Visits to Pitcairn Island

My great grandfather, David Alba Scribner, was a clipper ship captain that made many sea voyages in the second half of the 1800’s leaving the eastern seaboard or sometimes Liverpool, England and sailing around the dangers of Cape Horn to turn north sailing for either Honolulu or San Francisco.  These trips often took him into the area of Pitcairn Island. 

Pitcairn Island is a small southeastern Pacific island well known in history and also by the 1935 film, Mutiny on the Bounty starring Clark Gable.  The HMS Bounty was a British naval vessel that left England in 1789 heading for the West Indies to collect breadfruit plants.  The ship and crew spent several months ashore in Tahiti and were reluctant to leave when the captain, William Bligh, decided that it was time to continue their mission.  In the weeks ahead at sea, conflicts, abuse and harsh punishments escalated between the captain and the crew.  Within three weeks, several crewmen led by Fletcher Christian seized control of the ship and put Captain Bligh and many of the crewmen that were loyal to him adrift in the ship’s open launch. 

Captain Bligh would make it back to England, and in 1790 another ship was sent to capture and return the mutinous crewmembers for court martial.  However, a small group with Fletcher Christian remained undiscovered on Pitcairn Island until 1808.  After the mutiny, Fletcher returned to Tahiti on the Bounty.  And when the Bounty later left Tahiti, aboard were 9 mutineers, 12 women with 1 child and 6 men from Tahiti and neighboring islands.  It was this group that first arrived at Pitcairn Island where the ship was unloaded, stripped of anything useable, and then destroyed by fire.  By the mid-1800’s, less than a hundred descendants of these first inhabitants still lived on Pitcairn Island.  Ships began to occasionally stop at Pitcairn Island to drop off mail or to bring needed supplies, gifts and aid for the Islanders, as the island was no longer as fertile as it had once been.

 

   

In the book titled Mutiny on the Bounty and the Story of Pitcairn Island 1790-1894 written by Rosalind Amelia Young, a descendant of one of the mutineers, she wrote:

“… Captain D A Scribner, of the American ship St John which arrived at the island in March, 1876.  The captain was a very dear friend of the islanders, having made repeated calls to the island before.  He was entrusted with a large mail ... The organ was brought by Captain Scribner, directly on its being landed it was lifted on the shoulders of a few strong men and borne by them up the steep path, nor was the heavy but precious burden set down until they reached the little thatch-roofed church, where it was placed beside the reading table.  All the inhabitants, old and young, gathered around while Captain Scribner played, “Shall We Gather at the River”.

In the years ahead, Captain Scribner continued to visit Pitcairn Island whenever possible, with his wife and children who accompanied him on his voyages.  They always looked forward to those visits as the family had many close friendships among the Pitcairn Islanders.  Photos of Thursday October Christian Jr (grandson of Fletcher Christian) and Mary Warren, Thursday’s granddaughter, are included among photos of friends and family kept in Captain Scribner’s shipboard photo album.  And, as late as 1939, Mary, the youngest child of Captain Scribner, was still writing letters to Arthur H Young on Pitcairn Island.

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Key individuals:

    Capt David Alba Scribner  (1840 – 1911)

    Mary Islethera Scribner  (1882 – 1959)

 – Jane Scribner McCrary

Lost Line from Canada

My 2^nd great grandfather, Samuel Hart, is one of the most intriguing brick walls on my family tree.  To start off with, I’m not even sure that his first name is Samuel, but I’m going to refer to him as Samuel today in this blog post.  He was married to Honora Rouen or Hannah Roughan, and they had two children, Frank and Mary Ann Hart. 

So, let’s just start with his name.  Family notes written in 1977 by Louise Nash Egbert, a cousin of my mother, listed him as Justin or Justus Hart.  My mother also had heard that he didn’t like his first name.  The death certificate for Samuel’s daughter, Mary Ann, says that her father was Justus Hart, born in Canada.  And the death certificate for his son, Frank, says that his father was Samuel Hart, born in Canada.  The 1865 New York Census has Samuel Hart listed as Justice Heart living in Schaghticoke.  Since this census includes his wife and both children, I’m fairly confident that this is the right family.  At this point, I am thinking that his name is probably Samuel Justus Hart, in any case, maybe Samuel J Hart.

Next, everything including census information is consistent that Samuel was born in Canada, sometimes also referred to as French Canada.  I also know from family letters that Samuel’s native language was French which, according to the family, he spoke almost exclusively and his wife, Honora, though born in Ireland, was also fluent in French.

