Gaspee
Virtual Archives
Research Notes
on The Gaspee Crewmen
The Gaspee Days Committee at www.gaspee.COM
is a civic-minded nonprofit organization that runs a list of many
varied
community events in Rhode Island, including the famous Gaspee Days
Parade
each June. These events are all designed to commemorate the
burning
of the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee , by Rhode
Island
patriots in 1772 as a proximate cause of the American Revolution. Our
historical
research center, the Gaspee Virtual Archives at www.gaspee.ORG
, has presented these research notes as an attempt to gather further
information
on those associated with the the burning
of the Gaspee. Please e-mail your comments or further questions
to webmaster@gaspee.org.
This web page presents research notes on the Gaspee crewmen
only.
Trolling the Internet, we happened on the website of
the National Archives (UK) at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
It turns out that these people have
access to virtually any document produced by the British government
over the centuries, and for a fee (a rather large fee, we feel) can
send you a copy. So it was, we paid our 180 pounds sterling
(about US$300) and
received the master paylist for His Majesty's Schooner Gaspee,
encompassing the entire time of her existence from Dec 1763 to June
1772 (item # ADM 33/645).
The original images (30 pages of 16x20" paper) are copyrighted by the
National Archives (UK), and may be used only for non-commercial
research, private study, and educational purposes. It appears that this
document may be a sanitized copy of the original papers, made by some
clerk at the Admiralty Offices. The handwriting is uniform from
one person, and neat throughout, despite that there were three or four
clerks assigned to the HMS Gaspee during its years of 1764-1772.
The original copy of this document will be given to the Rhode Island
Historical Society Library in 2005.
We can assume from records and
size, that the HMS Gaspee
was designed (as a sloop) to carry a compliment of 30 men, but as a
refitted schooner normally carried a compliment of 25 crewmen.
Over her 106 month existence, over 234 men had been variously assigned
to the Gaspee at one point or another. Of interest, of her 234 crewmen,
over 142 deserted the ship, and 8 died at one point or another; that's
a 61% desertion rate, and a 4% death rate, and an attestation to the
poor living and working conditions on the ship. The motivations for
desertion were many. Some were pressed seamen (we know of nine),
taken from
dockyards areas or from other merchant ships and forced involuntarily
to work on His Majesty's Ships. Such men were unlikely to stay
when opportunity to escape presented itself. Others may have been
motivated by a ticket to travel elsewhere, perhaps hoping to escape
from Europe to new opportunities available in the frontier of the New
World. 22% were American born. Note that most crewmen were in
their early twenties (the average age was 24.3 years), full
of hope for a new and exciting life, and full of hormones which could
lead them astray at the very next port (and a 19% venereal disease
rate). Some may have been starving and
looking for room and board however
temporarily. As even in more modern times, some may have been running
from things in their lives, such as wives, ex-lovers, debts, and the
law. Aliases could be easily taken, and most men were taken at
their
word. After jumping ship, they need not fear recapture; the land
was too vast for most search parties. Pressment crews would
rather take the first person they found that could serve as an
able-bodied seaman, rather than search endlessly for someone who had
deserted. Some of those who deserted undoubtedly ended up on other
ships (probably at much higher pay), perhaps under different assumed
names, while others may have
stayed in America and assimilated into our society.
Men's wages on the ship
were docked for a variety of items, including deductions for slop
clathes (assumably Navy work uniforms), Venereal disease treatments,
Gaol (jail) fees, tobacco, and other items. According to our mole in
the Admiralty, Chris Donnithorne,
Dead Mens Cloaths deductions were a custom whereby the dead man's
belongings were auctioned and the proceeds given to the
widow/dependants. Bed charges related to hammocks, mattresses and
blankets sold by the Purser. 'Three pence' was likely a deduction
which had been made over the years to all seamen to pay for such as the
chaplain, the surgeon, and as support for Greenwich Hospital.
