A Perfect Hurrican' in the North Sea 1836

 

Shipwrecks were a daily occurrence in the nineteenth century, quite literally so. Wikipedia carries “dynamic” day-by-day lists which even now are being added to as new discoveries are made. For the month of November 1836 it currently records the wreck of over 170 vessels flying the Red Ensign that signified them as part of the British merchant fleet. The list does not include the Perseverance mentioned in the letter below. Over thirty of those 170 were lost on the 29^th and 30^th November around the southern coast of England and in the North Sea indicating that the bad weather described in this letter from Hamburg as a “hurrican” was widespread. In southern England the gale uprooted trees and damaged roofs rather as it did in 1987.

Steamships did not immediately replace sailing ships. Early steamships also had sails but they were always built of iron rather than wood. Shipyards were more or less continuously busy building new ships for ever-expanding trade (including domestic coastal trade) as well as replacements for wrecked or decommissioned vessels. The two-sailed brig Apame (spelt Apami in the letter) was a small merchant vessel of wooden construction built in Dundee in 1832-33 according to the comprehensive Lloyd’s Register of merchant shipping. 

The brig’s captain, William Anderson, is the author of a note copied into the 1836 letter below and sent from Hamburg “by Hull steamer”, a common endorsement at this period; it would have completed its journey to Dundee by land. The recipient was a Dundee merchant, Allan Edward (1811-1874), who was not quite self-made but who grew a small business rapidly in the 1830s to the extent that he commissioned his own ships from the city’s dockyards.  He imported a wide range of commodities but concentrated on flax from northern Europe and later jute from India both of which fed into Dundee’s specialised textile industry producing linen and other coarse textiles such as hessian, sacking, sailcloth, backing for carpets and linoleum. Whale oil was needed for processing raw jute fibre and Dundee, on the east coast of Scotland north of Edinburgh, was also a whaling port sending ships across to the north west coast of Canada and into arctic seas where they were sometimes caught in pack ice. As a result, sailors might end up taking refuge with Inuit families, leaving behind them babies and Scottish fiddles; fiddle playing is still part of Inuit culture.

On the death of his brothers Allan Edward took over their spinning factory and finally added a bleachers to his portfolio. He remained in Dundee for his entire life and possessed that Victorian civic pride which in his case yielded an 1863 donation of £200 towards the founding of the Dundee Museum and Art Gallery, equivalent to about £20 000 today.

This letter was written by Mr Bayans of the small shipping agent Bayans & Lübcke. The way he capitalises nouns and a few turns of phrase suggest that he is German-speaking; but his English is very proficient. The “Mr Clark” of Dundee referred to at the end of the letter was George Clark, registered at Lloyd’s as the original owner of the Apame.

Entrance to the Port of Dundee 1840. Click to Enlarge

Transcription

Addressed to: Allan Edward Esqr Dundee sent from Hamburg and endorsed by Hull Steamer postmarked Hamburg Schiffsbrief [Ship Letter] 1 Dec 1836

Datelined: a letter written by Captain Anderson at Stade (just outside Hamburg) dated 30^th Novbr 1836 has been copied into the body of this letter to which has been added undated commentary by the shipping agent Bayans & Lübcke Hamburg; one page of the letter is missing and probably included cargo or financial details.

Dundee docketing note:  1836 Bayans & Lübcke Hamburg 30 novr. Recd 13 Decr

Continuation of first page which is missing:

….  the shore but still we were terrible anxious to hear from Captn Anderson, as several other Vessels that were close to us at Nienstädten went all on shore, we made every enquiries about the Apami but could not learn anything, we were very happy when received a Letter from Captn Anderson of which we hand you a copy as follows:

Stade 30^th Novbr 1836

[To] Messrs Bayans & Lübcke

Gentlemen

Trusting this will find you safe arrived at Hamburg after all our difficulties with us, it been a perfect hurrican I was obliged to let go second Anchor, today it is quite moderate and every appearance of S.E. wind which I hope earnestly will be the case, however I have received all my Cargo on board and will have everything ready by tomorrow morning, last night there was a vessel riding at Crutsand [Krautsand]during the Gale drove from her Anchors to dike on the north side, another vessel riding at Fryburg [Freiburg] drove to the other side and is full of water. Both the vessels is Brigs but do not know what colour they are under. I am Gentleman Yours truly Wm Anderson

P.S. Trusting Mrs Bayans will forgive me for detaining you so long W.A.

Comment added:

We may say the Apami is the only vessel that received no Damage as every other vessel is this & Altona harbour & likewise every vessel that was laying at Anchor in the River [Elbe] received considerable damage, a good many are on shore. The Perseverance [commanded by] Captain Pain is sunk, 7 hands & the pilot drowned, the Master & 3 more are safed they were 11 hours hanging in the Riggings. We shall as soon as we secure the Order from Capt A. that he is gone to Sea send you Copy of the Expenses, we hope it will be next post, as the Weather is fair now & every appearance of an easterly wind. We remain with best respects to Mr Clark & other friends

Dear Sir, Your most obedt Servants Bayans & Lübcke

Hamburg 1840s. Click to Enlarge

Acknowledgment and References

Dr Richard Forty took on the daunting task of finding more detail about the right William Anderson; there are fifty-nine candidates in the 1841 Census of Dundee.

Wikipedia: List of Shipwrecks in November 1836

I have used a biography of Allan Edward to be found at mcmanus168.org.uk, a project to create an open access record of the lives of those who funded the creation of the Dundee Art Gallery and Museum in 1867.

Entrance to the Port of Dundee 1840 engraved by E. Benjamin after W. B. Bartlett

Hamburg circa 1844 from Barclay’s Universal English Dictionary engraved by Samuel Davenport (1783 - 1867)

On Inuit fiddle playing, see “Music and Mathematics” in Trevor Pateman, Between Remembering and Forgetting (2020)