Ship' City of Corinth'

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vantaykay
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Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by vantaykay » Wed Jan 29, 2014 9:07 am

I have a problem, I am trying to find info on Duncan Taylor b. 1833 died about 1883at sea. He was a Captain on the 'City of Corinth' Royal Navy.

Now I found this info - 'City of Corinth' collided with the 'Tasmania' in the English Channel in March 1888 and the 'City of Corinth' sank with her crew, except two. Captain Taylor being one off the crew to drown. Only two members of the crew were married and did not have children.

Now the name of the ship is the same and the fact her captain was Taylor but that's where the similarity ends. Dates differ and my Duncan Taylor was married with children.

Can any one help sort this out? thanks.

Ann In the UK
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:37 pm

Just did a quick search and according to the Wrecksite, the City of Corinth you refer to was a merchant vessel, not Royal Naval, part of Barclay Curle's City Line.

http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11530

So unless he switched from Navy to merchant vessels, that's not your man. So where was he born, and what other details do you have about him?

nelmit
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Location: Scotland

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by nelmit » Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:06 pm

vantaykay wrote:I have a problem, I am trying to find info on Duncan Taylor b. 1833 died about 1883at sea. He was a Captain on the 'City of Corinth' Royal Navy.

Now I found this info - 'City of Corinth' collided with the 'Tasmania' in the English Channel in March 1888 and the 'City of Corinth' sank with her crew, except two. Captain Taylor being one off the crew to drown. Only two members of the crew were married and did not have children.

Now the name of the ship is the same and the fact her captain was Taylor but that's where the similarity ends. Dates differ and my Duncan Taylor was married with children.

Can any one help sort this out? thanks.
Was his wife's name Marion Campbell? Her husband appears to be a Duncan Taylor born around 1835 who was a Master Mariner with the Merchant Navy (confirmed by his address on his Masters Certificate).

Having looked at the newspaper reports of the accident I'm pretty convinced that he is the Captain Taylor of the City of Corinth who died. Indeed there is death indexed in the Marine Registers in 1889 of a Duncan Campbell born around 1835.

Regards,
Annette

Currie
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Location: Australia

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Currie » Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:52 am

Was he a native of Saltcoats?

Glasgow Herald, Saturday, February 9, 1884
DEATH AT SEA OF A GLASGOW SHIP CAPTAIN.—
Letters have been received at Saltcoats giving details of the death of Captain Duncan Taylor, of the ship City of Corinth, owned by Messrs Smith & Sons, Glasgow. The ship left Ardrossan on 12th September for Calcutta. Shortly afterwards the captain became unwell, and though attending to his duty his state of health gradually got worse, and he died on the 19th September. The following day he was buried a sea. The mate assumed command of the ship, which proceeded on her voyage. On the 15th November, when off the Cape of Good Hope, heavy weather was experienced, and a sailor belonging to Ardrossan (son of Mr Beck, clothier), was washed overboard from the wheel. At the same time the wheel, rails, and poop were smashed to pieces. The ship reached her destination after a voyage of about 120 days. Captain Duncan Taylor was a native of Saltcoats, and had been in the employment of Messrs Smith & Sons for many years, being one of their most experienced and trusted officers.


See bottom of column 5. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fM ... %2C2751512

Hope that helps,
Alan

Ann In the UK
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:04 am

Captain's of Merchant vessels tended to be called Masters. So if that's him, he's a Master and his Master's certificates are available on Ancestry. If you don't have a subscription let us know.

You'll find the ship in Lloyds register of shipping
http://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewima ... &name=CITY OF CORINTH&page=218&imagesource=CLIP images

The official number is the important bit, 63744. From that you can always be sure you have the right vessel.

The Maritime History Archive
hold the crew agreements

http://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/vessels ... mber=63744 but you might want to see if you can narrow down how long he'd been aboard before you order any as you may find some are held here (the National archive has some years).
Last edited by Ann In the UK on Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

nelmit
Posts: 4001
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:49 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by nelmit » Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:25 am

Ann In the UK wrote:Captain's of Merchant vessels tended to be called Masters. So if that's him, he's a Master and his Master's certificates are available on Ancestry. If you don't have a subscription let us know.
....................................snipped
Hi Ann,

I got his address from the Master's Certificate of 1865 at Ancestry which matches that of Marion Campbell/Taylor in 1871.

Regards,
Annette

Ann In the UK
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Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:39 am

Not much time, so just a few snippets.

City of Corinth sank in collision with barque TRAFALGAR off Isle of Wight in 1889.

If he was the man who died on the Corrinth, according to his Master's records, he was also Mate on the -

City of Edinburgh, (1873-74) which collided with the 'French Empire' - both vessels sank. The survivors spent two nights at sea in a rowing boat before being rescued
More here http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... 0804.2.3.3

The Brechin Castle ('72-73), which (if it's the same ship) appears to have been used as a transport ship to take East Indian indentured and Chinese labourers to the Caribbean Basin http://immigrantships.net/newcompass/pa ... nadad.html
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~guyci ... Castle.htm
http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/v ... sp?id=3191

And AB (Able bodied seaman) on The Iron Cross (1875) which seems to have foundered in 1891 http://www.plimsoll.org/resources/SCCLi ... /16048.asp
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13838141
And this could well be a picture of her (no official number listed, so hard to say) http://www.flickr.com/photos/panr/8046361360/
Last edited by Ann In the UK on Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ann In the UK
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:42 am

nelmit wrote:
Ann In the UK wrote:Captain's of Merchant vessels tended to be called Masters. So if that's him, he's a Master and his Master's certificates are available on Ancestry. If you don't have a subscription let us know.
....................................snipped

Hi Ann,

I got his address from the Master's Certificate of 1865 at Ancestry which matches that of Marion Campbell/Taylor in 1871.

Regards,
Annette
Yes, I saw that too. :D Looks like our man to me. But don't want to do too much in case Vantaykay has other details that suggest it's not him.

Ann In the UK
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Jan 30, 2014 11:03 am

Just to add to the confusion...

According to the link Curry posted, he died in Feb 1884, as Captain of the vessel.

But looking at the certificates, it suggests he was apprentice on the vessel in 1879 and only got his cert as 2nd mate in Oct 84...8 moths after he's supposed to have died!


Is it possible that the Captain was his father, also called Duncan Taylor - and that's who died - meaning the one who drowned at sea in '89 is our man?

Ann In the UK
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:44 pm

Re: Ship' City of Corinth'

Post by Ann In the UK » Thu Jan 30, 2014 11:22 am

From Curry's link
Captain Duncan Taylor was a native of Saltcoats, and had been in the employment of Messrs Smith & Sons for many years, being one of their most experienced and trusted officers
If so...

Possible he was Master of the Sebastapol in 1863 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... riners.htm

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... 30603.2.13
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... 630613.2.7

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