Some, but
not all, of those present at the attack were discharged with the
notation Captn, and frankly, we have no idea what this
means. One theory proposed by fellow researcher, Leonard Bucklin,
is that it means that Dudingston told the fellow he could do what he
wanted to do and was discharged by him (the Captain") from further duty
even though his enlistment was not up." This effeciently saved
money
for the Admiralty. "Supernumerary" [above the number] means an
extra
person above the
official complement the ship was commissioned to carry without special
authorization. If the Gaspee
had to put several men on board captured vessals, Dudingston probably
got extra money for extra men to be hired. According to Bucklin,
"borne for wages" means the ship was supplied the money from the
Admiralty for this fellow and the ship was responsible to see that he
was paid the wages. Men in the official complement of the ship
are
"borne for wages" in that ship. Thus Edwards was an Able-bodied
Seaman
and was regularily discharged from service. Then he was hired
back on
even though they had a full complement at the time, so he was a
supernumerary for a while before he filed in for some one of the
official complement and became a Able-bodied again. These 'paper'
discharges have been consolidated in presenting the following list of
crewmen. A list of pay and service terms for the Royal Navy from
1913
may be of some help at http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/KR&AI/Certificates.html
For an excellent analysis of life aboard a Royal Navy schooner in the
American colonies at the time, see "Wood, Water, and Beef" by Porter
detailing the travels of the HMS Sultana,
and which is available on-line courtesy of the Schooner Sultana Foundation at :http://www.sultanaprojects.org
According to
testimony of Bart Cheever, "the Master and four men were gone
on duty to Boston with a Vessel which we had seized." on the night of
the attack, which left about 19 men on board on the night of June 9/10,
1772. We have the names of 27 following men who were probably
assigned to the Gaspee in the year 1772. Some may have been on
the detail with Jame Dundas to Boston, and some may have been
discharged or deserted between
the last available entry in January 1772, and the destruction of the Gaspee in
June of that year.
The following list of known crewmembers from the HMS Gaspee is culled from Staples and Robinson:,
the National Archives of
United
Kingdom, Master Pay Records of the Gaspee purchased from the
National Archives (UK), and the Gaspee Virtual Archives website.
They were probably on the boat, the night of the attack,
followed by their approximate age at that time.
Names may be spelt phonetically as many men were
illiterate. The ship's clerks from 1768 on was better than their
predecessor in capturing age and place of birth data. Data from
12Apr1772 to 10June1772 may be
lacking as such records presumably were lost with the ship.
There's no way to
easily track the comings and goings, so here we painstakingly present
the whole list from 1763 on. Click the link to see the reason we went
to this effort: the Gaspee Crew list which gives us the travels of the Gaspee from
1764 on, as well as the complete crew list from the beginning to end of
the Gaspee's history
Joseph
Bowman (46), Appeared 31Jan1768 born in Boston, MA at age
42, Carpenter's Mate, discharged 10June1772 after the burning of the Gaspee (Captn) and, as a rated
crewman, was paid neat
wages equivalent to about 12 pence per day . He was the eldest member
of the crew to have ever served on the Gaspee.
His name appears in
the written statement of Dep. Gov. Sessions,
listing
the crewmen he interviewed about the attack, but what, if anything, he
said is not recorded. See
Staples
p80. The
National
Archives UK
lists a
will of Joseph Bowman, Mariner or Seaman belonging to His Majesty's
Ship
Princess Royal written
in 1746. This may not be the same person, but if it were, Bowman
would've been 20 years old at that time.
Edward Brown
(21), from Orkneys, Scotland (way north in Scotland) appeared
Captain in lieu, 1Dec1771, Able-bodied seaman, discharged at age
10June1772 coincident to when the Gaspee
was burned. (Captn),
and was paid neat wages of 10 pence per day.
William J.
Caple (33),
from Munster, Ireland, appeared March1771 at 32 years as a
supernumary borne for wages, as an able-bodied seaman. No formal
discharge date is listed, and no neat wages are recorded.
Together with John
Johnson, he gave
a joint statement to
Dep. Gov.
Darius Sessions about the attack on the
Gaspee the preceding night. This was later introduced by
Sessions as testimony to the Commission on Inquiry. <See
Staples p19>. The statement
they made that they could not identify any of the attackers ultimately
helped Sessions' task of covering up the identity of any of the
culprits. He was illiterate, as he signed his testimony with an 'X'. No
will is listed as a Mariner or Seaman under that name for that period
in the National Archives UK.
Bartholomew Cheever (36), from Boston. MA,
appeared in June 1768 at the age of 32, His name was mispelt Chivers by
the clerk, but since we know Cheever was illiterate and signed his name
with an 'X', it
was probably spelt phonetically. No formal discharge date is
listed, and he is not recorded as having been paid neat wages.
