This appears to have become a standard for my blogs,
in that I start with a photograph. I feel that it creates a focus for readers
whilst reminding me about whom I am writing.
I have many old family photographs dating back to the
mid-19th century and one in particular of my great- great grandfather Mathieson
with his wife and children which unfortunately met with an accident through my
own carelessness. I had been perusing these old images for selection and
inclusion in my family story when guests arrived. I quickly gathered up the
photographs and bundled them in a drawer. ( I can hear the great cries of ' you
bloody idiot' from readers) It was not the putting them into the drawer it was
in their retrieval which caused the damage, you can visualise what happened.
Luckily one of my talents, apart from destroying photographs is in restoring
them.
The photograph above was in a very faded state and had
several scratch marks, but a few hours spent restored it to its former glory.
The photograph of my great grandmother Scarbrough in a previous story was
originally in the same condition prior to restoration and letting my
imagination run to show how she may have looked had colour photography been
available then.
This image is of my grandfather Peter Swankie, as a
young man with his two brothers. Peter is the one on the right. I visualise
that they are attending a wedding as they are all dressed in their best suits
and ties. It is possible, depending on the date, that it is in fact Peter's
wedding, as he appears to be dressed in a frock coat.
I only knew him briefly, as he died when I was nine
years old. I will never forget that day as it was the first time I had
seen my mother in tears.
It was around 7.30 in the morning that she awoke me
for breakfast and to get myself ready for school, but couldn't speak as she
seemed so upset. I asked my dad what was wrong, but he told me to leave things
just now and he would tell me later.
I set off to school around 8.30 and spent the morning,
in class, wondering what was wrong with my mum. As you can imagine, a nine year
old has a vivid imagination and as such many scenarios were playing in my head.
It was at first morning break (playtime to the older
readers) that I met up with my two cousins Jackie and Peter Swankie and asked
them if they had any idea what was wrong. Peter's reply shocked me "
fether died last night". My grandad Swankie was dead!
My grandad was, like my grandmother, never known as
grandpa or grandad, or pop, he was always 'fether Swankie' as my gran was
'mother Swankie'
According to legend, Peter was a wee bit odd. At
family mealtimes he would always set the table. Now that in itself is perfectly
normal, but to carry the cutlery from the kitchen one item at a time is a tad
strange, and to set his own place at the corner of the table, well that is
weird. He was apparently a creature of habit and possibly a bit OCD. When I
visited my grandmother in the first house I knew them in Mansion Avenue Port
Glasgow, he would always retire to his bed around 8pm, which as a wee boy I
found odd, cos grown-ups always stayed up late, didn't they? This continued
when they moved home to Kelburn Terrace in 1955 and to be honest I hardly ever
saw him. As an impressionable child I think that I felt that feather didn't
like me, but according to my mother, that was just his way, as he, since his
teenage days, rose early for his work in the bakery and also rose early when
he worked in the Newark Sailcloth Company. Mayhap he got this from his father.
Who knows what we inherit genetically.
Peter came from Arbroath and was descended from a long
line of fishermen from Auchmithie. The name 'Swankie' has its home in
Auchmithie, as has the Arbroath smokie. OK hands up all those who have never
heard of the Arbroath Smokie
From
the Aberdeen Journal, 12th December 1860 :
ONE
HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT DESCENDANTS - In 1851, when the last census was taken,
the population of the fishing village of Auchmithie, the "Musselcrag"
of Sir Walter Scott's Antiquary was exactly 300; it is believed to be now about
370. As an instance of the large increase sometimes occurring in individual
families, we give the following:- William Swankie, fisher, and Margaret Lawson
were married in 1787, about seventy-three years ago. They had a numerous
family, ten of whom grew up and married, and seven of them are at present
alive. These ten have forty-two children still living, 134 grandchildren, and
four great grandchildren; so that the descendants of William Swankie and
Margaret Lawson alive at the moment number 187. They are all, with perhaps one
exception, living in Auchmithie, or in Arbroath. How many of the 138
grandchildren of the above ten are unmarried we do not know, no doubt more than
100; and, making allowances for contingencies, that number (100) will in a few
years be heads of families. Should the same rate of increase occur in their
case, the descendants of William Swankie, about a century hence, will number
18,700, or as many as Arbroath at present contains.
