Tag: fishing

Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

Continued from previous post Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered

…two of the bodies that had become entangled with the buoys and lines were washed ashore, but the other three remain unrecovered.
Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser, 16 February 1872, p3, c3

The Three Buried at Sea

Of the five men who drowned when their boat was overturned near Rattray Head on 9 February 1872, the bodies of Charles Bruce (40), and father and son, Alexander (50) and Andrew (20) Strachan, were never recovered.

Charles Bruce

Charles was the son of fisherman Andrew Bruce and Margaret Buchan. He was one of at least eight siblings who grew up in the small fishing cottage of 35 St Combs.

He married Mary Strachan on 23 February 1854 and by 1871, they had at least seven children. They were all recorded living at number 99 (East Row) on the 1871 census.

image of death record
Death record of Charles Bruce

After the tragedy, Mary appears to have remained at no. 99. She was recorded there in the 1881 census with two of their sons, Andrew (13) and William (10), her visiting daughter Jane (24) and infant granddaughter Mary Stephen (4 months). Daughter Mary was working as a servant a few doors away (house 95).

All of Charles’ children appeared to have either worked in the fishing industry, or married fishermen and remained nearby, except Mary, who married printer/compositor James Joss in 1886 and emigrated to Canada c1912.

(A memorial for Charles and Mary was erected by their family in the Lonmay Kirkyard.)

Alexander and Andrew Strachan

Alexander and Andrew Strachan were father and son.

Alexander was the son of Andrew Strachan and Jane Greig. He married Margaret Whyte on 4 October 1846 at Lonmay.

Alexander and Margaret’s son Andrew was born about 1850 and grew up in St Combs with his three younger siblings, Barbara, Gordon and John, before following in his father’s footsteps to become a fisherman.

image of death records
Death records of Alexander and Andrew Strachan

After the deaths of her husband and son, Margaret remained at 85 East Street until at least 1891. In the 1901 census, she was recorded at 19 East Street with her daughter Gordon (yes, daughter!), who had stayed with her mother since the tragic event.

Eldest daughter Barbara married fisherman Andrew Noble in 1875. They lived at nearby Cairnbulg (no 60) with their four children for most (if not all) of their lives.

Youngest son John stayed in the area but did not appear to remain in the fishing industry – he was recorded as a tailor in 1881, a carter in 1891, and a butcher’s labourer in 1901. He had married young Elizabeth Ann Buchan in 1890 and they had a daughter, Maggie Ann.

Next post: Five Men Drowned – One Survivor

Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered

Continued from previous post Five Men Drowned

Two of the bodies were also picked up by the boat, but both were quite dead.
Dundee Courier, 12 February 1872, p2, c6

The Two Recovered

Of the five men who drowned when their boat was overturned near Rattray Head on 9 February 1872, only two were recovered. The bodies of Andrew Buchan (34) and Andrew Bruce (24) were taken ashore in the boat that rescued James Buchan, the sole survivor.

image of death record
Death records of Andrew Buchan and Andrew Bruce

Andrew Buchan

Andrew Buchan was the son of fisherman Andrew Buchan and his wife Elizabeth Buchan. He was the eldest of eight siblings, all born and bred at St Combs.

Andrew married Catherine Buchan on 7 November 1861.

In 1871, Andrew and Catherine were recorded at 54½ Mid Row, St Combs with their four young children, Mary, Elspet, Andrew, and James.

After Andrew’s tragic death, his widow Catherine was recorded in the 1881 census still at 54½ with their sons, Andrew and James, now 13 and 11.  She appears to have at least had some support from Andrew’s parents who were ‘next door’ in number 54 (54 and 54½ appear to be attached). 

Eldest daughter Mary married James McLean in 1886 and Catherine was recorded in their Peterhead home on the 1891 census. Catherine appears not to have remarried.

Daughter Elspet (15) appears to be working as a servant for Peter Bruce in 1881. She later married fisherman William Shand in 1886 and lived in Peterhead.

Son James broke with family tradition and became a baker in Govan, Lanarkshire, marrying Willamina McDonald in 1893.

