James Lucas

James Lucas was the nephew of Joseph Lucas the Whaler. He was born into a Quaker family in Hitchin, Hertfordshire in 1780, the son of Rudd and Sarah Lucas. There were six brothers in the family but James was the only one that entered into the whaling business with his uncle in London.

Because as a young man he became a Harpooner, and later the Master of a ship, I’m assuming that at a young age he would have apprenticed on one of his uncle’s whaling ships in the mid 1890’s, however I haven’t yet found the dates or the name of the ship that he sailed on.

1798 Voyage on the Barbara, master Gardner, James Lucas as one of the Harpooners

The first direct mention I’ve found of James Lucas is 14 September 1798, when his name is listed on an Admiralty Protection List as a Harpooner on the ship Barbara, master Jethro Gardner. He would be 18 years old and would have had to have had previous whaling experience in order to be listed as a Harpooner.

Six days later on 20 September 1798 the Barbara appears in Lloyd’s List as departing from Deal to the South Seas. Travelling with the Barbara was the Resolution, master Irosh [Irish?], owner Mellish. In these times of war and uncertainty ships would often travel together. In this case the ships had different owners, but were travelling together.

They were next mentioned in Lloyd’s List as passing Maderia, 26 October 1798. By November 26th 1798, on Lloyd’s List, the Barbara and the Resolution “parted from E.I. Fleet 45.45 x 13.10”. Not sure what this means! I think E.I. might be a misspelling for F.I. which would be Falklands Islands, and 45.45 x 13.10 would be the lat/long. But could they get that far in a month?

And that is the end of the information for that voyage of the Barbara. No date of the return or any other information on the outcome of the voyage.

1800 Voyage of the Barbara–Captured at Rio de las Plata

The next mention of the Barbara in Lloyd’s List is 3 November 1801 at Wallwich Bay (South Africa), but this time the master is William Clarke. The Barbara is listed with a number of other ships including the Resolution. In the Admiralty Protection List for Clarke’s voyage on the Barbara departing London in 1800 James Lucas is not mentioned, but this doesn’t mean he wasn’t on the voyage, just that he wasn’t specifically named in the protection list for that voyage.

The last mention of the Barbara is 16 March 1802, where the Barbara, master Clark, is captured (by whom? the Spanish, presumably) and taken into Rio de las Plata. So… what was the story of the changing masters? Were there two voyages and did the Barbara complete a voyage with Gardner, and then go on a second voyage with Clark as the Master?

Press Gangs, The Whaling Trade and Protections

Impressment is the right of the Crown to compel seamen to join the Royal Navy in the time of war. During almost the whole time that Joseph Lucas and James Lucas were involved in the whaling trade Great Britain was at war, first during the American War of Independence, and then the Napoleonic Wars.

To quote from A.G.E. Jones, p.264. “The Greenland and Davis Straits trade, and the South Seas trade, which provided oil for lighting and many commercial uses, were essential trades, in peace and war. To help keep them going, the owners were given Admiralty protections for masters, harpooners, boat-steerers and line-coilers. The other officers and crew could be pressed”.

James Lucas, Captain of the Richard and Mary

In 1803 Joseph Lucas retired from his partnership with Christopher Spencer. See announcement in The Gazette. As part of the change in ownership it appears as he though Joseph Lucas sold all his interests in any ships. The Richard and Mary, therefore, is owned by Christopher Spencer, and listed in Lloyd’s Register for 1802 under Spencer & Co., master J. Lucas.

The Richard and Mary was built in Dartmouth (which Dartmouth would that be?) in 1801 and in the Society of Merchants register for 1804 she is rated as A1, 211 tons. The information I have is from A.G.E. Jones, who transcribed all the entries relating to the Southern Fishery. I’m not sure where to consult the originals for the Society of Merchants register. In Lloyd’s Register for 1802 and 1803 she is owned by Codner & Co., master Hannaford, destination London to Malta.

In 1804 (must be the records for 1803…sort this all out), there is a double entry for the Richard and Mary. Codner&Co sells the ship to Spencer & Co. The ship is reinforced with a copper bottom, and in additiona is armed with 2 9 pounders and 8 6 pounders. And the new captain is our J. Lucas (James Lucas) and the destination is London to the South Seas. I have to get the Lloyd’s Register years sorted out. The year on the front of the book is the year of publication for the vessels that were insured the previous year. I think that is how it must work, and in that case all my years are incorrect and I have to go back and do a lot of sorting out. Here is the entry for the 1805 edition of Lloyd’s Register showing James Lucas.

Lloyd’s Register entry for Richard and Mary

This is the entry in Lloyd’s for the Richard and Mary. I’ll add a few words of explanation as there are many abbreviations. On the left is the entry number in the book, 227. A shortening of the entries is used in Lloyd’s, so that if there is more than one vessel beginning with the word “Richard” a dash is used to carry the information down. The ship on line 226 is called Richard Caton, and our vessel on the next line is then Richard & Mary. The capital “S” indicates it is a Ship as opposed to a Brig, etc. Under that is s.C 04, which means that in 1804 it had a copper bottom added. The next column is the name of the Master, in this case J. Lucas. Then follows the deadweight the ship can carry, which is 211 tons. The location the ship was built is Drtmh, or Dartmouth. The “4” gives the age of the ship in years. Then comes the owner, Spencr&Co, or Spencer& Co. If the vessel is armed it is indicated under the name of the owner. They were carrying 2 9 pounders and 8 6 pounders. The destination is Lo.S.Sea., or London to South Seas. And finally, the rating is A1.

Go back and compare the number and size of guns over the years. How did they increase or change the number of guns for a vessel that did not return for a number of years? How did the insurance actually work then?

