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I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

Article about: Firstly I'm not sure where this really belongs but here seemed a safe bet. I have here a very old letter, dated 25/2/92, I am guessing 1892 rather than any earlier. All I knew was that it wa

  1. #1

    Exclamation I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Firstly I'm not sure where this really belongs but here seemed a safe bet.

    I have here a very old letter, dated 25/2/92, I am guessing 1892 rather than any earlier. All I knew was that it was regarding a family member from long ago, but nothing more. I sat down to study it properly and copy out what I could, I have never been able to read it due to its very poor condition and the handwriting is a little tricky. I plan on doing something to preserve it, an unknown relative taped it back together decades ago so it was obviously precious to them. I would like to continue that.

    IMG-20120524-00349.jpgIMG-20120524-00350.jpg

    Anyway, to the contents. What follows is my transcript, I have [square bracketed] words I am unsure of, sometimes with possible alternatives, dotted areas are lost for whatever reason. Anything (bracketed) like this is done so in the original also.




    .................................................. ..........................................in the Official Log of the............................................... .................................................f rom Liverpool to the River Plate.

    25/2/92 Lat ............... Long 31 [or 37] W

    At 1pm to-day Patrick Murphy (Carpenter) died from sunstroke. Yesterday he was seen by [Mr or Jhon] Scales (cook) to be working for some time without his hat or any head covering while exposed to the sun. He was .................................... work for being so foolish, but said it was only for a minute. As he went about his work as usual and made no complaint whatever to anyone on board, noone suspected he was ill until 10am today when he was seen to stagger and go into his room and sit down. He then told the [Captain / Chaplain] that he shaved his head. Shortly after the cook saw him [feverently (sic)] asleep and snoring and snorting loudly.At noon I was told that he was ill and on going to him I found him quite unconscious, with ....... [joulse (sic)], fluttering of the heart and a very ........ snorting breathing. I placed him in an easy chair in the cooler part of the ship, and (as he was quite unable to swallow anything) applied plenty of cold water to his head, neck and chest, but without avail for he died at 1 o' clock in the presence of Chief Mate Stuart [Lamptrimmer?? this is wrong, possibly a rank and a name together] and myself.

    He was 62 years of age, cheerful and apparently in good health, had a good appetite all the time and never complained ......... sickness. He was employed on light jobs of work ........... from the commencement of the voyage and on account of his age and general willingness to oblige I had allocated him a small quantity of grog daily. I have made strict enquiries among the crew to ascertain truthfully the cause of his very sudden death, and have come to the conclusion that consequence of having (without brains) thought .............. LOST ..............



    And that is all I have. You can imagine my frustration at finishing that! Hollywood could not leave a better cliffhanger. I'm guessing the author is a medical officer onboard the ship.

    Based on the facts we have; starting in Liverpool, destination the River Plate, the date of 25.2.92, does anyone think there is a chance of finding out the ship? Also as we have the starting point and end point, and the longitude of 31/37 W, can we find old shipping routes and plot exactly where the boat was when the author wrote his log? Hope you guys like it, I enjoyed the process

  2. #2

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Well...gee thanks! Now we'll Never know what happened! lol

    P.S. The one bracketed piece that i could see should read "He was seen by Thomas Scales" Thomas = Thos. If you do alot of genealogy work as I've done, you get to recognize alot of these obscure abbreviations and such in documents!
    William

    "Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."

  3. #3
    ?

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    That will be an interesting quest in finding out the details, you could try Admiralty House in London, i think you will need to sandwich this text in between two sheets of non reflective glass, so to keep it perfectly flat, and it can be displayed from direct sunlight

  4. #4

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Check around your area for museums or universities that work in preserving historic documents. I know there are sprays that they can use that won't repair damage already done but can slow or stop further damage. And then they can frame it in special glass, usually acid free, to keep it in its current state. Don't apply anymore tape to t as that's one of the worse things you can do to paper. Great letter, really makes you wonder what was going on.

  5. #5

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Thanks for the correction Will, I'll try and get a better pic of some more of the confusing bits if you wouldn't mind having a look The 'Lamptrimmer' one is driving me nuts.

    I did not think of contacting Admiralty house or a university, I will definitely do so though. If I can ID the ship it would be great, I could do a nice little display Thanks for the comments guys, I'm glad you found it interesting.

    Andy

  6. #6

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Indeed, an interesting letter. William is correct re: 'Thos' = Thomas.

    Reminds one to always wear a hat in the sun.........
    Regards,


    Steve.

  7. #7

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Hi Andy
    See entry for the trade of lamptrimmer

    Lamp trimmer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Cheers, Dan

  8. #8

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Quote by Danmark View Post
    Hi Andy
    See entry for the trade of lamptrimmer

    Lamp trimmer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Cheers, Dan
    Dan, very cool, I was so sure I was wrong with that I did not even google it. Thanks very much mate!

  9. #9
    ?

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Naval records ..
    Some time searching here may help ...

    Late 18th, 19th and early 20th Century Naval and Naval Social History - Index

    Gary J.

  10. #10

    Default Re: I have something intriguing and infuriating in equal measure.....

    Fascinating project you have

    Is Murphy the relative of yours or don't you know? If it was mine, I would start by tracing my family tree back to that period, through Ancestry or something similar. If you can either find one of the names, or a seaman from the period it would probably be a lot easier to work on the ship. I find its always a good idea in research to try to find something concrete to latch on to, as what you have has a lot of loose ends

    Just my advice

    Rob

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