# The Columbian out of Liverpool 1843



## Aries588 (Mar 7, 2016)

Hello,

I'm looking for a crew listing for the Columbian in 1843. An ancestor of mine was a master mariner, and there is a listing that he was on a voyage on the Columbian in May 1843. I saw a newspaper article that the Columbian sank in the fall of 1843 on its way to Sydney.

Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.
(==D)


----------



## wightspirit (Feb 15, 2008)

Probably your only chance of finding what you want is in the UK National Archives, providing your ship - Columbian - was a British vessel registered in Liverpool. I can find one such vessel in LLoyd's Register so you may be in luck. The UK National Archives reference which should have crew agreements and logs for Columbian is BT98/342. It will be in a bundle of other Liverpool registered ships which commence with the letters CO-D. 

Dave W


----------



## R58484956 (Apr 19, 2004)

Greetings *Aries588* and welcome to* SN*. Bon voyage.


----------



## Aries588 (Mar 7, 2016)

wightspirit said:


> Probably your only chance of finding what you want is in the UK National Archives, providing your ship - Columbian - was a British vessel registered in Liverpool. I can find one such vessel in LLoyd's Register so you may be in luck. The UK National Archives reference which should have crew agreements and logs for Columbian is BT98/342. It will be in a bundle of other Liverpool registered ships which commence with the letters CO-D.
> 
> Dave W


Thank you!


----------



## Roger Griffiths (Feb 10, 2006)

Hello,
Looked at Lloyd's Register for the period 1837 to 1845/46
COLUMBIAN had three masters recorded in these years Tomkins, Wakham, Bissitt. 
Ring any bells.

regards
Roger


----------



## bswift (Apr 3, 2012)

There was a report of a steamer called Columbian belonging to the North American Steam Company lost in the Bay of Fundy in July 1843, crew all saved. Is this the ship you are interested in? I don't believe that this was a British registered vessel, but others might correct me.

There was also a British barque called Columbian which was lost in 1845 on a passage between Australia and Singapore. The crew and passengers were all saved. This is the vessel vessel mentioned by Roger Griffiths in the previous post.

The barque Columbian left Sydney on 28 Jan 1843 under command of Captain Wakem (as spelt in the Australian papers though I believe Wakeham to be the correct spelling) with a cargo of wool and 3 passengers, and arrived in the Mersey on 18th May. She left Liverpool in about August and arrived back in Sydney in late Dec or very early Jan 1844 (I can't see an exact date), again under Captain Wakem/Wakham).

Does that shed any light??

Bill Swift


----------



## Aries588 (Mar 7, 2016)

Yes, this helps a great deal. The ancestor I'm trying to find died in the early 1840's and he was a master mariner. Since there are no records indicating he died "on land", I'm trying to find out if he died at sea. I'm tracking mariners with his name, and that's where the link up to the Columbian came from. If everyone on these two Columbians survived, then I don't think it's the right guy and ship. Thanks so much for your reply.

I definitely need a trip to UK National Archives!! It's at the top of my To-Do as soon as I get retired!


----------



## bswift (Apr 3, 2012)

Assuming that your lost ancestor was British, and if you have not already done so, it is worth searching the registers of deaths at sea. If you don't have access to such a database through Ancestry or Find my Past, if you want to give me what you know about him, I'll have a look for you.

Bill


----------



## Aries588 (Mar 7, 2016)

Thank you so much for your kind offer, but I think it may require too much work beyond a lookup. Since I do not know my ancestor's birth date or place, and I only have a range for date of death, I'm afraid looking for him in seamen's records is going to take a stroke of luck where his wife or children are mentioned in the record. Otherwise, I'll never know if I have the "right" one. His name was Andrew Malcolm. He lived in Liverpool. Wife Esther (last name unknown). First child, John, chrs 17 Aug 1831. Last child, Adam, b 17 Sep 1844. Wife Esther listed as widowed on 1851 census. That's all I know other than he was listed as a "Master Mariner" on some of his children's christening records.


----------

