The full-rigged ship Francis Mary of St. John's, New Brunswick, was consigned
to Liverpool agents to bring timber from Canada back to Liverpool.
Her master was John Kendall, whose wife and a lady companion were aboard.
The vessel was struck by bad weather, disabled and water-logged, only staying
afloat because of the cargo of timber. The crew had insufficient water and food for the
35 days that they were adrift before being rescued by HMS Blonde. Only 6 of those
aboard, including the two women, survived. It transpired that their survival
was aided by consuming the bodies of those who had died. This circumstance was
so unusual that it was widely reported in newspapers at the time.
The vessel was later discovered, drifting abandoned, and a prize crew
was put aboard by HMS Diamond. The prize crew managed to bring the vessel to
Santa Maria in the Azores.
Contemporary newspaper reports:
From Globe - Friday 17 March 1826
SHIPWRECK. The following account of a most distressing wreck was this
morning received at Lloyd's:
Portsmouth, March 16 - His Majesty's ship
Blonde, which arrived yesterday, fell in with, on the 7th inst. in
lat. 44 deg. 43 min. north, long. 21 deg. 57 min. west, the Frances
Mary, of 398 tons, Kendal master, of and from New Brunswick, bound to
Liverpool, timber laden (being her first voyage), water logged, and a
perfect wreck. Took off the master, his wife, three seamen, and one
female passenger, out of a crew of seventeen.
From Berkshire Chronicle - Saturday 25 March 1826 [extract]
She proved to be
the Francis Mary, ship of 398 tons, of and from St. John's, New
Brunswick, belonging to Capt. Patterson, and consigned to Campbell and
Mackie, of Liverpool. She was a complete wreck, and waterlogged, and
only kept afloat by her cargo of timber; her mainmast and
main-topsail-yard were the only spars standing, and all her boats were
washed away.
Reports also quote a name Francis and Mary or Frances Mary for the vessel.
The Melancholy Ship Wreck of the Frances Mary from St Johns, J.
Kendall master, and the timely and humane assistance afforded to the
unfortunate sufferers, 6 in number, 11 having died, being 32 days on
the wreck, by the appearance on the 7th March 1826 of his Majesty's
Frigate the Blonde under the command of the Rt Hon Capt Lord Byron, is
most respectfully dedicated to his lordship by his most obedient and
grateful servant Mary Kendall, relict of the late Cap'n Kendall and
only survivor. [Relict implies widow, so Captain Kendall must have died
by Oct 1827 when the print was published].
Aquatint, PAH8478, NMM Greenwich
From Durham Chronicle - Saturday 01 April 1826
APPALLING RELATION. In our last week's paper we gave a short account of the
wreck of the Frances Mary. The following are the particulars:
[these come from the report of Captain Kendall]
Sailed from St. John's, Jan. 18
Feb. 1, Strong gales carried away the main top-mast and mizen-most
head. At 11 p.m. shipped a heavy sea, which washed away the caboose,
jolly-boat, and disabled five men.
Feb. 5, heavy sea stove our stern in.
Saved 50lb of bread, and 5lb of cheese, which stowed in the maintop; got
captain's wife and female passenger up; most of the people slept in the top;
at daylight found Patrick Cooney hanging by his legs to the
catherpins[catharpins, part of the rigging],
dead, from fatigue.
Feb. 6. at 8 a.m. saw a strange sail; made signal
of distress; stranger spoke us and remained in company 24 hours; but received
no assistance - the American making an excuse that the sea was running too high. Put the
people on a short allowance of 1/4 of a biscuit a day - Suffered much from
hunger and thirst.
On about the 11th Feb., saw a large ship to the
northward. Did not speak her. At this time all our provisions were
out - suffered much from hunger, having received no nourishment for nine days!
Feb. 21, departed this life, James Clarke (seaman): this time on half a gill
of water a day, and suffering much from hunger; during the whole
period of being on the wreck, were wet from top to toe.
Feb. 22, John Wilson
(seaman) died; preserved the body, cut him in quarters, washed them
overboard, and hung them up on pins.
Feb. 23, J. Moore died, and was thrown
overboard, having eaten part of him, such as the liver and heart.
From this date to Saturday the 5th of March, the following
number perished from hunger:- Henry Davis, a Welsh boy; Alexander
Kelly, seaman; John Jones, apprentice boy; James Frier, cook; Daniel
Jones, seaman; John Hutchinson, seaman and John Jones, a boy; threw
the last overboard, his blood being bitter; also, James Frier, who was
working his passage home under promise of marriage to Ann Saunders,
the female passenger, who attended on the master's wife; and who, when
she heard of Frier's death, shrieked a loud yell, then snatching a cup
from Clerk (the mate) cut her late intended husband's throat, and drank
his blood, insisting that she had the greatest right to it! - a
scuffle ensued, and the heroine (the words of the Narrator) got the
better of her adversary, and then allowed him to drink one cup to her
two.
