Dead Men's Tales (3) James Kirkpatrick
As with my earlier posts in this series, the research into a single sailor who died in unusual circumstances in 1859 has drawn me into a rabbit warren of other intriguing individuals and historical events about which I had previously known nothing. For me it’s never time-wasting, but a wonderful cornucopia of discovery and education.
This time, I’ve delved into the background of one of Africa’s first black bishops, a Liverpool shipowner who was against the slave trade, an Irish captain who started a navigation school in San Francisco, a British colonial administrator who became governor of the Leeward Islands and Newfoundland and, not least, a fair amount of the British Empire’s mid-19th Century gunboat diplomacy. (1)
Back to my sailor who had the not uncommon name of James Kirkpatrick. As he died in 1859 and without his age, home address (possibly Liverpool) or easy access to the log book of the vessel in which he served or other shipping company personnel or consulate records of the time, there is no way of tracking him down beyond doubt in the family history websites. (2)
In the UK Register of Deceased Seamen’s Wages and Effects, James Kirkpatrick’s cause of death on 11 November 1859 was “shot by the natives Nr. Niger 11/11/59”. His effects and wages were “sent home by the Consul [indistinct] to Father”, with “L’pool” given as home address. He was due a substantial £31.14s.8d. in wages that were “paid to Consul at Fernando Po”.
The steel screw-steamer Rainbow, 160 tons, had been built at Birkenhead by Liverpool shipowner Macgregor Laird in 1858 specifically for exploring the Niger River and also as a deterrent to the abhorrent slave trade that still lurked in the backwaters of West Africa. (3)
Several newspaper reports at the time describe it as: the first vessel of any size built of steel plates which, on this occasion, were made by Mr. W. Clay, of Mersey Steel and Iron Works. The engine and boilers, like the ship, were made of Mr. Clay's steel plates.
Two other vessels built by Laird associated with exploration and the Christianisation of West Africa earlier in this period were the Sunbeam and the Dayspring and used by the Wesleyan Methodists in their missionary endeavours to the Africans of the region. (4)
An image of Rainbow is currently for sale at Antique Maps and Prints here.
Fitzpatrick probably signed on in Liverpool around the time the Rainbow sailed on 27 May 1859. The fact that his effects and wages were sent home to his father makes it likely that he was unmarried and quite young. Perhaps it was even his first voyage. No newspaper reports actually naming him or giving more details of his death can be found but given the class attitudes of the day towards working classes that would include sailors it is not surprising.
It seems Kirkpatrick was just unlucky in a random attack on the vessel. In this 1932 article in the Journal of African Society, H. Goldsmith writes:
“The
steamer Dayspring was the next to enter the river Niger, towing a sailing
vessel to Lokoja (known then as Laird's Town). The Dayspring was lost, with a
cargo of shea butter on board, in attempting to force the rapids above Jebba,
and the wreck is there to this day.
In 1858 Laird sent out another steamer, the
Sunbeam, which brought down the crew of the Dayspring, and in 1859 the steamers
Sunbeam and Rainbow entered the river and cargoes were exchanged for produce to
the value of some 8,ooo [pounds].
The Chiefs of the Delta viewed these frequent voyages
as an encroachment on their privileges, as they had been accustomed to levy
heavy exactions on all goods passing up and down the river.
In 1859 Laird's
steamers were fired upon and some of the crew were killed. Upon representation
the Admiralty promised protection, but when the gunboat arrived she was unable
to reach the hostile villages owing to her draft.”
Other reports suggest that some of the local tribes were against both British explorers and Christian missionaries who had disturbed the very lucrative slave trade that they were loathe to give up.
 |
| Wreck of the Dayspring at Rabbah/Jebba (4)(5) |
Surprisingly, in all the available literature and reports on this particular Expedition there is very little on what actually happened on the Rainbow itself, save for a few lines in a couple of obscure books by or about some of the leading figures, including William Balfour Baikie and Rev. Samuel Crowther.
In one, brief mention is given to Rev. Crowther meeting with a Lieut. Glover and a Capt. McNevin and having breakfast on board the vessel. Elsewhere, there is a comment that the Captain of Rainbow was an I. B. Walker. Two of these individuals turned out to be the Royal Navy’s John Hawley Glover and, although I have been unable to verify it 100%, the Captain was likely to have been the same Edmond d'Arcy McNevin as in this obituary and who may have been recruited for the Niger from the merchant marine service due to his skills in navigation. (Research into I. [Isaac?] B. Walker is ongoing. See Notes below.)
In one, brief mention is given to Rev. Crowther meeting with a Lieut. Glover and a Capt. McNevin and having breakfast on board the vessel. Elsewhere, there is a comment that the Captain of Rainbow was an I. B. Walker. Two of these individuals turned out to be the Royal Navy’s John Hawley Glover and, although I have been unable to verify it 100%, the Captain was likely to have been the same Edmond d'Arcy McNevin as in this obituary and who may have been recruited for the Niger from the merchant marine service due to his skills in navigation. (Research into I. [Isaac?] B. Walker is ongoing. See Notes below.)
In the book “Samuel Crowther: the slave boy who became Bishop of the Niger” by Jesse Page this is all that was written about the death of James Kirkpatrick and one other crew member whose name does not appear in the Register and may have been a locally recruited man.
“From Kabbah [possibly meaning either Rabbah or Jedda], where he [Crowther] had laboured so hard to prepare the way for a mission establishment, there came bad news during that year. The Rainbow passing up the river was informed by Dr Baikie that the place was no longer open to Christian work, and as a proof of the hostility of the natives, the ship on its return journey was attacked, and two of its crew lost their lives.”
See note (6) below for yet another angle to this story. Either way, it is disappointing that neither of these men were thought important enough to be named or to even get a mention in news reports. It is presumed their bodies were buried ashore in unmarked graves rather than being dumped in the river. Just two more casualties among the thousands who would have braved the hazards of exploration and expansion during the heady days of the British Empire.
If anyone reading this can shed any further light on James Kirkpatrick and/or his family, I would love to hear from you.
Notes:
(1) Also, in the process I stumbled over an outrageous, dodgy Hungarian count who became notorious in the courts of America and boasted fantastical connections to South Pacific cannibals! He is worthy of much more investigation and I will post his story to my general history blog anon.
(2) Some information on merchant ships’ crews is searchable in family history websites and online archives from 1861 onwards. However, most of the earlier records are undigitized and held in the UK in places like the National Archives which would require personal visits to examine in detail.
(3) Not to be confused with the 1837 paddle-wheeler or any of the Royal Navy vessels of the same name.
(4) Spellings of this place vary widely in the reports and also have changed over the years. Rabbah is now Jebba.
(5) It is slightly unfortunate that another steel but much smaller vessel the Ma Robert was built for David Livingstone and the Zambezi Expedition around the same time and it is that one that received a great deal of publicity and of which many images can be found.
(6) Finally - a letter reproduced in the Illustrated London News from a doctor on board a vessel sent to help Dr Baikie in 1862 provides the most comprehensive account of the 1859 attack on the two Laird ships, with an intriguing comment that an unnamed nephew of Captain Walker was one of the men killed. Could he have been James Kirkpatrick?
References in these books
Samuel Crowther: the slave boy who became Bishop of the Niger
The Gospel on the Banks of the Niger
Voyage of the Dayspring, John Hawley Glover
Images, Newspaper Reports and Academic Resources
Images, Newspaper Reports and Academic Resources
Journal of African Society, Oxford Journals
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