I'm a direct descendant of William & Margaret.
Peter was never a fisherman though. He was a ' belt
man and oiler' in the Newark Sailcloth Company, Port Glasgow.
He served his apprenticeship as a baker in Arbroath,
with the Co-op, but when his time was out they could not employ him as they had
more bakers and not enough work for them. Looking for work therefore, he ended
up in Port Glasgow working in a mill, why?, the reason is unclear but he married a wee lassie from Port Glasgow, my granny. Now they both worked in the Newark Sailcloth Company in Ardgowan Street and the story I have been told is that Lizzie, my gran, saw him carrying a pile of baby clothes and asked what he was up to, his reply was “och Lizzie d’ye no know ye’r expectin a bairn?”. They were married Arbroath three days before their first daughter was born. Through my research I have found
that Peter was the first ever Swankie to live in Port Glasgow.
 |
| Letter to Peter on completion of his apprenticeship |
I am glad that he did, because he met Elizabeth
Hancock and married her. She became the best granny that anyone could wish for.
Peter had three sisters:
Elizabeth: born 1867; died 1927
Alexina: Born 1869; died 1870
Alexa: born 1871
and two
brothers,
William: born 1879; died 1968
Charles: born 1874
neither of whom became fishermen
Port Glasgow
The origins of Port
Glasgow go back to the construction by Sir George Maxwell between 1450 and 1477
of the "New Werke of Finlastoun", which became Newark Castle. At a good anchorage
near the castle, a small fishing hamlet known as Newark formed,[1] like other
scattered hamlets along the shores of the River Clyde. After 1589 the village of Greenockformed just under 4 miles (6.4 km) to the west of
Newark, and gradually became a market town with growing fishing and sea trade,
although it had only a jetty in the bay to unload ships. Since seagoing ships
could not go further up the Clyde due to sandbanks, the Glasgow merchants such as the Tobacco Lords wanted harbour access, but got into
arguments with Greenock over harbour dues and warehouses. They put a bid in for
the Easter Greenock estate for a harbour, but were outbid and the lands became
the Barony of Cartsburn. They then negotiated
with Sir Patrick Maxwell of Newark Estate, and in 1668 he agreed to lease the
City of Glasgow 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land to the west of the castle, for
payment of 1,300 merks and an
annual feu duty of four merks.
Construction of piers and breakwaters enclosing
the harbour began promptly,
and Newport of Glasgow was constituted as a free port.[2][3]
Trade prospered
quickly, and by 1710 Newport of Glasgow
had the principal Clyde custom house, initially in Customhouse Lane, then after
1754 in a new building constructed on the west quay of the harbour. Through
that century the town became known simply as Port Glasgow. Ships, mostly owned
by Glasgow merchant ships, imported tobacco, sugar, rum, cotton and mahogany
from the Americas, as well as timber, iron and hemp from the Baltic. These
goods were then taken by road to Glasgow, as was market garden produce from
farms around Port Glasgow. A change began in 1773 when the Lang Dyke was constructed
to deepen the upper river, and ships increasingly went upriver straight to
Glasgow. In 1830 the custom house collected £243,349 3s 1d in revenue, but
after that income from the port declined, while Greenock has by then its own
custom house.[4]
After 1693, the grid-iron street layout which still forms
much of the town centre today, was laid out.
As can be seen from this article on Wikipedia, Newark
and thus Port Glasgow was also the main import point for timber from America.
The Tobacco Lords apparently negotiated with towns and villages the length of
the Clyde from the Firth at Ayr up to and across to Dumbarton, but none were
prepared to negotiate thus the hamlet of Newark The timber was unloaded from ships and held
in timber ponds until required for shipbuilding and many other uses. To this
day, the markers for the extent of these ponds still exist and can be seen
whilst driving along the A8(M8) from Greenock to Langbank, a distance of some
eight miles.
Own of the most prolific partnerships involved in the
timber industry in the 19th century was Carswell Davie, who had, under the
auspices of the timber ponds committee, control of a sizeable quantity of the
then existing ponds. Like all businesses, they were always keen to expand and
take more control of what they saw as their rite.