To the South Seas, 1804-1807

The Richard and Mary is mentioned four times in Lloyd’s List as indexed by A.G.E. Jones. I’d like to go back and confirm these, and also see what other mention there is in other newspapers as there are gaps that don’t make sense or are difficult to understand.

-7.2.1804, 13.9.1805, 6.6.1806, 17.4.1807 /

They left Deal on the 7th February, 1804, bound for the South Seas. Accompanying the Richard and Mary were the Elizabeth and Mary, and the Perseverance, Irish. The next mention is confusing. On the 13th September 1805 the Richard and Mary again is departing from Deal to the South Seas, this time accompanied by the Favourite, Fraser, and the Elizabeth and Mary. On the same day in the Lloyd’s List the Perseverance is reported off Timor so all this needs to be checked out again.

On the 6th June 1806 the Richard and Mary is reported well at New Zealand as of the end of January 1806. So it looks like another vessel arrived in London on 6th June with news from the previous January.

Finally, on the 17th April 1807, the Richard and Mary arrives in Gravesend from the South Seas.

There is more information on this voyage from newspaper reports in Australia, and also a book that I have a home that I can’t remember the title of! Author is Anne Salmond. It was quite a voyage, with sickness amongst the crew, and adventures in New Zealand as well.There are quite a few mentions of the Richard and Mary in the newspaper in Australia.

Death of Joseph Lucas, August 1807

Three months after James Lucas returned from his extended voyage to the South Seas his uncle and benefactor, Joseph Lucas, died. James Lucas never went to sea again, and was married to Mary Ann Green in September of 1809.

James Lucas and Mary Ann Green

James Lucas married Mary Ann Green, the daughter of Richard and Ann Catherine Green, of Hackney, on 28 September 1809 at St. Margaret’s, Westminster. The date and location is from the Lucas Book, but I should be able to get an image of the registration from the Ancestry.co.uk database.

For the next few years James seems to have had a complete about face in his life. It is possible to track their whereabouts by the birth of their children. Their first daughter, Eliza Mary, was born one year later on the 26th October, 1810, in Enfield. Two years later Maria was born in Camberwell, and two years after that, in 1814, Mary Ann was born in Stotfold.

Stotfold, Bedfordshire, is not far from Hitchin, the ancestral home of all the Lucases. Why he ended up there is a mystery. Possibly it was because it was far from the sea! They did stay there for a number of years though, right up to 1821 when their seventh daughter (yes!) was born. At least Mary Ann stayed! It isn’t known what James did during these years except perhaps play the life of the country gentleman.

Sometime after 1821 the family moved back to London, to Deptford, and in 1823 their last child was born, the no doubt much longed for son, who received the great long name of James John Seymour Spencer Lucas.

The Susannah Ann and the Sealing Voyages

It seems that the move to London was related to James returning to the merchant venture business. This time he seems to have focussed on sealing rather than whaling, and purchased a very small vessel of 75 tons called the Susannah Ann. He also did not go to sea this time, not with his seven children and a wife who had made him promise never to go to sea again! At various times he was in partnership with a Brown family. This tiny boat of just 57 feet travelled halfway across the globe to the South Shetland Islands just off Antarctica in pursuit of seals.

There is a description of the Susannah Ann in 1825 from the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. Built at Bridport 1814. 1 deck, 3 masts, 57’7″ x 18’7″ inh. 79 tons. Smack, square stern, carvel, running bowsprit, no gallery or head. Master, Robert Ferguson, 1825. Owners, Ann Brown, Mile End, widow, 32/64, James Lucas, Deptford, ship owner; sold in 1835 to Thomas Brown, Gt. St Helen’s. (R.L.S., 1825/528, 8.8.1825.).

In the Lloyd’s Register for 1824 and 1825 the Susannah Ann has the master M. Brown, and the owner is Brown & Co. In 1826 Lloyd’s the master is W. Wilson and the owner is Lucas & Co. In 1826 Society of Merchants, the master changes from Wilson to Fergusson, and the owner changes from Captain to Lucas. In 1827 it isn’t listed in Jones, but this may mean that it had another voyage besides the South Seas. In 1828 Lloyd’s it has W. Wilson as Master and owned by Lucas& Co. In 1828 Society of Merchants it has Ferguson as Master and Lucas as owner. 1829 Lloyd’s same as 1828 and the same for SoM. Very strange. 1830 Lloyd’s has a change during the year from Wilson to Ferguson. 1831 in Lloyd’s Ferguson is master. 1833 is the last year that it appears. Such a tiny boat compared to all the others.

1823 – 1825 Voyage

The master was Matthew Brown. One wonders if the Ann Brown mentioned above was his widow. The ship departed Deal to the South Seas on September 13 1923. Visited New South Shetland. (BBR). On 5 October 1824 the ship was in Buenos Aires from Patagonia (Robinson). Arrived in Gravesend 28 June 1825. 2 tons train oil for J. Lucas, 74 tons sperm oil for W. Mellish. This information is from p.152 of A.G.E.J. “Ships Employed in the South Seas Trade”, no. 36 Roebuck Society Publication. All a little confusing and would need to be checked with the original sources to sort it all out if that would be possible.

1826-1827 Voyage

The master was Robert Ferguson. The notes say that he was appointed August 8 1825, but the voyage didn’t depart for a whole year until August 25 1820 from Deal to the South Shetlands. Sealing off Patagonia. Arrived Gravesend 13 Sep 1927 with 3,320 seal skins for J. Lucas & Co.

Living in Deptford

Here we enter murky waters, trying to sort out legend from fact.