He was
the sentry on deck watch while the
Gaspee
lay aground, and who first
spotted the approaching boats at the start of the attack. A
sentry would be posted not only to watch for attacks, but also to
prevent other crewmen from deserting the ship (some may have been
pressed seamen). He gave a statement to Dep. Gov. Sessions
about the attack on the
Gaspee the preceding
night <See
Staples
p18>.. This was later introduced by Sessions as
testimony to the Commission on Inquiry. The statement that he
made that he could not identify any of the
attackers ultimately helped Sessions' task of covering up the identity
of any of
the culprits.
Following the attack, he was returned to England and gave testimony on
October 14, 1772 at the court martial of Lt. Dudingston <
Staples p134> for the loss of his
ship. During these court martial hearings, Dudingston claimed
that he sent Cheever along with William Dickinson down to the cabin of
the
Gaspee for the express
intent of their being able to identify some of the
attackers. Cheever and Dickinson were then sent back by the
Admiralty to America in May of 1773 to not only give testimony before
the Commission of Inquiry, but to be available to specifically identify
any suspects brought forth. Cheever's in person testimony of June 1,
1773 appears in <
Staples
p88>. It is interesting that Cheever's testimony is pretty much
devoid of any specific descriptions of any of the attackers, despite
the fact that
John Brown would've been
easy to identify from his large
size alone. He himself did not give any discovered testimony relating
to what he saw, if anything, of those who treated the wounded
Lt. Dudingston in the ship's cabin.
According to the Gaspee Pay List, this
man was born in Boston c1736. We do get a
genalogical
hit on three individuals with this rare name as having been born in
Boston, MA in 1724, 1726, 1750 and 1757. The Bart born in 1726
was described as a housewright and
mariner. Possible, but unconvincing. No will is listed as a Mariner or
Seaman
under that name for that period in the National Archives UK.
Henry
Cosgriff (24), from
Dublin, Ireland, Age 20, appeared
May1768, Able-bodied seaman, discharged 10June1772 at the burning of
the Gaspee. (Captn).
We
assume he got the clap (Oh, My!), as he was charged 0.15.0 to Surgeon's
Mate Barrone for
"venereals" At discharge he was paid neat wages amounting to 10
pence per day served.
William Dickinson (31), Volunteer
from Somerton, England (100 miles West of
London) who appeared 4Jan1770 at the age of 29. He was at first an
able-bodied seaman
until 3August1770, when he was a Boatswain's Mate to 10October1770,
then a Gunner's Mate until 21April1771, then Midshipman. No
formal discharge date is entered, and he was NOT
paid neat wages.
The fact that
he cross-trained in different duties aboard the ship probably indicates
that he was on an officer's track from the beginning. As a
midshipman, Dickinson would likely have been second in
command of the Gaspee on the
night of the attack, since the Master of the vessel had previously been
despatched to Boston.
Following the attack, Dickinson stayed with Dudingston in Pawtuxet for
a couple of days and assisted in his care. He was shortly sent
off by Dudingston to give the Lieutenant's report in writing to Admiral
Montagu in Boston. There, Dickinson gave a sworn statement as to
the event, which was later entered into evidence at the Commission of
Inquiry. This statement relates that Dickinson was ordered by
Dudingston back into his cabin, where he was able to fetch things such
as showing the ships papers to the attackers.
Dickinson was later returned to England and gave testimony on
October 14, 1772 at the court martial of Lt. Dudingston <
Staples
p135>. During these court martial hearings, Dudingston claimed
that
he sent Dickinson along with Bart Cheever down to the cabin of the
Gaspee for the express intent
of their being able to identify some of
the attackers. Dickinson and Cheever were then sent back by the
Admiralty to America in
May of 1773 to not only give testimony before the Commission of
Inquiry, but to be available to specifically identify any suspects
brought forth. He would probably have been able to identify at least
John Brown, Abraham Whipple, John Mawney, and Joseph Bucklin, Jr had he
encountered any of them at the Inquiry. Interestingly, he did
recognize and meet someone who was probably
Joseph
Bucklin, Jr in
Providence upon his return from Boston, but he never got to know his
name. Dickinson's in person testimony of June 1, 1773 appears in
<
Staples
p86-87>. On 15Oct1772 he may have been reassigned to Comm.
Samuel Hood.