The next stumbling block about Samuel Hart also comes from my mother’s cousin, Louise, who wrote that her aunt (great Aunt Margaret, also referred to in an earlier blog post) had noted that “Mr. Hart had lived as an orphan in a lumber camp in Canada.  The cook, who had known his parents, was to tell him about them, but apparently did not before he was killed.” And as you would expect, it is difficult to think that this statement could be verified or corroborated in today’s time.

Samuel Hart was born somewhere between 1825 and 1836 according to census records.  Don’t you love how accurate census records are? 

I have not found a marriage record for Samuel and Honora.  However, their eldest child, Frank, was born in 1861 in Coveville in Saratoga County, so it is logical that they were married in 1860 or earlier.  It appears that the couple probably lived in Saratoga County at the beginning of their marriage, but between 1865 and 1880 census records show that they were settled in nearby Schaghticoke in Rensselaer County.  

Unfortunately, I have not located Samuel or his wife in either the New York 1892 Census or the 1900 Census which is a disappointment as the family letters indicate that they lived until at least 1900.  Also, it is possible that one or both could have lived their last years in Troy with or near Frank’s family.

Finding any other records besides censuses has been challenging, as well.  I did find a naturalization record for a Samuel Hart in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York showing that on September 12, 1868 he was naturalized.  The naturalization journal page also notes that he was born in Canada and lived in Schaghticoke, so I think this is my Samuel Hart as that is where he lived at the time.

For many years I have been unable to find death or burial information for either Samuel Hart or his wife.  I have been able to narrow down their date of death to 1899 or later, after finding a June 1899 news story reporting that Samuel & Mrs. Hart lost their Stillwater home to a house fire and had to move in with their son, Frank Hart and his family, at least temporarily.

“While Samuel Hart and family, who live across the river, were eating their noon meal Monday, a neighbor passing by notified them that their house was afire, and the inmates rushing out discovered that nearly the whole roof, which had caught from a defective chimney, was ablaze and it was unsafe to again enter the house.  The building with its entire contents was consumed.  The fire department was not called out.  Insurance on the house was $800 and the insurance on the furniture was $200.” – June 10, 1899

“Mrs. Hart, the aged wife of Samuel Hart, whose home across the river was recently destroyed by fire, owning to excitement, is seriously ill at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Frank Hart.” – June 17, 1899

Last year, I finally found a death certificate that I believe might be Samuel’s.  It is for Samuel Hart, who died April 21, 1902 in the Rensselaer County Hospital in Troy, New York.  The death certificate records that this Samuel was 71 years old, born in Toronto, Canada (near the New York border), was married at the time of his death, and was buried in Schaghticoke the next day.  I think this is probably my Samuel Hart, but so far I haven’t been able to find either Samuel or his wife buried in a cemetery in Schaghticoke.

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Key Individuals:

Samuel J Hart  (abt 1830 – 1902?)

Honora Rouen or Hannah Roughan  (abt 1830 – unknown)

Francis/Frank Hart  (1861 – 1916)

Mary Ann Hart Nash Watson  (1862 – 1926)

Notes: 

1)  I would love to find burial information for Samuel, and hopefully his wife, which I feel is likely to be found in Schgachticoke, Renssaeler County, New York.  Wish I lived near enough to visit churches and cemeteries, so that I could search …

2)  What about the story that Samuel Hart was an orphan in a lumber camp in Canada and he didn’t know his parents?  I turned to researching the Hart name in Canada, focusing on the French speaking Quebec area, as that seemed to be a reasonable option.   

There is actually a very large Hart family in Canada, specifically in the Quebec area.  Aaron Hart (b.1724) and Dorothea Catharine Judah (b.1747) emigrated from England in 1781 and established this prominent Jewish family in Quebec.  They had eight children, including four sons, and their extended family was quite large. 

Aaron and Dorothea’s eldest son was Moses Hart, and one historian (Charles Law, author of multiple books on this Hart family) indicates that while Moses was very prominent and wealthy, he had a great number of affairs, mistresses and illegitimate children.  Charles Law notes that Moses “had as many as 18 children that were born out of wedlock.”  Moses even had an illegitimate child named Samuel Judah Hart, born in 1839 with his long time mistress and Irish housekeeper, Mary McCarthy Brown who he married in his later years.  That son, Samuel Judah Hart, however married and lived in the Quebec area with his family until his death in 1861.  It is known that Moses Hart sent his children by Mary to prep school - and that during his life Moses often acknowledged and even lent assistance to a number of his other illegitimate children.

