited". A large notice at the front of the register informed one and all to make sure you got money from the local gentry before opening the family vault otherwise they would try to get out of paying, and watch her ladyships maid as she would steal anything not nailed down.
Another entry for a baptism said "father unknown, but smart money is on the local squires son"
Also "buried unknown drowned man found on foreshore, didn't want to as I wouldn't get paid but the Bishop made me"
Just imagine the furore if people wrote all that now

 

[dianefairhall]

Yes, you've brought it to mind. I used to transcribe Parish records for FreeReg before my eyesight got too bad. I didn't come across any comments as good as those but the vicars did seem to be full of glee when recording christenings of illegitimate babies. Some of the unmarried mothers got their own back by giving their child the surname of the father as a middle name. One of my ancestors,Mary Burfield, as an example, called her child Eleanor Fairhall Burfield. Mr Joseph Fairhall subsequently married Mary and they had many more children but Eleanor remained Burfield as the law hadn't yet come in to allow her name to be changed to Fairhall. Fascinating stuff.

PS: I'm not descended from Macbeth - he's my 1st cousin 33 x removed!

 

[bigyetiman]

Close enough in my book, still impressed and with your transcribing records, given how faded some were and badly written
We found that most vicars hated the gentry and did enjoy recording an illegitimate child, how much fun can you have writing "bastard" next to the name surely it palls after a while.
Had a great gran called Lois, which was a bit unusual for the 1800's and on the census the officer had scratched though the name Lois and written " too fanciful,probably should be Louise. She was christened Lois mate.

 

[dianefairhall]

Transcribing old records isn't easy as the writing styles vary so much. The vicars might have been well-educated but their writing could be almost indecipherable, same with census enumerators - they were literate but that didn't mean you could read their writing. I had to give it up as my sight worsened - I didn't realise at the time but I was developing cataracts - now removed. Sometimes I don't think they could read their own writing as one of my relatives was recorded as Selina - her name was actually Lilian but no snide comments.