It is unclear what became of Andrew – due to his common name, tracing him reliably (and cheaply) was not possible. Any information would be welcome.

Andrew Bruce

Andrew Bruce was the son of fisherman Peter Bruce and his wife, Isabella Murray. He grew up with at least six other siblings in St Combs.

Andrew married Ann Buchan, daughter of fisherman John Buchan and Elizabeth Cow in 7 April 1870. Their first child, Peter, was born only five months later. He was born at Peterhead, which may have been the home of a relative. Andrew stated that he was present at the birth when registering it a few days later.

In 1871, Andrew, Ann, and 6-month-old Peter were recorded in the census at 81 East Row – the home of his father. Nine people were in the house that night (2 April).

1871 census image
Andrew Bruce with his wife and son in the 1871 census

Less than a year later, Andrew was drowned. At the time, his wife Ann was a few months pregnant with their second child. Their daughter was born in July (at 96 St Combs) and was named Andrew Ann in honour of her father.

Ann never remarried. In the 1881 census, she was recorded with her son Peter, and her widowed father, John Buchan at 96 St Combs. Ann was described as a grocer. In 1891, she and her father were still at Number 96 but Ann was now recorded as a ‘merchant (Bread-seller). This time, 18-year-old daughter, ‘Andrewina’ was with them.

Son Peter had broken with family tradition and become a joiner. He had moved to Lanarkshire by 1891 and married Margaret Anderson the next year, staying there until his death in 1924.

Ann died at 96 St Combs in 1895, aged 45, of “Influenza Bronchitis”. Two years later, daughter Andrew married fisherman William Strachan and lived in St Combs until her death in 1954.

Next post: Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

Five Men Drowned

At about 4 o’clock on a winter’s afternoon, off the north east coast of Scotland, a fishing boat was swamped by a heavy wave while returning home from a day’s work. Of the six men aboard, only one survived.

The tragedy occurred on Friday, 9 February 1872, about three miles from land, just north of Rattray Head. All of the crew were from the village of St Combs, in the parish of Lonmay, Aberdeenshire. As can be imagined, the incident had a devastating effect on the inhabitants of this tiny coastal village.

old map showing St Combs and Rattray Head
St Combs and Rattray Head shown on a map c1894

The sole survivor, James Buchan, signed as informant on the death records for his deceased crewmates – Andrew Buchan (34), Andrew Bruce (24), Charles Bruce (40), Alexander Strachan (50), and Andrew Strachan (20). The cause of death was recorded for all as “Drowning caused by the upsetting of a boat about 3 miles off the shore of St Combs”. “Body not found” was added in parentheses to the latter three, whose bodies were not recovered.

In following posts, I hope to share more about the lives of these unfortunate fishermen, and uncover the links, if any, to my own family.

ABERDEENSHIRE BOAT SWAMPED.
FIVE FISHERMEN DROWNED.
About four o’clock on Friday afternoon a fishing boat belonging to St Comb’s, parish of Lonmay, having on board a crew of six fishermen, while returning from the fishing, was swamped by a heavy sea when about four miles off the land, and five of the crew were drowned. The names of the unfortunate men are Charles Bruce, aged 40; Andrew Strachan, 20; Alexander Strachan, 50; Andrew Buchan, 34; Andrew Bruce, 25; all fishermen residing in St Comb’s. The other man, named James Buchan, succeeded in keeping himself afloat by clinging to the oars until a boat which was also returning from the fishing arrived at the scene and rescued him. Two of the bodies were also picked up by the boat, but both were quite dead. The lamentable occurrence has caused a feeling of depression throughout the whole neighbourhood.
Dundee Courier, 12 February 1872, p2, c6

 