So what do I think?  I believe that our Samuel Hart could very possibly connect in some way with this Hart family in Canada – but we will never know.

3)  Honora Rouen, Samuel Hart’s wife, is just as difficult to nail down as she is also a bit of a mystery.  She was born in Ireland and immigrated as a young adult.  It is said in the family that she was a servant or lady-in-waiting for a well-to-do family and that she was well educated.  Her name is noted on her son Frank’s death certificate as Hannah Roughan.  However, her daughter, Mary Ann’s death certificate records her as Honora Rouen.  It occurs to me that Honora Rouen, or Honore' Rouén as noted in some family letters, could have simply been her husband's French version of her Irish name that he might have preferred …

Path to Independence

In 1775 there was growing frustration among many in the American colonies with the conditions of British rule.  In Maryland, a group of elected officials came together in Harford County on March 22^nd to author and sign a document referred to as the Bush River Declaration (also called the Bush Declaration or the Bush River Resolution) in a display of frustration with British policies and the blockade of Boston, and to show their support for Colonial rule.  The Bush River Declaration endorsed the actions of the Continental Congress and the signers pledged their support “to our Country” at the risk of their lives and fortunes.  The document would have been considered treasonous, and yet it was signed by thirty-four local representatives just three weeks prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord which are regarded as the beginning of the American Revolution.

The full text of the Bush River Declaration, adopted and signed on March 22, 1775, reads as follows:

 "We the Committee of Harford County, having most seriously and maturely considered the Resolves and Association of the Continental Congress, and the Resolves of the Provincial Convention, do most heartily approve of the same, and as we esteem ourselves in a more particular manner, intrusted by our constituents to see them carried into execution, we do most solemnly pledge ourselves to each other, and to our Country, and engage ourselves by every tie held sacred among mankind to perform the same at the risque of our lives and fortunes."

While the Bush River Declaration did not specifically demand freedom from the British, it was regarded as endorsing more self-government for the Colonies which could well have been regarded as a desire for independence.

Source:  Maryland State Archives;

https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/html/bushriver.html

Among the thirty-four committee members and signers was a twenty-five year old named Aquila Hall Jr, my 4th great grandfather.  Signing first, and with the same name, was Col. Aquila Hall, his uncle, who was forty-eight at the time.  The younger Aquila Hall signed with “Junr” probably to differentiate himself from his older uncle.  The Hall family was a wealthy landholding family that first arrived in Maryland from England in the mid-1600’s.  They had much to lose in a conflict with the British Empire.

Aquila Hall Junr, my 4th great grandfather, was born in Baltimore County about 1750 and died in 1815.  He lived through the Revolution to see independence in America and the birth of a new nation. I don’t know his specific role during the Revolutionary War but it is clear to see where his loyalties lied.  If anyone has information or documentation of his activities during that time, I would love to hear from you.

Aquila Hall Jr (c.1750-1815) was the son of John Hall and Cordelia Knight Hall.  He married Ann Tolley on December 22, 1775 just as the American Revolution had begun.  Their children were Walter Tolley, Susan, Delia, Robert Lyon, Charlotte, Ann, Maria, Aquila, Charles G, William Henry, Aquila and Edward Carvil.  Susan Hall, their eldest daughter (also known as Martha Susannah Hall in one document), is my 3rd great grandmother.  She lived her life in Baltimore County and married Capt. Henry Hale, my 3rd great grandfather, in 1800.

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Key individuals:

     John Hall  (1722-1768)

     Cordelia Knight Hall  (c.1721-1782)

     Aquila Hall Junr  (c.1750-1815) 

     Ann Tolley Hall (1756-1830) [dau. of Walter Tolley & Martha Hall]

     Susan Hall Hale  (1778-1858)

     Capt. Henry Hale  (1755 or 1773 - 1841)

Notes:

Quite a bit is known about the illustrious Hall family.  If you wish, you can check the many sources that include books such as Baltimore County Families 1659-1759 and Provincial Families of Maryland, along with written and online information about the Bush River Declaration.  And, if you like to join lineage societies, there is The Hereditary Order of the Signers of the Bush Declaration.

- Jane Scribner McCrary

Aboard a Prison Ship in the Revolution

Nathaniel Dickinson, my 4^th great grandfather, was a seaman living in New London, Connecticut in the late 1700’s.  He was married to Elizabeth Bill Dickinson.  Nathaniel not only sailed with privateer ships during the Revolutionary War, he was also aboard a privateer ship that was captured by the British.  And for a time, he was imprisoned on the Jersey, a British prison ship anchored in New York Harbor.