There is one candidate for this William Dickinson in the
National Archives (UK)
database
of wills, a William Greham Dickinson, Mariner of
London written in 1770.
Lieutenant William Dudingston
(31),
Captain of the Gaspee see separate complete bio
Timothy Dunavan (25),
(probably Donovan; the Irish tend to pronouce their ŏ as ŭ) Appeared
Feb1766 as a Volunteer, at age 19, from Kinsale, Ireland, Able-bodied
seaman to
17Mar1767 then Gunner's Mate to 28June1768, then Able-bodied seaman to
21April1771,
then Gunner's Mate. He was discharged 10June1772 and was paid neat
wages amounting to 12 pence per day as a rated seaman. He got the clap
(twice), and was
charged 1.10.0 by Surgeon's mate Barrone for 'Venereals'. At the time
of the destruction of the Gaspee,
Tim Dunavan had been with the ship the longest, some six and a quarter
years, and was thus the most experienced with the ship.
James Dundas, appeared
17Apr1769 as Second
Master & Pilot. No discharge Date given, and no pay records
entered.
A warrant officer of the
Gaspee,
probably the master (in charge of seized cargo), and
probably second in command to Dudingston. Dundas was the officer of
the
Gaspee that boarded and
beat up Rufus
Greene in the process of seizing his sloop and its
cargo of rum (see
Staples p67). He was
probably not on board the
Gaspee
the night of its demise, as "the master and four crewmen had been
previously despatched to Boston in connection with a ship they had
seized", possibly Rufus Greene's sloop.
Reported in Staples as Dundass, but
almost certainly spelt Dundas.
There was a Treasurer of the Royal Navy named
Henry
Dundas, a Scotsman, who served, with some scandal, 1782-1800, and
went on to become First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for
the Home Department (Home Secretary), a Viscount, and a Baron. Oh
my! But records
indicate that this fellow would not have been stationed in America in
1772, but then, he may well have been related. Certainly Henry Dundas
was probably guilty of patronage and nepotism, and once source
<http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:Ij5i0N_2RCcJ:www.granta.com/books/chapters/76+Dundas+navy&hl=en>
(Link broken as of 2005) even states that there was a vast and
influential Dundas clan whose
members permeated the navy, military and parliament at the time.
In1775, James Dundas filed a bill with the Admiralty to recoup the cost
of his personal items lost when the
Gaspee
burned (misspelt as
Gaspar).
Given his background, he almost certainly had a thick Scottish accent,
like Dudingston himself.
One possibility is a Captain James Dundas who died in 1811, and who
achieved that rank in 1790 with the Royal Navy. This James Dundas is
not to be confused with Admiral Sir James Dundas who was prominent
member of the Admiralty in the next (19th) Century.
By Googling our man, we find the following snippet at
RootsWeb:
DUNDAS James 4th
mate "Duke of Albany" 1763/4, 1765/6,
2nd Mate "Duke of Albany" 1768/9,
Captain "Prime" 1772/3, appointed 18.8.1772 age 28,1776/7, 1778/9
Captain "Earl Fitz William" 1786/7 and 1789/90
Note the convenient gap in
1769-Aug1772, during which this man could have served on the
Gaspee. According to the
excellent
Navy List database
information
kindly provided by
CH
Donnithorne, James Dundas was given the command of the
sloop-of-war
St. Lucia
22Oct1782 through 23May1783. Note that this also conveniently
fills in a gap in the service records above.
Patrick Earle (28), (aka Paddy
Alis),
pay record lists him at Patrick Earles,
From Cork, Ireland,
first appeared 11Apr1771 at Age 27, supernumary borne for wages,
Able-bodied seaman,
discharged coincident with the attack on the
Gaspee 10June1772, Captn, and was paid neat wages amounting
to 10 pence per day served. On
the night of the
attack, Earle
was placed into a boat along with Aaron Briggs and the wounded Lt.
Dudingston and transported to shore. He was interviewed by Dep Gov.
Sessions the morning after the attack, but his statement at that time
is not recorded by Sessions. After the Gaspee's demise, Earle was sent on
board the HMS Beaver in
Newport. His sworn deposition of July 16, 1772 appears in Staples p34. By January, he had been
transferred to the HMS Lizzard.