MELANCHOLY OCCURENCE—FIVE MEN DROWNED.—On Friday evening a very melancholy occurrence happened, by which five fishermen were lost at sea. The unfortunate men, who along with another man, had formed a boat’s crew, had been at the white fishing, and were returning homewards when a little to the north of Rattray Head a heavy sea broke over them, and quite overwhelmed the boat. The man who was saved succeeded in keeping himself afloat by means of oars until a neighbouring crew came to his assistance, but the other five, after a struggle in the broken water, were drowned. Some hours afterwards two of the bodies that had become entangled with the buoys and lines were washed ashore, but the other three remain unrecovered. The fishermen all belonged St. Combs, and the following is a list of their names and ages :—Charles Bruce, 40; Andrew Strachan, 20; Alex. Strachan, 50; Andrew Buchan, 34; and Andrew Bruce, 25. Andrew Strachan was unmarried but each of the others has left a widow and a large family. The bodies of Andrew Buchan and Andrew Bruce were taken ashore in the rescuing boat, and the scene of grief which was witnessed when the sad tidings became known cannot be described.
Buchan Observer and East Aberdeenshire Advertiser, 16 February 1872, p3, c3

Next post: Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered

When life gives you LEMMENS…

old photograph of an elderly couple and a younger woman behind
Mevr. Lemmens & Frederick Lemmens (and a mystery daughter?)

I haven’t written a lot about my mother’s side of the family – in fact, I just checked and I don’t seem to have written at all about them!  This saddens me but it’s largely because her family history is centred around Belgium and so the records are not easily accessible to me (physically OR ‘literally’ as I don’t read French or Dutch).  Hopefully that will change with a little help from growing records and Google Translate.

This weekend my mother passed on a photo that my grandmother gave my mother of HER mother’s parents – got that? Basically I got a pic of my mother’s maternal great-grandparents (and maybe a great-aunt in the background).  So that’s great – an ‘ID’ed family photo… almost.  The problem is my grandmother has forgotten their names (!) although she’s pretty sure her grandfather’s given name was Frederick.

So I blow off the digital dust on my Belgian ancestors to check their names to discover I don’t actually have them on there yet.  I know that my grandmother was one of nine children born to Eduard LEMMENS and Gabrielle MINNE.  Eduard himself was one of seven siblings seen in the photo below:

Children of Frederick LEMMENS

(The youngest girl lying on the floor looks most like the mystery woman in the first photo – could it be her?)

Since I don’t currently have a ‘world’ membership, I wasn’t expecting much from searching a Belgian on ancestry, but I actually may have struck lucky!  The very first result was a British 1901 census entry for a Fredrick LEMMENS born in Ostende, Belgium.  My grandmother was born in the coastal city of Ostende, Belgium and the man’s age fit (b.1855), so it immediately interested me.  This man was on board the S.S. Truro in Hull that night and recorded as a ‘Pilot Dutch’ but it didn’t seem to be a Belgian vessel or crew.

A quick glance at some of the other results didn’t show any other connections but Google threw up a record on the Oostende Archives site of a sea fishing captain who “sailed for shipowners” [G. ASAERT, Analytical inventory of fishing reels (1818-1843 and 1860-1910), Brussels (ARA), 1986].  So could that delightful outfit that looked to me like a milkman’s uniform actually be a captain’s uniform? [update: Another descendant of Frederick Lemmens (RV) informs me that he is not wearing a captain’s uniform but was probably his summer jacket. Frederick apparently always wore the hat because he was bald! :)]

Ostende-vue_de_la_digue-vers_1920-_06
Ostende in the 1920s
Next steps:

A Lunatic in the Family

A lot of us joke about having families full of them but occasionally you come across things that remind you how serious it can be.

For a while now I’ve known about my lunatic ancestor (one of them!) but today I’ve actually decided to try to find out more.

Agnes BUCHAN was born in Aberdeenshire in 1807. Agnes married Arthur BUCHAN (there were a LOT of Buchans in the area), a fisherman, about 1830 and lived in the small fishing community of Lonmay with her family until Arthur died in 1888. It was sometime after this that Agnes was admitted into the Royal Lunatic Asylum in Aberdeen. She appears there in the 1891 census living at Elmhill house (part of the asylum/hospital).

The new Elmhill House featured in The Illustrated London News in 1863 via UrbexForums

In 1893, Agnes died at the asylum of senile decay. This seems like quite a broad term and would like to know the extent of her ‘lunacy’ and what the conditions may have been like for her. I searched SCAN (Scottish Archive Network) to find what kind of hospital records might be available and have sent an email to the archivist. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn more about my troubled ancestor.