During the Revolution, American privateering became a way for colonists to harass the British for both financial gain and to fight for their cause.  The vessels were armed, and while not naval ships, they were quite effective.  Many privateer ships carried Letters of Marque which was an official authorization from the government allowing privateers to seize British merchant ships, and in return the owner and crew could receive a portion of the sale of the captured ship and its cargo.  Hundreds of ships were commissioned as privateers during the Revolutionary War.

Nathaniel’s experience is revealed by his son, David Bill Dickinson, in a family memorial letter:

“Nathaniel Dickinson served in several of the armed vessels of the United States during the war of the revolution, the Ships Hancock, Beaver and others from its commencement until the conclusion in 1783.  He was wounded and carried a prisoner on board the Jersey Prison Ship, and there remained until a cartel was sent from New London at the instance of his wife, the mother of your memorialist, when his exchange was affected.  During his confinement on board the British Prison Ship, he contracted the disease which ultimately terminated his existence, and he died in the year Seventeen hundred and ninety six leaving his wife and Six Children, entirely destitute of means for their support or education.”

-- “Circumstances relating to the Life and action of Capt Nathaniel Dickinson of New London, State of Connecticut” by David Bill Dickinson; 1842.

Ships logs exist to show that Nathaniel Dickinson was among the crew aboard the privateer sloop the Hancock (noted above) in 1780 and that he earned prize shares.

 

The armed schooner, Lively, was commissioned on March 27, 1781.  Family letters note that Nathaniel was aboard the Lively under Commander Edward Latham of Groton, Connecticut, probably as the Prize Master, when the Lively captured the British schooner Seaflower in April 1781.  But the Lively’s fortunes turned on July 9, 1781, when Commander Edward Latham of the Lively and his crew were captured by the British ship Goodrich.  Latham was known to be a prisoner aboard the prison ship Jersey after his capture, and it was probably also at that time when Nathaniel was on the prison ship. 

There were several British prison ships and confinement on one was often a death sentence. Many more Colonists died on prison ships during the Revolution than in battle.  David Bill Dickinson’s letter says that his father, Nathaniel, was “reduced almost to a skeleton” before the family was able to purchase his freedom.  Nathaniel died of illness while at sea in early 1797 at 48 years of age. 

Among the list of items recorded in Nathaniel Dickinson’s estate inventory, and valued at three-dollars, was a “Picture of General Washington on horseback.”

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Key Individuals:

Nathaniel Dickinson  (1749 – 1797)
Elizabeth Bill Dickinson   (~1760/1766 – 1819)

David Bill Dickinson  (1787 – 1846)

Notes: 

          Nathaniel Dickinson was noted in his obituary as Captain Nathaniel Dickinson.  During his privateering days, as a Prize Master, he would be given command of a captured vessel to deliver it to the authorities in port.

Several newspaper ads mention Nathaniel:

     “For Norfolk, Petersburgh, and Richmond, in Virginia, (via New York.)  The Sloop SALLY, burthen 35 Tons, Nath’l Dickinson, master, will sail by the 10^th of October.  Is a new vessel and well found.  For freight or passage, apply to said Dickinson, at his house in New-London, or of Thomas Latham at Gale’s Ferry in Groton.  New-London, Sept. 24, 1793.”  - Connecticut Gazette; New London, Connecticut

      “If any House-Carpenter or Joiner, a young Man, has a Mind to seek his Fortune over Sea, let him apply to Nath'l Dickinson.  New-London, June 15^th, 1784.” – Connecticut Gazette; New London, Connecticut

– Jane Scribner McCrary

Young Life Lost at Bull Run

Henry Philip Hale was the third child of Philip Moore Hale and Mary Ann Brown Dickinson Hale, and older brother to my great grandmother, Virginia Augusta Hale Scribner.  Henry was born April 20, 1843 in Baltimore, Maryland, and died in the early days of the Civil War on August 7, 1861 in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1861, Henry was living in Brooklyn, New York with his mother and four of his siblings.  On his 18^th birthday, Henry joined the Union effort and enlisted in New York City.  His enlistment paperwork incorrectly shows him to be 22 years old.  Henry was mustered on May 7 as a Private in the 11^th New York Volunteers, 1^st Fire Zouaves, Company G.

