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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Ecneps on Monday 02 October 06 15:18 BST (UK)
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I have an 1879 ship's log and need to decipher the name of its owner handwritten on the front - I'm guessing P.J. Richards/Riches, the words underneath are the name of the sailing ship - Scottish Lochs
Any ideas? Thanks, Barbara
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My guess would be the same as yours Barbara
Jan ;)
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Hi Barbara,
Assuming the ship's name is "Scottish Lochs" and there was only one of that name, if you Google - Sailing ship Scottish Lochs (the website's name would take you ages to type out ;D) and scan down to the third website - "PictureAustralia - SCOTTISH LOCHS" you'll find some info and a picture of her.
Bervonian.
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Hi, yes thanks, that's the only reference I can find for this ship, thanks for looking. It's a handwritten log, and I'd love to find out more about the 'author' if only I could be sure of his name, the ship set out from San Francisco bound for Liverpool and the log is dated Oct 30 1897 and stops for some reason on March 18th 1898
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Barbara -
I have a couple of additional questions about your posting? Some any of my relatives were sea captains in and around San Francisco during this time period. I just might be able to assist you or possibly direct you in the right direction.
What was the final posting in the log book? Do you know who the owner of the ship was? Do you know the name of the shipping company the ship was registered to? Do you know the name of the ship builder? Do you know when the ship was built? Do you know if the ship ever reached Liverpool?
Have you contacted any maritime museums?
Looking forward to your reply.
yn9man
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Hello yn9man,
I wrote to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich about 6 years ago asking if they had any record of the 'Scottish Lochs' and if they could help identify the crew member who wrote the log - 3 years later they replied with apologies saying they had just found my letter and asked to see a photocopy or original log with a view to acquiring it - which was not what I'd asked for. I hoped they might have a crew list, haven't heard from them since. I think it belongs in a museum, but first I would really like to find out about the man who wrote it - it was amongst my late grandmother's effects, and I don't yet know if he was some relation or if it was left behind after he lodged with her - she took boarders and many were sailors. In the log he says 'A difference between last Sunday & this. Listening to Mr Fell's sermon with a young lady by your side & steering a 2,500 ton ship is a vast difference' - sounds as if he was from San Francisco.
After 'googling' the ship's name I found a photo of a postcard of the ship on an Australian museum website - a three masted full-rigged sailing ship, 2640 tons, built Southampton 1888. No mention of who built it.
First page of the log - travelling from Frisco to Liverpool carrying 3890 tons general cargo value 338.927 dollars, date 30 Oct 1897. Last position noted was on 16 March 1898 - '165 miles from Fastnett rock and 30 miles from the nearest land'. The log ends 18 March 1898 with the words 'Strong Breeze wind aft Sighted vessel bound to Queenstown'...so not sure if they got to Liverpool or not.
At New Year it was 'grog for all hands & then gave three cheers for Captain & Mrs Parkhill'
Barbara
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There are several references to the vessel 'Scottish Lochs' in The Times -
Saturday, Feb 13, 1892; pg. 10
Lingfield to Newcastle, New South Wales
Monday, Apr 25, 1892; pg. 10
(Sailed to NSW on Apr 21)
Monday, Jul 04, 1892; pg. 11
To San Francisco
Tuesday, Oct 02, 1894; pg. 4
To Calcutta
Wednesday, Jun 16, 1897; pg. 9
To San Francisco
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Thanks Dave, looks as if that last one must have been the sailing before 'mine'
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Barbara -
I will see what I can find out about the "Scottish Lochs" here in the US. I will attempt to contact the National Maritime Museum in SF and another maritime museum in Virginia. My eyes and glasses and magnifying glass still couldn't make out the individuals name on the log.
Have you tried "googling" Captain and Mrs. Parkhill?
I have some of my great grandfathers logs. They make for very interesting reading. I am not surprised the museum wanted to purchase the log.
Will let you know what I find out. Will take your information with me on my next trip to California.
Please let me know if / when you find any new information.
yn9man
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Hi,
Yes I've 'googled' the Captain without success, have found a James Parkhill mariner in Hull census but nor sure if it's the one, will have to find out from Lloyds register.
Many thanks for your interest,
Barbara
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Hi -
I tried again to ascertain the name on the front of the log. I agree that the first two initials are P and J. As for the last name the writing trails off after RICH___. I will keep looking when I find my better magnifying glass.
There was so much ship traffic in those coming in and out of the port of San Francisco. Maybe the local SF paper would have the shipping news. I will check that out also.
yn9man
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Many thanks - I think the fact that the name is written inside a box means it won't extend beyond that, so either Rich or Riches, don't think there's room for Richardson. Wish I could find him in a census somewhere, but I don't know his age or place of birth...