I have been lucky enough to have obtained a letter
from Carswell-Davie to the Pond Controller Committee requesting more access to
ponds at Inchgreen. The letter is dated 12 September 1868.
The letter was obtained after reading the first
paragraph in a local history book 'Memories and Momentoes of Old Port Glasgow
100 years ago' by J. Craig Osborne ISBN 0-9546591-0-4.
To be totally honest I purchased this entire as it
carried a Greenock PM over a 1868 penny red, in very good condition, whilst
looking for a Greenock MC mark, which
are quite rare.
 |
| Mr John Carswell of Carswell & Davie |
That however is just the start of the story as it is
not really about Peter, although it gives reason to my quest, I wanted to find
out why he was never a fisherman.
Peter's father Charles was born in St. Vigeans, Angus
on the 18th July 1843 to Peter Swankie and Margaret Spink. His grandfather was
the William Swankie mentioned in the article from the Aberdeen Journal, married
to Margaret Lawson.
Through Scotlandspeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk) I found that Charles had died in 1887 and the record
entry stated 'drowned at sea'.
Charles record of death is at the bottom of the page
and above him is a record for James Carrie. Now under cause of death, both are
identical, so what happened? It took me some
judicious manipulation of the Image and purchase of the certificate
which led me to work out what the record said "At sea during storm while
engaged in haddock fishing with the boat Betsy & Ellen, which left Arbroath
on 30th March. Body found in boat on 16th April which was picked up in a
derelict condition off the Coquet and towed into North Shields"
As you can see, the certificate of death is an exact
copy of the record book.
Once I had managed to work this out, I just had to
find out more about the circumstances surrounding his death. I googled his name
but could find nothing. I googled drowning at sea Arbroath and was presented
with a few promising results. The first of which was an article in the Arbroath
Herald regarding the unveiling of a memorial on the harbour commemorating those
who lost their lives in 1887.
The image and article are with kind permission of the
Arbroath Herald
Taken on one of my visits to Arbroath in 2010
Since I had found this article I wondered if there had
been any report printed about the disaster.
I emailed the editor of the Arbroath Herald asking him
if by any chance there still existed any reports. He pointed me in the
direction of the Arbroath Library local history department who were extremely
helpful and provided me with the following report from the Arbroath Herald
printed in 1887.
THE ARBROATH FISHING BOAT DISASTER 1887
RECOVERY OF THE BOAT AND TWO BODIES
Taken from The Arbroath Herald with kind permission
from Arbroath Library Local History Dept.
Last Saturday afternoon, Captain Patterson,
Harbour master, Arbroath received a telegram from Mr Irvin, North Shields,
stating that the Arbroath Fishing smack, No. 18, had the same afternoon been
towed into North Shields. No. 18 is the Betsy and Ellen, which had been missing
since the gale of 31st March, and had
on board a crew of six men, James Carrie being skipper. On receiving the
telegram, Captain Patterson communicated with Mr Bennet, Solicitor, who has
been acting for the families of the unfortunate men, and that gentleman at once
telegraphed to North Shields, asking for particulars. He received to the effect
that two bodies had been found in the boat, one of them that of an elderly man,
and it was at once presumed to be that of James Carrie. Another telegram was
subsequently received stating that the boat was then cleared of water, and that
no more bodies had been found. On the receipt of the news of the recovery of
the boat and two of the bodies, Messrs Alexander Greig, labourer and Charles
Smith, John Cargill and Robert Cargill, High Street fishermen, arranged to go
to North Shields to identify and bring home the bodies, and they left per train
on Saturday afternoon.