The 11^th New York Volunteer regiment was organized in New York City in May of 1861 as a Zouave regiment under the command of Colonel Elmer E Ellsworth, drawing many volunteers from the ranks of the City’s volunteer fire companies.  The company was known for its unusual dress and drill style.  Like most Zouave regiments, the men of the 11^th New York were fashioned in uniforms not typical of the standard Union soldier.  The 11^th Volunteers were issued clothing that among other items included light grey jackets, red overshirts and dark blue trousers, and received a red or blue fez with a blue tassel.  In the summer before the First Battle of Bull Run, most of the Zouaves left their jackets in camp due to the July heat.   Private Henry P Hale proudly had his photograph made in his uniform with no jacket.  The photo was taken July 9, 1861 while he was in Alexandria, Virginia, and Henry Hale mailed the photo to his family from his post at Camp Ellsworth the next day.

The 11^th NY Volunteers, 1^st Fire Zouaves, left New York aboard the steamship, Baltic, on April 29 and steamed to Annapolis, Maryland arriving on the evening of May 1.  The next day, the troops disembarked and traveled to Washington.  In Henry’s letter to his family on May 7, he wrote that “we are quartered in the room of Commerce next to the Patent office – the best quarters in Washington”.   And on June 2, he wrote that “We are quartered in the House of Rep. – that is, the one they are just building.”  In that same letter, he said that “The President [Lincoln] received us last night.  He is about 7 foot, he looked like a fool standing with his hat off – “.

The 11^th New York Volunteer regiment’s first major combat experience occurred on the morning of July 21, 1861 known as the First Battle of Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia.  It was the first large-scale battle of the Civil War and Henry’s regiment suffered extensive casualties.  Although accounts of the battle differ, most sources list 177 men lost at Bull Run, with 35 men killed, 74 wounded, and another 68 missing and presumed captured. 

Henry P Hale was among the wounded Union prisoners taken by Confederate forces to Richmond, Virginia and arriving on August 1, 1861.  Henry was taken to the Ross Factory Hospital located on Main Street in Richmond which was an old tobacco factory building.  Henry wrote a letter to his mother dated August 2 to reassure her that he was fine:

Richmond, August 2 / '61

Dear Mother,

I write this to inform you of my whereabouts.  I am still among the living although I was wounded in the Battle of Bull Run, and, I presume, named among the dead in the papers.  It was God's Will that I only got a slight wound in the thigh.  I am recovering fast.  We are treated here with utmost kindness.  Everything is done for us that one could wish.

I hope that War will soon end and we will all soon return home.  I hope Dave [his brother] is successful in finding employment and is doing well.

I have nothing to write about.  I am in a hospital in Maine Street.  Give my love to Grandmother, Sis, Dave and the children.  Goodbye, God bless you all 
--  Your Affectionate Son,     Henry P Hale

Even though Henry only mentioned a slight wound in his thigh in his letter to his family on August 2, he died five days later while still a prisoner in the hospital in Richmond, Virginia.   Very likely his wound became infected.

The Hale family must have struggled with all of the conflicting information that they received, not really knowing the true facts, only the reality that Henry never came home.  It appears, though, that the family was informed of Henry’s death by mid-September.   Henry P Hale’s obituary appeared in a Baltimore newspaper on September 19, 1861. 

 "Died at Richmond. - Henry P Hale, son of Mr. P M Hale, of this city, has died at Richmond, VA, of wounds received at the battle of Bull Run.  His age was 18 years."

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Key Individuals:

Henry Philip Hale  (1843 - 1861)

Philip Moore Hale  (1807 – 1870)

Mary Ann Brown Dickinson Hale  (1816 – 1880)

Virginia Augusta Hale Scribner  (1848 – 1940)

Notes: 

Understandably, there was much confusion and difficulty with record keeping after the Union devastation at The First Battle of Bull Run.  The Union company muster records show that Private Henry P Hale was killed in action on July 21, 1861 probably because he was missing after the battle.  Union records however noted later that he died in Richmond from his wounds. 

On September 25, 1861 both The New York Times and the New York Daily Tribune newspapers printed lists of Union prisoners at Richmond after the Battle of Bull Run.  The newspaper accounting included Henry P Hale’s name twice among the list of wounded:  first as “Henry P. Hale, bullet through head”, and then later in the same paragraph, as “Henry P. Hale, not stated”.  By the time the newspaper was published, the family already knew that Henry had died in the prison hospital in Richmond.

I will likely do another blog post that is simply a transcription of the letters that Henry P Hale sent to his mother and sister in those brief few weeks after he enlisted and before he died. 

– Jane Scribner McCrary