Feb. 26, on or about this, an English brig hove in sight -
stranger hauled his wind towards us, and when abreast of us, kept his
course, about one mile distance, and we soon lost sight of him; - the
sea quite smooth, but he went off having shewn English colours; had he
at this time taken us off the wreck, much of the subsequent dreadful
suffering would have been spared.
March 7. His Majesty's ship Blonde came to our relief.
Words are quite inadequate to express our feelings, as well as those
which Lord Byron and our deliverers most evidently possessed, when
they found they had come to rescue six of their fellow creatures from
a most awful lingering, but certain death. It came on to blow during
the night a fresh gale, which would, no doubt, have swept us all
overboard.
Lieut. Gambier [leader of rescue boat crew from HMS Blonde]
observed: "You have yet, I perceive, fresh meat" "No, Sir, it is part
of a man, one of our unfortunate crew! It was our intention to put
ourselves on an allowance even of this food, this evening, had not you
come to our relief".
The Master's wife [Mary Kendall née Denmeade], who
underwent all the most horrid sufferings which the human understanding
can imagine, bore them much better than could possibly have been
expected. She is now, although much emaciated, a respectable,
good-looking woman, about twenty-five years of age, and the mother of
a boy seven years of age. But what must have been the extremity of
want to which she was driven, when she ate the brains one of the
apprentices, saying it was the must delicious thing she ever tasted;
and it is still more melancholy to relate, the person whose brains she
was thus forced to eat, had been three times wrecked before; but in
the present instance he perished, having survived similar sufferings
for a space of twenty-nine days, and then became food for his
remaining shipmates!
Ann Saunders, the other female, had more strength in her
calamity than most of the men; she performed the duty of cutting up
and cleaning the dead bodies, keeping two knives in her monkey jacket;
and when the breath was announced to have flown, she would sharpen her
knives, bleed the deceased in the neck, drink his blood, and cut him
up as usual! From want of water, those who perished drank their own
urine and salt water; they became foolish, crawling upon their hands
round the deck (when they could) and died generally raving mad.
Ann Saunders also wrote a "Narrative of the shipwreck and sufferings of Miss Ann Saunders: who was a passenger on board the ship Francis Mary, which foundered at sea on the 5th Feb. 1826, on her passage from New Brunswick to Liverpool"; published USA 1827. In this she states that she was born in Liverpool in 1802 and she decided to make the voyage from Liverpool to St John's (starting 10 November 1825) and back to accompany Mrs Kendall and because she wanted to be with James Frier. She quotes a total of 21 people on board.
From Globe - Monday 03 April 1826
Mr. Kendall, the master of the ship Frances Mary, his wife, and the
female passenger, who were among the unfortunate persons saved from
the wreck of that ship by the Blonde, have recovered sufficiently from
their emaciated state, to set off for Liverpool, to which port the
ship belonged. But we must call the attention of the feeling and
benevolent public to the case of three of the seamen, who endured such
intense hardship and suffering as to be yet in very weak and
debilitated state. The money which has been liberally offered by the
seamen of the Blonde cannot be received until the ship is paid wages.
The men, therefore, are at present wholly dependent for present
support on the liberality of those who can feel for fellow creatures
so providentially rescued from a miserable death, and disposed to
render them assistance to reach their respective homes, which at
present they are incapable of attempting. They are now at the Still
Tavern, Bath-square.- Hampshire telegraph.
Sun (London) - Thursday 31 August 1826
SURVEY of the WEST COAST of AFRICA (from AN OFFICER ON BOARD THE
BARRACOUTA.) August 27, 1820.-
I send you the following particulars, trusting they will be acceptable -
In the vicinity of Azores his
Majesty's ship Diamond, in June last, on her passage from Rio Janeiro to
Lisbon, with Sir C. Stuart, the British Minister at the Brazilian Court,
on board, fell in with the water-logged timber-ship, Frances Mary, the
particulars of which vessel, with the detail of the severe sufferings
experienced by her original crew, until relieved by Lord Byron, in the
Blonde frigate, are already before the public.
The Diamond observed this
ship close to her at daylight, and immediately sent a boat on board,
which found she was abandoned, and rifled of almost every thing
moveable, with the exception of her cargo, which remained untouched;
even her chain plates had been unbelted, and the figure on her head sawn
off, and carried away. The bow and stern-raft ports were out, and the
sea made a perfect breach through the vessel, covering the cabin deck
and lower beams; a multitude of fishes, chiefly bonetta, were in
possession, and large shoals of them attended her, for the sake of
substances adhering to her bottom.
It was the opinion of Lord Napier,
who commanded the Diamond, that the Frances Mary might be dragged into
port, either at Lisbon, or one of the islands, by the frigate, without
much delay, and for this purpose she was taken into tow; but the wind
continuing very light, and the Diamond making but little way with her
burthen, he ultimately acquiesced in the wishes of Sir Charles Stuart,
who urged the abandonment of the ship, on account of the haste he was in
to reach Lisbon.