His sworn testimony of January 16, 2004 before the Commission of
Inquiry appears in Staples p68. He was
apparently illiterate as he signed his statements with a X. Earle
probably would have been able to identify Rufus
Greene as one of the attacking party had the occasion arose.
Patrick Earle is also mentioned in the deposition of Aaron Briggs, under the nickname and phonetic
mispronunciation of 'Paddy Alis'. A thick Irish accent would have
confused the assumed spelling of the last name. No will is listed as a
Mariner
or Seaman under that name of Patrick Earle (or of Paddy Alis) for that
period in the National Archives UK.
James
Edwards (21),
from Bristol, (England) first appeared 20Mar1771 at age 20
Able-bodied seaman,
supernumary borne for wages, no discharge date given, nor was he paid
neat wages. Records seem to indicate he
was quite
probably a crewmember of the Gaspee
when it was burned in June1772.
Francis
Hussay (21), from Lisbon, first appeared 17Mar1771
at age 20 Able-bodied seaman, deserted
19June1771, but then reappeared July1771, Able-bodied seaman, no
discharge date given, records
style
indicate he was quite possibly a 21 year old crewmember of the Gaspee when it was burned in
June1772. So, these records indicate that he had deserted the ship in
June of 1771, but was recaptured and sent back to the Gaspee a couple of weeks
later. If we're counting crew members on board in June of 1772,
we doubt this one. He was not paid neat wages, nor formally
discharged from the ship on June 10, 1772. No mention is made of
him in any narratives after the burning of the Gaspee. Given his past
history, he more probably jumped ship between January and June of 1772.
John Johnson,
appeared 21May1767 from Gottenberg,
Sweden, Able-bodied seaman to 1Oct1770, then Boatswain's Mate, and was
NOT paid neat
wages.
Together with William J. Caple gave
joint
statement to Dep. Gov.
Sessions about the attack on the
Gaspee
the preceding night. This was
later introduced by Sessions as testimony to the Commission on
Inquiry. <See
Staples
p19>. The statement that they made that they could not
identify any of the
attackers ultimately helped Sessions' task of covering up the identity
of any of
the culprits. He apparently suffered a couple of blows in the
fight to control the
Gaspee,
but was not severely injured. He is later found on the
HMS Lizzard along with Patrick
Earle. A boatswain (pronounced bō'-sŭn) is the petty officer on
deck in charge of the crew and rigging of the ship. After the
attack on the
Gaspee, Johnson
and some other crewmen attended the court martial of Lieutenant
Dudingston in Portsmouth, England on October 14th, 1772 (
Staples, p134). He was
illiterate, as he signed his testimony with an X.
National Archives UK
lists 26
different wills made out during that general time period by John
Johnson, mariner or seaman, a common name. But one likely candidate is
the 1776 will of John Johnson, late of the the HM Schooner
Halifax (a sister ship of the
Gaspee), as well as the HMS
Mercury.
Interestingly, we have from the Pay
Lists of the Gaspee
another previous entry for a John Johnson who appeared as a Volunteer,
no less,
June1765, Able-bodied, deserted 23Sept1765, SB 96. Probably not be the
same guy, as this last one deserted. Unfortunately, the ship's clerk
prior to 1768 tended to not
capture much age or place of birth information.
John Keaton
(25), from Cork, Ireland, appeared at age 23 on 31Mar1770 in
lieu, Captn, transferred over from the HMS Mermaid, as an able-bodied seaman.
He was discharged on 10June1772 coincident with the burning of the Gaspee, and was paid neat
wages.equivalent to 10 pence per day.
Richard
Kent (22), from Cornwall, Devonshire, first appeared
17Mar1771 at age 21,
supernumary borne for wages, Able-bodied seaman, no
discharge date
given, and he was not paid neat wages. He got the clap, and was charged
0.15.0 by
Surgeon's Mate Watson for 'Venereals". No record of him is found
in any references to the burning of the Gaspee. We suspect he may have
jumped ship between January and June of 1772, but records style
indicate he was quite possibly a crewmember
of the Gaspee when it was
burned in June1772.
Robert Lane
(27),
from London, Appeared 15Dec1768 at Age 23, Able-bodied seaman to
9Jan1772, then Clerk.