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A couple of thoughts.
Originally, I thought PJ was from San Francisco. However most San Franciscans don't use the term "Frisco" when referring to San Francisco. People who first sailed from the East Coast of America to the SF area did however use that term.
The writing style and words however do seem / appear to be American.
I also assume he was single (in church with a young lady), possibly an officer (steering the ship) or at least not an ordinary seaman which meant he could have probably spent most of his working life on board a ship.
yn9man
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Ecneps -
Did a bit more research on your log book , diary. Spoke to some people at a Maritime Libray and they mentioned a few things.
Log books were usually kept by the Captain and would usually take on shore with him. Entries in a log book would be made by the watch officer (usually 3 -4 times a day) and also signed by the Captain. The owners agent would also sign at the end of a sailing. Watch officers would usually write in sea conditions, winds, longitude and latitude readings/headings.
If information such as this isn't in the book then it probably is a diary kept by one of the crew members.
Hope the above helps.
yn9man
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Hi Barbara,
Is there any chance you could scan the cover again, at a higher resolution? Or take a high-res digital photo? I think with some tweaking in Photoshop I should be able to read the name.
Another thing you could try, if you have access to a UV light, is to see if the writing comes up better in UV. If you don't have a UV light (sometimes called a black light) you might be able to sweet-talk your local tanning salon to let you stick the book under one of their sunbeds for a bit! The iron gall ink with which this was written should absorb UV light, making the writing appear darker than it actually is, and thus easier to see.
Prue
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Hi Prue
Sorry for late reply have been away for 2 wks.
attaching a higher resolution scan - interesting idea about the tanning salon, would never have thought of that one!
Thanks very much for your interest
Barbara
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Hi yn9man
Sorry for late reply, just back from holiday..
I think you're right, not an official log-book, although that's what he calls it, more likely a diary, just one entry per day and not signed by the captain, but he does take the wheel, and describes all the things you mention, weather conditions, lat., long., compass headings, as well as what work was done, what sails and rigging, what they ate, other ships passing and their headings, all very interesting, just wish I knew who he was ...
Barbara
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Hi Barbara :D
Nicely scanned! :) :) :)
It looks very much like "P J Ricke..." - perhaps Rickett or Ricketts? It's the last couple of letters that are the problem, they seem to be gone altogether. I'm playing with it in photoshop in the hopes of bringing it up better.
Prue
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Here's an adjusted version - you can see now that it is (I think) a "k" rather than an "h", and the following letter is "e" not "a".
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Prue, I think I can see the stroke across the middle of the 'k', I don't think the name would extend outside the box, so now I have a few more names to choose from....maybe I will go down to the tanning shop tomorrow!
Thanks ;D
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Barbara -
How about Ricker, Rickes, Ricken or Ricket ..
yn9man
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This is getting harder the more I look at it, have been reading through more of the handwritten pages to see how he wrote other 'h's and 'k's, and his writing varies quite a lot but 'k' usually seems more definite, so still think it's an 'h'...
Here is a bit from his Navigation notes at the front of the book:
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Barbara -
Agree it is getting harder ...
Looking at the handwritting (navigational notes) I would agree with you that it is probably an "h" versus "k". The "k" is indeed much more elaborate.
What about "richer" or "richen"?
yn9man
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Have been trying to find him in Hull census - no luck so far, he must have been there at some point for my grandmother to have his book..
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My family is Ricken. My grandfather was born in Ireland but we had difficutly tracking down his parents records as he was orphaned as a wee lad. His father was Frederick Richan, from the Richan family of Orkney who can trace their ancestral line to the Rognvald, the Norse Earl of Orkney. Their were many seafaring men in my family all living in Orkeny. William Richan was the captain on the HM Norfolk.George Stewart of the infamous Bounty was a son of a Richan woman in Kirckwall. John Richan lost his life on his boat when a wave washed over his boat and mixed with lime he was transporting which blew the ship to bits. I will look at my family tree but I do not remember a P.Richan or Ricken in it. More details please?!
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My family is Ricken. I will look at my family tree but I do not remember a P.Richan or Ricken in it. More details please?!
Hello sanricken
Apologies for delay in replying, haven't been on the site for a long time. Sorry I don't have any more details apart from those I gave in the posts on this thread. Still not sure what the actual name of the sailor was
thanks for asking
Barbara :)
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The ship, Scottish Lochs arrived in Liverpool on 19 March 1898, which presumably explains why the log stopped the day before. The ship set off again, bound for Calcutta on 6th April 1898, where it arrived in the August. The following year it was ferrying Jute from Calcutta to Dundee.
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thanks very much for that information, one puzzle solved, wish I could find a crew list for that voyage
:)