In consequence, four officers, with a cutter's crew (who were
all volunteers), were put on board the wreck, having with them one of
the ship's boats, and two months' provisions. The Diamond cast her off
at 8:30. p.m. on the 27th, and parted company the same night; this was
in latitude 37. 4. North, and longitude 22. 36. West, or about 120
miles East of the Island of St. Mary [Santa Maria, Azores]. The party
found part of the bowsprit, the main and main-topmast, standing; her
other masts were gone; the maintopsail yard remained across, with part
of the sail attached to it; the main yard had been taken away.
When the intention
of Lord Napier was made known on board the Diamond, respecting the
putting a party on board this vessel, there was a general desire to
share in the enterprise, which was considered to have a degree of
danger, as well as novelty, attached to it: and all the young
gentlemen, in particular, were emulous to be among the chosen. Mr.
Brown, the second master of the Diamond, with Messrs. Airey, Oldham, and
Mitford, (midshipmen), were detached on this service, and we can
congratulate their friends upon their safe arrival at St. Mary's, in
high health and spirits.
Buoyed up by the quantity of timber on board,
which consisted of pine logs and plank, there was no material risk, so
long as the ship should hold together; but as she was nearly unmanageable,
and afforded no accommodation below from the weather, their
situation was not the most desirable; to obviate, however, this latter
inconvenience, they built themselves a place of shelter on deck with
plank from the cargo.
But the ship having lost her rudder, the chief
attention was turned to the formation of a new one, or a machine of
some kind, by which she might be steered. The party set about this
work with alacrity and determination which soon subdued every difficulty,
and by the 1st July, it was prepared and shipped; owing, however, to the very
little way that could be given to a ship so circumstanced, the rudder
was not of so much service as had been anticipated; nevertheless, with
the help of the sails, it was made to answer to a tolerable degree;
in steering by the wind it was
decidedly serviceable: its chief defect was, in its uselessness as an
agent in performing any evolution, for which neither it, nor any plan
that could be devised, was found to succeed; and frequently when,
after many hours' endeavour to get the vessel upon the opposite tack, it had
been abandoned as impracticable, she would, of herself, come
up in the wind, and pay off, as desired, without any mechanical
assistance.
The quantity of lee-way or drift amounted in general to
four points, but this angle increased with the wind and agitation of the
sea; badness of weather, however, was experienced in a very light
degree, to which circumstance, and the fixed direction of the wind in
the eastern quarter, may be attributed the vessel's arrival so early as
it was, seeing that human ingenuity could prevail but little with such a
log.
The possession of this ship to the Company of the Diamond will be
inconsiderable; but a benefit has been performed to navigation by her
removal from the high sea, lying so much as she was in the track between
Europe, those islands; and America. Some unfortunate navigator would
very likely have stumbled on board her during the darkness of night, and
the concussion would probably have been no less fatal than if she had
fallen upon the Formigas.
Her position in the usual track of ships
returning from the southward and westward may be demonstrated by the number
she actually encountered. As before observed, she had been pillaged, and
deprived of almost every thing portable; and this in all probability,
had not been merely the work of one or two vessels, but of several,
which fell in with her during the interval that transpired between the
Blond and Diamond coming across her. From the time the latter frigate
left her, until her arrival at St. Mary's, they spoke or saw the
following: On June 28, the Blossom, from Rio de Janeiro to Trieste;
July 11, saw one sail at a distance; July 12, saw a sail, but did not
speak her; July 15, fell in with and spoke a Hamburgher, bound to
Havannah; July 16, met with, and had intercourse with the American ship
Tea Plant, from Havannah, bound to Cadiz, who liberally supplied them
with many things very serviceable in their situation.
On the 13th of July, the Island of St. Mary was in sight; but their progress towards it
was excessively slow, owing to the extreme lightness of the wind. July
21, the cutter was dispatched to St. Mary's to gain information; she
returned the 23d, and was again sent to close with the offer of an island
vessel to tow them to St. Mary's; she came back in the evening with this
assistance, and the following day reached the anchorage of St. Mary's,
where, she was moored in security.
On the 31st July, Mr. Aveiry was sent
across to St. Michael's in order to procure advice, information, and
assistance from the Consul.
His Majesty's sloop Barracouta, on her
passage from Sierra Leone to Spithead, put into St. Michael's [Sao
Miguel] on the 3d
of August, in order to recruit her water, which service being completed,
she proceeded to St. Mary's, with the Deputy Consul and Mr. Aveiry on
board, with an intention of carrying the party to England, provided it
was their wish, and consigning the ship to the care of the Consul. Mr.
Brown, however, was adverse to a surrender of his charge, until he had
obtained the most profitable terms which could be expected at St.
Michael's; the party seemed also to consider it a point of honour to
see this object effected. In consequence of these wishes, the Barracouta
left the Island, and made the best of her way homeward.