No
discharge date given and was NOT paid neat wages. No record of
him is found in any references to the burning of the Gaspee. Records style
indicate that he was quite
probably on the Gaspee on
June 1772, but we don't
know for sure. He may have jumped ship
Robert Masters
(25),
from London, appeared March1770 at age 23, Able-bodied seaman,
discharged at age 25
on
10Jun1772, Captn, coincident with the burning of the Gaspee, and was paid neat
wages of 10 pence per day.
Peter May (25), from
London, England, appeared 9Jan1772 at 25 , Able-bodied seaman,
discharged
10June1772 coincident with the burning of the Gaspee. Captn, and was
paid neat wages, but at only 8 pence a day, which is less than the 10
pence per day (before deductions) usually received by an able-bodied
seaman. Perhaps, the first six months were probationary at a lower
rate..
It appears that Peter May was the last regularly-assigned crew member
to join the Gaspee, at least that we have records of. Later
records
may have been destroyed with the fire that consumed her in June of
1772.
May's testimony of January 19, 1773
before the
Commission of Inquiry is found in
Staples
p76. May had previously come across
Rufus
Greene back in late
February 1772, when the crew of the
Gaspee
boarded and seized Green's sloop and its cargo of rum. He saw
Greene again in the cabin of the Gaspee after the attack on June 10th,
and was able to identify him as a Greene, but did not know his first
name so that no specific identification of him was able to be made by
the Commission of Inquiry.
National
Archives UK lists a 1786 will of a Peter May, Mariner of the HMS
Worcester.
John Montgomery
(22),
from Londonderry, Ireland, Appeared Volunteer in lieu 5Mar1771at Age
21, Able-bodied seaman, no
discharge date given, and he was not paid neat wages from the
ship. No record of him is found in any references to the burning
of the Gaspee. The records
style indicate
that he might have been a crewmember when the Gaspee
was burned, but we more likely suspect he may have jumped ship between
January and June of 1772.
Thomas Parr (24), from
Lancaster, England, first appeared 20Mar1771 at age
23 supernumary borne
for wages, Able-bodied seaman, no discharge date given, and he was not
paid neat wages from the ship. After the attack on
the Gaspee, then 24 year old
Parr and
some other crewmen
attended
the court martial of Lieutenant Dudingston in Portsmouth, England on
October 14th, 1772 (Staples,
p134). He apparently was not actually called to give
testimony, as none is recorded other than his presence. No will is
listed as a mariner under that name for that period in the National
Archives UK.
Patrick Phalen
(23),
from Cork, Ireland appeared 10Nov1771 at age 22 , Able-bodied seaman,
no discharge date
given, and he was not paid neat wages from the ship. His records
style indicate that
he was still a 23 year old crewmember when the Gaspee was burned. He was
probably
one
of the crew that was interviewed by Dep.
Gov. Darius Sessions on the morning after the attack (Staples p80), but under the
mispronounced, misspelt or
mistranscribed name of Patrick Whaler, there being no one by that name
in the Gaspee pay lists. A thick Irish brogue would easily have
confused Sessions. No transciption of what he might have said was
recorded.
John Phillips,
appeared 17Nov1771, Acting Surgeon's Mate, no discharge date given, and
we suspect that his records style indicate that
he was possibly still a crewmember when the Gaspee
was burned. Surgeon's Mates did not get their demographics or their pay
records entered into the logbook. Unlike the three previous Surgeon's
Mates, he was not credited for treating any of the crew for venereal
disease. He was not called on to render medical assitance to the
wounded Lt. Dudingston on the night of the attack, so perhaps he had
been discharged prior to June 10th, or maybe he was part of James
Dundas'
detachment that was travelling to Boston during that time.
Edward Pullibeck (22)
from Modbury, Devonshire, appeared
8Jan1770, age 20, entered as misspelt Edward
Pullibank as an able-bodied seaman. He was not formally discharged from
the ship, nor was he paid any neat wages. After the attack on the
Gaspee, Pullibeck and some
other
crewmen attended
the court martial of Lieutenant Dudingston in Portsmouth, England on
October 14th, 1772 (Staples,
p134). He was not actually called to give testimony. No will is
listed as a Mariner or Seaman under that name for that period in the
National Archives UK.
Patrick Reynolds (21),
from Londonderry, Ireland, first appeared 26Mar1771 at age
20,
supernumary borne for wages, Able bodied seaman. He was not formally
discharged from the ship, nor was he paid any neat wages. He got the
clap, and was charged 0.15.0 by
Surgeon's
mate Watson for 'Venereals". He was
one of the crew that was interviewed by
Dep.Gov. Darius Sessions on the morning after the attack (Staples p80). No will is listed as
a Mariner or Seaman under that name for that period in the National
Archives UK.