The
first news of the recovery of the missing boat was brought to North Shields on
Saturday morning at 8 o'clock by the steam trawler Duchess, of North Shields
belonging to Mr J.T. Davidson, which arrived at the Corporation Fish Quay. The
Master, Captain Watson reported that he had passed at sea the screw-line
fishing boat Scotia, belonging to Messrs Irving and Partners, North Shields
which had in tow the upturned fishing smack. The report that another upturned
fishing boat had been picked up in the North Sea during the night – the first
one being the Pittenweem boat – caused a great sensation in the town and from
an early hour people were on the look out for the Scotia with the derelict in
tow. It appears that she was passed by the Tyne fishing fleet early on Saturday
morning, and the master of the Duchess offered his services to assist in towing
the upturned boat. This offer was refused, as was also the offer from the
master of the Blue Bonnet. During the morning, and up to noon, crowds of people
were congregated at the New Quay and at the Fish Quay awaiting the arrival of
the Scotia. Between twelve and one o'clock she arrived off the harbour, and
came slowly towards the fish quay, her progress exciting the keenest interest.
The
smack was on her starboard side and only a small part of her keel was visible
above the water. One of the masts was floating alongside the sunken craft. The
letters 'A H' and figures '18' painted in white were plainly visible. She was
towed to the Gut. The Scotia had a most difficult task, for the ebb tide was
against her, and she slipped her cable several times, and as a consequence her
arrival was considerably delayed. The upturned smack was picked up twelve miles
off the Coquet at six o'clock on Friday night.
Shortly
before one o'clock on Saturday preparations were made for righting the boat
which had lain off the Fish Quay since its arrival about noon.
The
operations of the customs officers, river policemen, fishermen and others were
watched by an immense crowd of people, who lined the quays and stood on every
point of vantage overlooking the river. The preparations necessarily occupied a
considerable time. Ropes were made fast to the overturned boat and conveyed on
board the line fishing boats The Brothers and the Gleaner. The number of
spectators rapidly increased, and as soon as it was observed that that an
attempt was to be made to examine the boat, a rush was made for the trawlers
and fishing boats lying at the quay, and in a short time every boat was
crowded. About two o'clock the boat was got between The Brothers and the
Gleaner, the tug Glendale being at the stern, and chains having been fastened
to her, she was righted by means of ropes there being many willing hands to
assist. As soon as the boat had been turned over bailing operations commenced,
and ultimately a pump was got to work. Shortly after the pumping commenced, the
body of a man was seen, and about four o'clock another body was observed. The
first of these was taken out and proved to be the body of an elderly man, fully
dressed, having on, oilskin coat, sea boots and gloves. The body was at once
removed to the mortuary at the Low Lights, by the river police.
Another
body, dressed in similar manner was found soon after, and was also conveyed to
the dead house. A large crowd followed the remains to the mortuary, and as soon
as the doors were closed, the people rushed back to the fish quay. The water
was got out by about five o'clock, when a thorough search was made, but no
other bodies were discovered.
On
Monday morning, Mr Bennet received from Mr John Coull, ship-broker, Shields,
formerly of Arbroath, a letter written on Saturday giving particulars of the
recovery of the boat. Mr Coull writes:-
“As an Arbroath man no apology is
required for my writing you this afternoon, and writing to you now relative to
the arrival here of the fishing boat Betsy and Ellen, in tow of the steam
fishing boat Scotia, belonging to Mr R Irvin, fish salesman, who wired the news
to the Harbour master. I went down to the Fish Quay this afternoon, and your
telegram reached him while I was talking to him. At that time they had got the
Betsy and Ellen righted and a large number of willing hands was busy bailing
and pumping the water out of her. Thousands of people line the quay, including
several of our most influential citizens. The utmost expedition was used to
pump her out to see if they could find any of the ill-fated crew. About an hour
after my arrival I was informed that they had found one body and shortly after
I saw them remove the same to the police boat on a stretcher. He seemed an old
man and was encased in oilskins. He had not long been removed when they found
another body. This one, who I was told was rather decomposed had oilskin
trousers on. He was also removed by the police boat to the dead house at the
Low Lights, where they both now lie. I was with Mr Irwin when he wired you and
got them to add that he was an old man. Then it was impossible to say whether
any more bodies were on board, as they were still busy pumping, so I waited
until they could make a proper search, and then wired you that no more bodies
were on board, and that the boat was all right ,except that her masts were
broken off, one of them floating alongside. The boat now lies at the Fish Quay,
and several line are lying about on deck, as well as the baskets they are
placed in when bailed. I presume that already some of the friends will be on
their way here to identify the bodies at the inquest, which will be held as
early as possible – I should think on Monday – and if I can be of any
assistance to them in any way my services are at their command. I presume the
river police will have the matter in hand, but during the evening I will see
the chief constable, and if I can give you any further information will give
you later. General expressions of sympathy and sorrow on all hands while they
were removing the bodies, and as this is the second boat which has been towed
in here within the last few days, bottom up, and having some of the bodies of
the crew on board, it has caused great excitement. I was just on the point of
writing you when I saw Mr Irwin, as I knew the great interest you take in the
fishermen of Arbroath, and was very pleased to see your letter appealing for
subscriptions for widows and orphans. Deeply sympathising with the sufferers
from this melancholy disaster, and assuring you of any help that may be
required by those who may have to journey here on such a sad errand.
