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tgar
New on board
France
2 Posts |
 Posted - 30/10/2014 : 21:47:02
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Hi there!
I'm new to this so I hope I'm in the right place. I'm looking for information on the above ship which sailed from Le Havre to New York in early 1851 under a Captain March/Marsh.
From information on this site, I believe it to have been the schooner of that name, built in 1840 and owned by Fried, Otto & Son. I would like to find out more about this ship.
I am transcribing the memoirs of one of the emigrants who was on board, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Baptiste Arthaud.
Does anyone know if a picture exists of this ship? Where to find it? Failing that, a picture of the type of ship would be a help. I've seen different sorts of schooner and have no idea which it resembles!
Can anyone help?
tgar |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9216 Posts |
Posted - 30/10/2014 : 21:55:32
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There may be more than one ship named Helevtia. Here is one named Helvetia listed on Ancestry.com. Image of this ship is also on the Ancestry.com site. This ship seems to be the same one listed on the Norway Heritage web site. This ship was probably built after the voyage that you reference. Anyway here is a link.
http://www.norwayheritage.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=&text=helvetia&imageid=130&box=&shownew=
Passenger Ships and Images
Ship Name: Helvetia
Years in service: 1864-1894
Funnels: 1
Masts: 3
Shipping line: National
Ship description: Built by Palmer's Shipbuilding & Iron Co., Newcastle, England. Tonnage: 3,325. Dimensions: 371' x 41'. Single-screw, 10 knots. Inverted engines. Three masts and one funnel. Compound engines in 1874. Speed increased to 12 knots. Lengthened to 419 feet (4,588 tons) in 1877.
History: Vessel sold to France in 1893. Abandoned off Cape Finisterre in April 1894, while on way to shipbreakers yard. Sister ship: Erin. |
Edited by - AntonH on 30/10/2014 22:13:46 |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9216 Posts |
Posted - 30/10/2014 : 22:03:11
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Ancestry also has a list of the passengers arriving on the ship Helvetia in 1851. There was a total of 917 passengers arriving in 21 March, 5 July and 11 October. A quick look did not turn up the name Jean Baptiste Arthaud. Do you have his birth year?
Unfortunately there is not a Shps Image attached to this particular Passenger List.
All New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 Results |
Edited by - AntonH on 30/10/2014 22:09:48 |
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jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 00:02:41
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This must be the Helvetia you are looking for.
The sailing ship HELVETIA was built by James and George Titcomb, Kennebunk Landing, Maine (USA), in 1850, and was registered at New York on 10 December 1850. 971/1205 tons (old/new measurement); 169 feet 1 inch x 35 feet 4 inches x 17 feet 8 inches (length x beam x depth of hold); 3 decks; draft 18 feet. From 1851 to 1864, the HELVETIA sailed in the Whitlock (later Union) Line of New York-Havre sailing packets; during this period her westbound passages averaged 36 days, her shortest being 28 days her longest 53 days. After arriving in New York the HELVETIA usually sailed to New Orleans for a cargo of cotton, which she carried back to Havre.
It was a 3-masted square-rigged sailing ship, so it should look like something like this:
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Edited by - jwiborg on 31/10/2014 18:42:20 |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 00:39:56
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Brilliant. This ship Helvetia built by James and George Titcomb in 1850 is mentioned in a Rootsweb post inquiring about an 1853 voyage. The captain at that time was captain Marsh, according to the discussion. Per jwiborg's post the captain was G. Williams by 1854 (double check me on that).
Also found Captain B. F. Marsh mentioned in an online bio of Henry Hotchkiss Townsend (simple Google search). Townsend "became third mate on the Helvetia, commanded by Captain B. F. Marsh of Whitlock's New York and Havre Union Line of packet ships."
Two free websites offer newspapers that may mention ship arrivals: chronicling America (Library of Congress) and Old Fulton Postcards. |
Edited by - JaneC on 31/10/2014 00:57:47 |
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David Yaw
Medium member
United Kingdom
128 Posts |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 15:40:58
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| In another, earlier forum (which sent tgar here) says the Helvetia left LeHavre 28 Jan 1851, stopped at Dover, and arrived New York 21 March 1851. |
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tgar
New on board
France
2 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 17:00:05
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This is brilliant! Thanks to you all for taking such an interest.
lyndal40 - He was born in 1822 and was a miller. I've seen those lists and they're pretty nearly illegible. Or maybe someone didn't write down his name correctly or he even gave a wrong name. I don't know if he maybe mistook the year? The dates JaneC found are the ones he gives in his memoirs... He mentions the voyage took 52 days.
jwiborg - you're a star! this is what I'm after. Where did you find the picture? Would I be able to use it as an illustration in a book, as we're hoping to publish a limited edition book for the other family members?
JaneC - will try those websites... I use the first but never thought about ship arrivals! thanks.
David Yaw - thanks for the interest, but that's not my Jean Baptiste... he wasn't married and had no kids. In fact, his heirs were his nephews and nieces in France. There was a lawsuit in the US after he died (1894) about his estate and it went on for years and years!
Thanks again to you all. |
Edited by - tgar on 31/10/2014 17:08:17 |
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jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 18:38:06
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The oil-painting depicts the sailing ship Olbers, built in 1851 by Johann Lange, Bremen, Germany. It is a 3-masted square-rigged sailing ship; thus similar to the Helvetia.
The picture was found here, but many sites have the same picture.
The Focke-Museum in Bremen have the original.
http://haygenealogy.com/dankenbring/ships/wdankenbring1859.html |
Edited by - jwiborg on 31/10/2014 18:38:26 |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9216 Posts |
Posted - 31/10/2014 : 22:28:58
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quote:
I've seen those lists and they're pretty nearly illegible
Yes that is a good description of the lists. It might be of some interest to you, that on page 409 {page 1} of the manifest the person swearing to the accuracy of the manifest is listed as B. F. Marsh. And a few lines down he is listed as B. F. Marsh master from Havre.
The manifest is only three pages long, and contains 18 passengers who are identified as miller. Most pasengers are identified as farmer. There are a total of 145 passengers on the ship, 140 of them male. It is not difficult to look at every passenger on the list, either the transcribed list or even the original manifest. Howeverdoing that, did not turn up a name that one could assign to your man. |
Edited by - AntonH on 31/10/2014 22:52:39 |
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Helvetia
