SAMSON

Shipbuildervessel built by Alexander HALL & Co. (Footdee, Aberdeen)

Date1836

Object NameSCHOONER

MediumWOOD

ClassificationsShip

Dimensionslength 68 9/12' x breadth 18 1/12' x depth 11.9'
Registered Tonnage: 120 ton

Object numberABDSHIP000962

Keywords

Aberdeen Built Ships

About MeYard: Alexander Hall & Co.
Yard Number: 76

Fate: wrecked at Keiss bay, Caithness, 9 March 1884.

Description: Hermaphrodite rigged, 1 deck, 2 masts, standing bowsprit, square stern, carvel built, no figurehead. A man's bust figurehead was added in August 1839 during a refit.

Owners:
12/07/1836: Registered at Aberdeen for subscribing owners;
Robert Spring, baker, 24 shares; William Spark, watchmaker, 8 shares; Robert Youngson, shipmaster, 8 shares.
Other shareholders:
George Rennie, 8 shares; James Sutherland, 4 shares; Charles Murray, 4 shares; all shipmasters; John Ogilvy, baker, 4 shares; John Law, baker, 4 shares.
(Source: Aberdeen Register of Shipping (Aberdeen City Archives))
1845: Owner J. Rennie & Co.
1875-83: Owner, W. Harty of Monkwearmouth, Durham (but the vessel still registed at Aberdeen).

Masters:
1839-45: Master Youngson
1847: Master G. Wood
1848-50: Master J. Dunn
1852-53: Master Henderson
1867-69: Master W. Daniel
Although in Lloyd's in the 1870's and 1880's there are no master or voyages given.

Voyages (from Lloyd's):
1839: Aberdeen - St. Petersburg
1840: Aberdeen - Newcastle
1841: Aberdeen - Pernau (Parnu, Estonia).
1845: Aberdeen coaster
1846-47: Aberdeen - Bilbao.
1848-49: Aberdeen - London.
1852-69: Newcastle coaster

On 9 March 1884, the vessel was stranded in Keiss Bay, Caithness during a force 10 gale on a voyage from Sunderland to Aberdeen with a cargo of lime. The crew of five perished.

15/03/1884:
WRECK OF ABERDEEN SCHOONER FIVE MEN DROWNED. A gale which commenced to blow on Saturday morning continued with slight abatement till Monday forenoon. In the morning the appearances were very serious indeed, sleet and snow falling in heavy showers. Beyond the blowing down of a few chimney cans and the dislodgement of slates by the force of the wind, no damage is reported to have been caused to property in Aberdeen. One of the oldest vessels registered at Aberdeen, the schooner SAMSON, has been wrecked on the Caithness coast, and her crew drowned. The vessel, left Aberdeen about a fortnight ago for Sunderland, and was returning to this port with a cargo of lime for the Agricultural Company, when, overtaken by the gale of Saturday, she was driven far out of her course, and dashed on the sands of Keiss, near Wick, during Sunday night, her crew of five men meeting a watery grave. The schooner left Sunderland on Saturday, and it is conjectured that the master was running for the Moray Firth, but missed the lights at Buchan Ness, and was carried by the gale to the Caithness coast. The crew, all of whom belonged to Aberdeen, comprised the captain, James Halcrow, who has long commanded the ship; his son, Peter, who was mate; George Dalgarno, John Cummings, and Benjamin Richardson. All the men were married. Captain Halcrow leaves a widow and three daughters; his son, who was 26 years of age, was married only six months ago; Dalgarno leaves a widow and one child; Cummings, the same; and Richardson, a widow. The SAMSON, which was built in 1832, had a tonnage of 122. Though registered at Aberdeen, her owners were Messrs Wm. Harty & Co., of Sunderland; and recently the vessel has been chiefly engaged in carrying goods for the Agricultural Company, A Wick correspondent describes the gale in which the ship was lost a tremendous one from the south-east, and the wreck, which occurred about seven miles north of Wick, was not discovered until daybreak. The first intimation of the sad occurrence was received in Aberdeen about 2.30 on Monday afternoon, from the owners of the vessel, the telegram mentioning that lifebuoy and two bodies had come ashore, the lifebuoy being marked "Samson, Aberdeen.” A second message stated that a box marked "Peter Halcrow” and two buoys had floated ashore along with Humane Society’s medal with the number 3404. Information was received in Aberdeen on Wednesday afternoon that all the bodies of the crew have now been recovered and identified. The intelligence was communicated to the relatives of the unfortunate men by the county police authorities. On Monday, the day following that on which the vessel foundered two bodies were washed ashore, which were supposed to be those of the captain and his son, who was mate, and since then the son-in-law of the captain, Peter Henry, who went to Wick on Tuesday, saw and identified the remains of the other seamen, which had also been found on the beach not far from the point at which the wreck had occurred. The bodies were conveyed to Aberdeen for interment.
(Aberdeen Journal)

Note: Hermaphrodite denotes an irregular rig part way between two recognised types.
According to Lloyd's in 1846 vessel was lengthened and damage repaired; Tonnage is listed as 136 and the dimensions 83.5 x 20.7 x 11.8'.
Described as a brigantine in Lloyd's registers of the 1860s.