Mr
Greig and the fishermen who left Arbroath on Saturday evening arrived at North
Shields on Sunday morning, and they, having visited the mortuary and seen the
two bodies, Mr Greig telegraphed to Mr Bennet that they had identified them as
James Carrie and Charles Swankie. Mr Carrie's body was easily identified by
means of his watch, which was presented to him by the fisherman in
consideration of the great interest he took in their cause in connection with
the harbour provisional order about ten years ago. As we formerly mentioned,
both men have left widows. Mr Carrie, one of the oldest fishermen in Arbroath,
was 60 years of age; Mr Swankie, besides his widow, has left five children. Of
the four other men nothing is known, except that doubtless they are all lost.
They are David Carrie, about 40 years of age, son of James Carrie, who has left
a widow and three children; Thomas Shepherd, about 35 and John Shepherd, about
30, sons-in-law of James Carrie, who leave widows but no children; and David
Cargill, about 35 years of age, who leaves a widow and five children. It was
doubtless on the night of the 31st of
March, during the fearful storm which then prevailed , and probably soon after
she was last seen, that the Betsy and Ellen was struck by a sea, and turned
over. She was at that time about seventy or eighty miles from land.
--------------
THE INQUEST
On Monday morning, an inquest was held at the
house of Mr James Wood, Low Lights Tavern, North Shields, before Mr J R D Lynn,
coroner, on the bodies of the two fishermen found on board the fishing boat
Betsy and Ellen, discovered in the North Sea by the crew of the screw line
fishing boat Scotia, and towed into the Tyne on Saturday. The jury having
viewed the bodies at the mortuary.
Robert
Cargill, fisherman, Arbroath deposed that the bodies which the jury had seen
were those of James Carrie 65 years of age, fisherman of Arbroath, and Charles
Swankie, 44 years of age, fisherman of the same place, two of the crew of the
fishing boat Betsy and Ellen of Arbroath. Witness did not now go to sea. On the
30th of March he was on the shore
digging sand worms, when he saw the Betsy and Ellen putting to sea. He was so
close to the boat that he could have spoken to the crew. It was about 4 o'clock
in the afternoon. Both the deceased were on board the Betsy and Ellen, which
was bound for the fishing ground. About one o'clock in the afternoon of the 31st ult, a storm arose, and several boats
were for some time missing. Ultimately, all the boats with the exception of the
Betsy and Ellen returned to Arbroath. The Betsy and Ellen was not heard of
again until she was towed into the Tyne. In reply to a juryman, witness said
that, in his opinion, the Betsy and Ellen had been on a port tack when struck
by a sea, and the ballast being shifted to the starboard side, she fell upon
her beam ends, and could not be righted. The Betsy and Ellen was a good boat,
and one of the best in Arbroath, and belonged to a class of good sea boats. He
did not remember another accident of this kind during his experience as a
fisherman. The sail and one of the masts were gone. He could not say from the
gear how the accident happened. The fishing ground was between 70 and 80 miles
off the Bell Rock.
They
took her in tow and brought her into the Tyne, landing her at the Corporation
Fish Quay, North Shields. Witness assisted in righting the boat and pumping out
water. The two bodies were found in the hold, among the lines &c. Both men
had their oilskins on and one of them had his mittens on, as if they had been
at work. In witness's opinion the boat had been taken aback and capsized by a
squall of wind.
