Coal barge Sinking 1867-1868

[gwenart]

Trying to find details of a coal barge sinking 1867-1868 It is said that my great grandfather Joseph Howard was drowned when the barge he was crewing went down with the loss of all the crew.
Joseph was married to Eliza Manyon born 1835 Thorpe Le Soken,Essex on 2-12-1866 at St George in the East Tower Hamlets and had a son Joseph born 6-6-1867 and a daughter Elizabeth born 20-2-1868 both in Lambeth so it would seem that the accident occurred after May 1867. His brother William Frost Howard born 31-3-1833 Rochford later married Joseph's widow on 16-3-1873 Lambeth.
We have tried many organisations to find information but no luck so far.
If anyone can help us with this puzzle we would be most grateful.
Gwenart

[sandiep]

Howard  Joseph  36  Saffron W.  4a 269  Mar Qtr 1869

Howard  Joseph  37  Boston  7a 277  Mar Qtr  1867

only deaths I can see around this time  one Essex most likely other is Lincoln.

haven't managed to find any info on a coal barge death have you any idea which river or canal he might have worked?

[gwenart]

Thank you for your interest in our problem and taking the trouble to reply. We do have problems because we don't know a birth date and place (Joseph's brother was born Rochford,Essex 1833) and because of his life being lost at sea with no body recovered we have no death date.
We have tried many places like Lloyds Register,Lambeth Archives,Docklands etc.but still cannot find the name of the barge or the place of the sinking.We were just hoping that someone would have just that bit of knowledge of the 1860s barge industry that would point us to something we hadn't thought of.
Gwenart

[sandiep]

http://www.bargemen.co.uk/

you could try this site they may be able to help or at least point you in the right direction

sandie

[gwenart]

Hi SandieP, Thanks for further attempts at helping but we had tried this site and also Society for Sailing Barge Research (SSBR)  but neither know of a source of barges which sank at particular times.
But it's lovely to have someone who cares enough to look for solutions and we're sure we'll get there in the end.  Thanks again
Gwenart.

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[sandiep]

I know what looking for Barge families is like my husbands ancestors plied Barges on the River Lea from Hertfordshire to London back in the 1800's .........will keep looking but might take a while

[gwenart]

Hi Sandie,Nice to know we've got someone with 1800s barge knowledge on our side but can't believe that someone,somewhere didn't keep a record of barges that sank.One thing we can try is getting the Assoc. of Watermen and Lightermen to look through their records but firstly they say that none of their members would call themselves bargemen and secondly they charge £20-00 even if they don't find anything. But anyway we'll keep trying something.
Thanks for your interest.
Regards    Gwenart.

[jane harrison]

  Just a thought on reading through this topic it comes across that you are doing your search on      Thames or river barges via waterman & Lighterman.
   many Canal narrowboats or barges where sunk through accidents whilst they where being loader from the large ships whilst in the river & sea docks. London had many docks around that time.
   Almost a  whole family in my tree  where lost when loading @ Roterhide Docks  when the chains slipped & the wood being loaded onto their boat crashed down into the boat. The shape & size of the boat then  causing it to roll over & sink also boats would often have to then go out on the
  Thames to reach say Brentford & the union canal (now Grand Union) a nail biteing  thing today if the water is choppy.  Boat & often butty  in later years loaded with 50 to 80 tons of cargo.
    just a thought as you have had no luck with your search .on the waterman ,Lighterman  side
    Also don't know when the date started but waterman/Lighterman had to serve an apprentership.
     

[gwenart]

Hi Jane, Sorry about the delay in replying but we've had our computer down. So thanks for your reply and your interest in our bargemen problems. Unfortunately no record of bargemen or barges sinking has yet turned up but we'll keep on trying something until we get a result.
Thanks again    Gwenart.