Charles Short
(24), from Falmouth, MA appeared 13Dec1771
at age 23, Ab, no discharge date
given, and he was not paid neat wages from the ship. We suspect
that his records style indicate that
he was still a crewmember when the Gaspee
was burned. But we suspect moreso that he may have jumped ship between
January and June
of 1772.
Thomas Totten
(21),
from Belfast, Ireland, Appeared July1771 at Age 20, Able bodied seaman
discharged 10June1772 coincident with the burning of the Gaspee. Captn, and
was paid neat wages amounting to 12 pence per day, which is a higher
rate than the 10 pence per day usually given to a non-rated able-bodied
seaman..
A
select few past
crewmembers of the Gaspee,
not assigned to the Gaspee in
June of 1772. See the Excel spreadsheet of all Gaspee crewmembers from
1764-1772
Lieutenant Thomas Allen, Lieutenant & Commander, the
original captain of the Gaspee
from her commissioning in
December 1763 as a sloop to September 1768 when it was recommissioned
as a
schooner and command transferred to Dudingston on 12Sept1768. We also
know that
Rhode Island
Governor Joseph Wanton
was familiar with the ship and with Captain Thomas Allen as her
commander
proceeding Dudingston, so the Gaspee must've sailed in the
vicinity
of Newport, RI on two previous occasions in 1765 and 1767. (See Gaspee Prior to 1772). Was not
assigned to the Gaspee during
the time of the attack.
The
National Archives UK
lists several wills of Thomas Allen including HM Hospital Ship
Sutherland (1751), HMS
Preston (1759), His Majesty's
Tender
Industry (1759), and
HM Sloop
Swallow
(1769). This is probably our guy, but the name is a common one.
Such wills were likely made out and filed whenever a seaman was
assigned to a new ship. According to the excellent
Navy List
database information kindly provided by
CH
Donnithorne, there were two Thomas Allens in the Royal Navy at this
time with almost identical dates of seniority as Lieutenants.
Mr. (Sylvanus) Daggett, Rhode Islander, at one time a pilot
of the Gaspee.
The
attackers wanted to take revenge upon him for working for the British.
It is curious that the harbor pilot for the Gaspee
was conveniently not aboard that day, as he had been discharged six
weeks
earlier (see Staples,
p 23) and transferred to the HMS
Beaver.
He was
referred to
by William Dickinson as Doget (Staples,
p22), and the original family name spelling was Doggett until the 18th
century. In Bartlett, p 24 the
following is quoted from the Providence
Gazette of June 13, 1772:
"We hear that one Daggett,
belonging to the Vineyard, who had served the aforementioned
schooner, as a pilot, but at the time of her being destroyed, was
on board the Beaver sloop of war, on going ashore a few days since, at
Narragansett, to a sheep-shearing, was seized by the company, who cut
off his hair, and performed to him the operation of shearing, in such a
manner, that his ears and nose were in imminent danger."
It turns out, in
The History of Martha's Vineyard
by Dr. Charles Banks:
Volume III Family
Genealogies: pp.126-145, that the Daggett family
went on to a long history of pilotage service. And we have this
standout candidate to be our culprit:
SYLVANUS DAGGETT,
(Samuel,4 Thomas,3-2 Johnl ),
date of birth unknown; res. E., mariner; rem. to Newport, R. I. abt.
1738
and Providence abt. 1741, but ret. to the Vineyard and d. in T. 2 June
1773.
He m. ALICE STEWART 2 May 1756, who was prob. dau. of Joseph and Mary
(_____)
Stewart of Chatham, b. 19 Feb. 1729 and d. 20 Nov. 1817.
SOLOMON,6 soldier in Revolution;
lost in brig "General Arnold" 1778.
SYLVANUS, lost in brig "General Arnold" 1778.
TIMOTHY, lost in brig "General Arnold" 1778.
SAMUEL, mariner, lost at sea.
MICHAEL, b. 14 Nov. 1770.
FREEMAN, b. 1772.
HEPZIBAH.