P.C.
Geo. Thompson, of the river police, deposed that he was present when the bodies
were found. He assisted in conveying the bodies to the mortuary, and he
examined them. They were dressed in their oilskins &c. On the body of James
Carrie he found the silver watch and chain produced and the 5s 5d in money, and
on the body of Swankie a purse containing 2s 10d and a handkerchief. The bodies
were very much decomposed. The watch found on Carrie bore the following
inscription:- Presented by the fishermen of Arbroath to James Carrie as a token
of respect, 5th January 1877. The
watch had stopped at four o'clock.
Robert
Cargill, in reply to the coroner said that Carrie was a man who was very much
respected by the fishermen of Arbroath. He was a good fisherman and was looked
up to and consulted on any difficulties that may arise.
The
coroner said that there was no doubt but that the Betsy and Ellen had suffered
the same fate as the Sisters, of Pittenweem, recently towed into the Tyne.
The
jury returned the verdict to the effect that the deceased were found drowned on
board the Betsy and Ellen, fishing boat, which had been caught in a squall and
capsized while returning from fishing.
The
Betsy and Ellen has been taken to the Albert Edward Dock. The coroner then
handed the necessary certificates to the representatives of the deceased.
ARRIVAL OF THE BODIES IN ARBROATH
At the close of the inquest Mr Bennet received
a telegram stating that the Arbroath fishermen had left North Shields by the 11
AM train on Monday forenoon, bringing with them the bodies of James Carrie and
Charles Swankie. Having been informed of this, the fishermen of Arbroath
assembled in the Coast Mission Hall about eight o'clock and walked in a body to
the railway station, there to wait the arrival of the train conveying the
bodies of the deceased. About 200 fishermen were present, and the streets were
lined with spectators. On the arrival of the train the coffins containing the
bodies were transferred to two hearses and the sad procession – the fishermen
following the hearses – proceeded by way of West Port and Commerce Street to
the mission hall where the coffins were laid out on tables. The fishermen in
the procession were of all ages – from old men to boys. A short service was
conducted in the chapel by Rev. Messrs Thompson and Cruickshank, assisted by Mr
Craig, the East Coast Missionary. The men then vacated the building, and women
were admitted, when a second service was held. Many of those present were
greatly affected by the solemnity of the proceedings. Mr McNeill Superintendent
of Police, was present during the removal of the bodies from the station to the
hall and marshalled the procession.
THE FUNERAL
The funeral took place on Wednesday afternoon
and was very impressive. A devotional service was held in the Old Church at a
quarter past one o'clock and was largely attended by fishermen, their families
and others, including the Kirk Session of Arbroath parish, of which body Mr
Carrie was a member. The service was conducted by the Rev Mr Thomson, minister
of the parish, and the Rev Mr Howat, minister of Park Street United
Presbyterian congregation, of which congregation, Charles Swankie was a member.
Park Street Church was well represented in the congregation which assembled in
the Old Church on Wednesday. The Rev. Mr Morris, of the Free Church Colliston,
the Rev Mr Christie minister of Auchmithie, and the Rev Mr Cruickshank,
assistant minister, Arbroath, were also present. The service commenced with the
singing of the 53rd paraphrase ('Take
Comfort, Christians'). The other hymns sung were the 255th and 224th in the
Scottish Hymnal (When our heads are bowed with woe' and 'Go bury thy sorrow').
