Captain drowned in harbour?

[amazon510]

Hi,

I'm researching the career of Captain William Enon.  Shortly after obtaining his first mate's certificate he was promoted to captain of the brigantine Rosebud when the original captain went missing while in port in St. John's, Newfoundland in January 1897.

The crew agreement say the captain, George Beznon (?) (might be Seynon, or possibly even Seymor) was "missing, supposed to be drowned in harbour". 

Would this be considered to be a "death at sea"?  The harbour master notes in the comments at the end of the agreement that "forms B&D 1 and B&D 3 have been forwarded to London".  How would I look up the report that was sent to London?

Jennifer.

[t mo]

hello jennifer
2 things with your post what is the story behind the surname of george only it,s a long way between beznon to seymour !! also i,m wondering if lloyds of london would be your best bet for a look up as they deal with all ships matters, but could also be in deaths at sea but need more definite surname for him .
trevor

[ScouseBoy]

Have you tried to get the death cert from the Newfoundland register office?

[Redroger]

Was the body ever found? What reports appeared in the Newfoundland papers at the time?

[Billyblue]

Isn't there a 'deaths in foreign parts' section in the UK BDM records?
B & D forms would supposedly be forms for reporting births and deaths on / from a British ship?
Dawn M

[seaweed]

Seems his name was George Beynon. Born Fowey 1855. Masters certificate 06932 obtained Plymouth 1882.

[amazon510]

Hi,

The challenge with the name is the handwriting - the captain signed the agreement with something that looks like Beynon (maybe), but the harbour master wrote the name down more like Seymor.  Seaweed, I think you found the right man, his place of birth in the crew agreement is Fowey and residence was Plymouth, so I think George Beynon is correct.

I haven't yet had the chance to look up newspapers of the day but that's my next move for sure.  Also the newly-minted Captain Enon wrote a letter to London regarding irregularities in the log book and he mentions there was a magistrate's inquiry, so I'll be looking for that as well. 

Re the local death records, I haven't looked yet, but I'm not sure if it would actually be in Newfoundland.  Given that forms were sent back to London, would that be where the death certificate would be? If this was considered to be a death at sea or a death in foreign parts, would it be recorded locally as well?  Surely there wouldn't be two certificates?  Or would there?

I also am intrigued about the BD1 and BD3 forms - a little taste of Victorian bureaucracy.  Why two forms I wonder? 

Jennifer

[amazon510]

Actually I'm an idiot - now that I squint a little bit more I can see he actually wrote his certificate number above his position on the ship - 06932.  George Beynon  for sure.

J.

[Billyblue]

If the "Rosebud" was a British ship the captain would have to report deaths (& births) to UK authorities as having happened 'on British territory' wouldn't he?
Have you looked in the UK records Jennifer?
Dawn M