Perhaps Dagget's shearing made him
consider retirement in 1773, soon
after the Gaspee Affair. The fact that Daggett acted as a pilot
for the British in no way implicates him as a Tory. In fact, most of
the Daggett family did seem to serve on the American side during the
Revolution.
William Gleeson, (or Gluson)
in "Mariner belonging to His Majesty's Sloop
Gaspee" dated 1768 according to the wills database at National Archives UK.
Appeared Sept1765, Ab, Discharged Dead, died 25Feb1767 in New York.
David Hay, reportedly
helped Dudingston seize a fisherman in
Chesapeake Bay in 1769. (See Gaspee
prior to 1772). We have no other evidence that he was
actually assigned to the Gaspee
in 1772. In the National
Archives UK there is the will of David Hay of the HMS Lancaster dated 1760, as well as
the will of David Hay, Mariner of Tenby, Pembrokeshire dated 1821.
John Hay, "Seaman belonging to
His Majesty's Schooner Gaspee" dated February 1773 according to
the wills database at National
Archives UK. The Gaspee
he refers to was probably the schooner that had previously met its
demise in Rhode Island. The subsequently named Gaspee brig was not in service
until later in 1773. He appeared 5Oct1768 age21, born in New York,
Able-bodied seaman, discharged dead at
Sea.
James Huxland, Appeared
July
1764, Able-bodied seaman, deserted 1Dec1764 to Liverpool. We
seriously doubt
that the Gaspee made a
trans-Atlantic journey to Liverpool. While the remaining
schooners, such as the Sultana,
were sailed back to England prior to
the Revolution to be sold off, these small ships weren't designed for
the voyage. Besides, there wasn't likely time between then and
the Gaspee's next appearance in Casco Bay, ME that same month. This
probably indicates that either he was from Liverpool, or that they knew
he'd jumped over to a ship headed for Liverpool.
John Jones, Appeared 26
July1764, Volunteer, Able-bodied seaman, deserted
12Dec1764 in Casco Bay. Another later entry was John Jones from
Halifax, who appeared 13Sept1768, listed beneath and coincident with
Lt. Dudingston as "his St. (servant?). No discharge date
given. This may or may not be the same guy as before; it's a
common enough name.
Thomas Kirby, "Seaman belonging to His Majesty's
Schooner
Gaspee" dated January 1771 according to the wills database at National Archives UK.
Good
thing, too, that he filed his will. According to Gaspee pay
records he drowned 9Oct1770
(it would've taken three months for his will to be received by the
Admiralty back in England). He appeared as misspelt Thomas Kirbey
22Sept1768 as a Volunteer from New York at age 20, Able-bodied to
2Sept1769,
then Midshipman. to 27Mar1770, then Able bodied seaman, discharged dead.
Jonathan Newell, born in Smithfield, RI, Assigned
Able-bodied seaman 14May1764
to 25Jul1764, then gunner's mate until 11Dec1765, then Midshipman to
2Sept1769, then Able-bodied, then discharged 31December1767
William Pettigrue, (or
Pettigrew) appeared
1Nov1769, Surgeon's Mate, discharged 17April1770 Superceded by
request To contact a researcher on this person send e-mail to:
Madeleine Boivin [madeleine.boivin@sympatico.ca]
He was apparently the father of the surgeon to Queen Victoria.
John Smith, "otherwise Dougherty,
Seaman of His Majesty's
Schooner Gaspee" dated January 1772 according to the wills database at National Archives UK.
There is
a John Smith in the Gaspee
pay lists, that appeared July 1764 from Londonderry, Ireland, at age
21, Able-bodied seaman, died 18Jan1771 at Wilmington, Delaware. Had his
pay
docked for 'venereals" .
John Walcot, Clerk, 1764-1765, then Midshipman to Dec1765,
then Able-bodied seaman, discharged Feb1767 and was paid neat wages of
about 13 pence per day. He was one
of its
earliest crewmembers, coming aboard in Feb1764. In 1765 his last will
and
testimony was entered in New York, naming his wife Mary Walcot, of New
York, as heir. (See Gaspee prior to
1772). No previous
will is listed as a Mariner or Seaman under that name for that period
in the National Archives UK.
That's all the evidence we have for now folks. If you
know more, please e-mail us at webmaster@gaspee.org.
Thanks!
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Originally
Posted
to Gaspee Virtual Archives 11/2004 Last Revised
3/2005 GaspeeCrewmen.html