The singing was accompanied on the organ. Each of the reverend gentlemen who
conducted the service offered up prayer. The Scriptures read were the 90th Psalm 1 The? 1V , 13 to end, and Rev v1L
13 to end. The service was concluded with the benediction. At the close of the
service in the church, the funeral procession was formed in the lower part of
High Street, extending from the Coast Mission Hall to Danger Point. The two
coffins were brought out of the hall, each of them covered with beautiful
wreaths which had been sent by the Hon. Mr. And Mrs. Bruce of Seaton. There
were two hearses, followed by a mourning coach with relatives, the members of
the Kirk Session of Arbroath, and between two and three hundred fishermen of
Arbroath, Auchmithie, Ferryden and Broughty Ferry. Many of the fishermen are
members of the rocket brigade, and in that capacity the whole body were
marshalled by Mr. Steele, Chief Coastguard Officer, Westhaven. A number of
private gentlemen of the town and district also attended the funeral among whom
were Provost Anderson, Mr James Johnston and Mr W D Johnston fishourers,
Montrose, Mr Bennet, solicitor &c. The church bell was tolled during the
funeral, the shops were closed and the flags in the shipping as, also the boats
in the harbour were flying half – mast high. It rained heavily, but,
notwithstanding, the whole line of procession from the Mission Hall to the
Abbey was studded with spectators, who showed heartfelt sympathy with the sad
ceremony which was taking place. The windows and outside stairs on the lower
part of High Street were crowded chiefly with the wives and children of the
fishermen of Arbroath, many of whom were deeply affected as the mournful
procession passed by. James Carrie was interred in the Abbey Burying Ground and
Charles Swankie was interred in the New Cemetery. At the close of the interment
in the Abbey the funeral procession was reformed, and followed the body of
Charles Swankie to the Cemetery. Thus the bodies of these two fine specimens of
East Coast fishermen, after drifting about in the derelict boat for many days
in the North Sea, were deposited by loving hands in kindly mother earth, there
to repose with kindred dust.
 |
| This boat, Reaper, is similar to the Betsy & Ellen
Further reports of this tragedy:
Six men lost their lives on 31st March 1887 when the 'Betsy &
Ellen' AH18 over-turned about 70 miles off-shore :-
Report
from The Scotsman 4th April 1887
Report in the Shields News Transcription)
Dear Roy
I have
found information about the Sisters in the April 1887 Shields News, but no sign
of the
Betsy&Ellen
around the same time.
"Sisters"
9th April
1887 - The Missing Fishing Boats "No tidings of the missing boats, Nellie
Murray of Buckie,
and
Sisters of Pittenweem have yet been received, although the whole coast and tide
run has been
searched.
All hope of their safety has now been abandoned."
12th April
1887 - A Capsized Vessel picked up off the Tyne "Last night one of the
ill-fated fishing
vessels -
the "Sisters" KJ221, belonging to Pittenweem - which were lost in the
late storm was towed
into the
Tyne, bottom up, by the Steam-tug Prince Consort of South Shields. The vessel
has been
beached at
South Shields. Nothing has been heard of the crew and there remains little
doubt that
they
perished in the storm."
13th April
1887 - The Capsized Fishing Boat in the Tyne, Discovery of 6 bodies - "As
stated in our
yesterday
morning's issue the trawler Prince Consort, of North Shields, towed into the
Tyne the
fishing
boat Sisters, of Kirkcaldy. The boat, which was picked up bottom upwards sixty
miles off the
Tyne, an
which left Kirkcaldy on the 13th March is supposed to have capsized in the late
gale,
drowning
her crew of 7 hands. The vessel was beached on the south side of the river and
was
righted as
the tide left her. An examination was made at midnight, when it transpired that
at least 3
bodies
were left on board. The fishing nets and tackle were an entangled mass and
could not be got
free of
the masts, and the sails were hanging by the side. On access being gained to
the cabin,
three
bodies were found. The bedding and other articles were thrown into confusion
doubtless by
the
capsizing of the boat and at first only one body could be seen and it was not
till some time
afterwards
that the others were discovered. It has not yet been definitely ascertained
that these are
all on
board. The bodies were taken charge of by the river police and removed to the
mortuary. The
Sisters is
a large vessel, such as usually carry 6 or 7 hands. She is marked K Y and
belongs to
Pittenweem."
Further
discovery of bodies - "The River Police continued their examination of the
Scotch fishing boat
Sisters
until and early hour this morning. After further pumping operations a strict
search was made
in the
cabin and three more bodies were discovered. This morning the whole of the
bodies were
identified
by the relatives of the unfortunate men. Their names are as follows:- David
Jack (37)
married
leaves a widow and 7 children; Geo Wilson (40) a widower leaves 3 children;
William Hughes
(42)
married leaves a widow and 9 children; William Finley (39) married leaves a
widow and 6
children;
James Galloway (24) leaves a widow and 2 children. It appears there were 7
hands on
board the
ill-fated vessel, the missing body being that of Thomas Galloway (24) single.
The Sisters
was owned
by William Finley (Captain) and David Jack, both of whom perished in the gale.
The
whole of
the deceased men belonged to Pittenweem."
19th April
1887. The Pittenweem Fishing Boat Disaster. - "The bodies of the six men
from the
Pittenweem
fishing boat disaster the Sisters arrived by rail from Shields at Pittenweem on
Friday
having
been conveyed in a special van - the North Eastern and North British Railway
Companies
kindly
agreeing to carry the whole at the price chargeable for a single corpse. The
funeral of the
deceased
took place on Saturday afternoon in presence of over 2000 spectators. A meeting
was held
on
Saturday night at Pittenweem in connection with the accident. Provost Henderson
presided. He
stated
that they were met to consider what was to be done in aid of the sufferers. It
appears that
there were
six widows and 32 fatherless children who are in absolute need of immediate
assistance.
A
Committee was appointed to raise subscriptions. Mr Thomas Gilchrist, High
Street Pittenweem
was
appointed treasurer of the relief fund and will receive subscriptions."
I hope
this transcription helps with your research. If I find anything about the Betsy
& Ellen I shall let
you know.
Regards,
Diane
Leggett
Librarian
Local
Studies Centre
Since many of my friends and family on Spink Ancestors
have been asking about the Pittenweem boat, The Sisters, I have included a
message received from Local History Studies at the Museum of Northumberland
regarding the Sisters.
|
During my visit to Arbroath in 2010 I took a run
across to the kingdom and visited the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther
and whilst there found a poem dedicated to the AH18 and the Pitenweem boat. The
museum curator was kind enough to reproduce this for me and this is a scan of
it:
The record of Charles' burial
Birth: 1843
in St. Vigeans
|
|
Death: 1887
North Sea
|
|
Note:
Swankie, Charles buried on: 20 April 1887 recorded at: Arbroath Western
(Angus) date of death 01 April 1887
|
|
Burial:
Arbroath
Angus,
Scotland
|
The final tragedy in all of this is, on my recent visit to Arbroath, I visited the West Cemetery after finding in which grave Charles was interred, and found that he lies in an unmarked grave
Peter was only ten years old when his father was killed, and I can imagine his mother's anguish at being left with five young children, three of whom were boys and all raised in a fishing community. Their ancestors had all been fisherfolk. It is all there was in Auchmithie, fishing was their way of life, it was in their blood.
Peter was only ten years old when his father was killed, and I can imagine his mother's anguish at being left with five young children, three of whom were boys and all raised in a fishing community. Their ancestors had all been fisherfolk. It is all there was in Auchmithie, fishing was their way of life, it was in their blood.
I can understand Margaret's fears, she had lost her
husband and feared that her three sons would follow their traditions into
fishing. She must have been very strong at convincing her sons to follow
different paths because this is the reason that my grandfather and his brothers
were never fishermen, their mother, after losing her husband, declared that
none of her sons would ever go to sea.
It may seem odd that someone who has been working on
the history of their family for twenty odd years has only just found all of
this five years ago. What is even odder is that I spent quite a few holidays in
Arbroath as a teenager yet knew nothing of who my great grandfather was or what
happened to him. I knew his brother William when he was an old man and
suffering from cancer, but never had the chance to ask him about family, just
as I did not with my grandmother.
I realise that teenagers are about interested in
family history as they are of cleaning their rooms and will never think to ask
about their grandads and grandmas, but I would urge anyone reading any of my
stories not to wait until they ask, but tell them. Spend a wet winters night in
front of the fire (assuming you have one) and if you have old photos or
anything relating to the family, talk to them about it. If they are not
interested at the time, write it all down for them to peruse at leisure. They will
soon start asking questions, I just hope you have the answers.
I have no children to whom I can tell my stories. I
have no siblings to share them with, but I have cousins who do have children
and grandchildren, and if these stories can be of benefit to them then I have
not written them in vain.
My thanks to:
All my family close and distant on:
Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther:
The Arbroath Herald:
