Captured ship: Franciscus of Hamburg (master Christian Lourentzen, otherwise Lawrence)...

HCA 32/111B

1744

Captured ship: Franciscus of Hamburg (master Christian Lourentzen, otherwise Lawrence) [continued from HCA 32/111A].

History: a Hamburg ship (60 lasts, built at Boston, 9 men, 1 boy, 3 passengers; owned by Messrs Joachim Kahler and Joachim Heinsch or Heus of Hamburg), bound from Tenerife to Dunkirk and Hamburg if war had not yet been declared against France (with four colorable bills of lading) or straight to Hamburg, laden with campeche wood, Canary wine, and dollars; taken on 12/23 June 1744 off Beachy Head by the privateer Dover (James Gravener commanding), and brought into Dover.

Ships' papers and mail-in-transit in bundles (continued):

Bundle E, numbered E 246-E 340 [with gaps], letters and papers from Tenerife:

• E 246-E 247ii: letters in Spanish from Augustina Antonia and Nicholas Danekerz to Hamburg, bills of lading;
• E 250-E 260: letters in English from Peter Russell, Laurence Mulloy, Peter Lynch and Ann and John Rounseville (or Rounsivalles) to correspondents in London and Dublin;
• E 261-E 265: letters in English French and Spanish from Jean Cross jr, David Lockhart and Guillermo Antonio Paula to correspondents in London, Hamburg and Amsterdam;
• E 269-E 291: ship's papers in French, Dutch and English, including accounts, bills of lading and receipts, along with letters from John Blake;
• E 293-E 302: papers in French belonging to the Casalon brothers and relating to a dispute over the seizure of the ship Postillion of St Petersburg;
• E 303-E 314: letters and accounts in English related to commercial disputes about a lost cargo and insurance between John Blake, David Lockhart, Blake & Lynch and others;
• E 316-E 339i: letters and bills of lading in English, Dutch and Spanish, mostly from John Blake but also Patrick Roche, Peter Russell, George Commpre Jr. and intended for correspondents in Hamburg, London and Galway;

Bundle F, numbered F 3-F 49 [with gaps] found under a cask of wine, predominantly ships' papers (with most of the French and Spanish papers no longer here):

• F 3: letter in Dutch from Issac and Louis Divernel;
• F 7-F 19: accounts in Dutch relating to wine and dollars shipped in the Franciscus;
• F 24-F 44: receipts, ships' pass, bill of health, bills of lading;
• F 45-F 49: letters in Dutch and English from Bernard White and John Blake, cargo manifest, other papers in French;

Bundle FF, numbered FF 2-FF 23i [with gaps], largely ships' papers: bills of lading and receipts in Dutch, letter in English from Bernard White;

Bundle G, numbered G 1-G 38, miscellaneous papers [of the crew or master?]:

• G 1-G 10: receipts, accounts and a bill of lading in Dutch and German, mentioning Johan Bockelmann and Pieter Andersen;
• G 11: manuscript sheet music, including 'An Irish jigg', 'Chark's hornpipe', 'A lovely lass to a friar came' and Handel's 'T'was when the sea was roaring';
• G 12-G 14i: letters in German, including one from Anna Ida Weeden, rough accounts;
• G 15-G 38: papers in Dutch, German, English and Spanish including the accounts, cargo lists and letters of Johan Bockelmann, prayers and notes on religious matters by Pieter Andersen, letters from John Blake, Henry Burnside, Peter Russell, Amaro Rodriguez and Olave Andrew Lindgren.

Bundle H, numbered H 39-H 91 [with gaps]: [a master's archive] the personal papers of Christian Lourentzen in Dutch, Spanish and English, including letters, bills of lading, receipts, accounts, cargo manifests and instructions, some of which relate to earlier voyages of the Franciscus;

Bundle I/J, numbered J 92-J 147: papers taken from the trunks of crewmembers:

• J 92-J 100: 'Haus und Garten Almanach' for 1744, small book of notes in Dutch and French, notes in English with poetry and French phrases for women to learn, letter from Klaus Schram, papers with rough notes;
• J 101-J 109: letter from Margareta Wahlbergs, printed papal bull issued by Clement XII, rough notes in Dutch and Spanish, receipts, samples of fabric and buttons;
• J 110-J 116: letters from Catharina Lourentzen, Matthias Arnold Pahl and Johannes Baptista Van Heede in Dutch and German;
• J 117-J 119: papers in Dutch relating to a lawsuit over linen, fabric samples;
• J 120-J 147: crewmembers' letters in Dutch, Spanish, French, German and Swedish, from Lourentzen, Isaac and Louis Divernet, Joseph Fayan, Mr Macarrick, John Blake, Matthias Arnold Pahl, Willlem Van Den Beedes, Hans Behn, Claas Schram, Joseph Buysen and Christina Wastberg, predominantly between family members and spouses;

Bundle L, numbered L 1-L 19, papers of Joseph Buysen:

• L 1-L 3: prayer in Spanish written on paper cut to a pattern, related list, an eight-verse song in Spanish;
• L 4-L 7: ships' pass, letters in Spanish from Pedro de Vera and Andrés de la Peña;
• L 8-L 19: goods lists and letters in French and Spanish relating to goods purchased from Therera Valois, rough notes, lists of goods and personal effects;

Bundle LL, numbered LL 1-LL 33a, further papers of the crew:

• LL 1-LL 27: ship accounts in Lourentzen's hand, receipts, letters, in Dutch and German;
• LL 28: manuscript sheet music for voice and violin labelled 'Aria con violines' and perhaps attributed to 'Don Francisco Coradin'. It describes the fears of passagers on their first voyage aboard a ship;
• LL 29-LL 33a: two volumes of notes, one containing notes in Dutch by Pieter Andersen the other notes in German in an unknown hand, further letter and rough notes;

Bundle O, numbered O 1-O 22, papers of the crew: receipts and notes in Dutch and German, relating to the cargo, provisions and other supplies purchased in Hamburg and Altona, notebook possibly belonging to Pieter Andersen;

Bundle P, numbered P 1-P 56 [with a large gap], papers of the crew: ships' papers from Hamburg and Amsterdam, letter from Pieter Andersen and official papers from Hanover;

Bundle Q, numbered Q 1a-Q 10, papers of the crew: rough notes, letter, receipts, bills of lading, cargo list, all in Dutch and German.

[Decision: part of the cargo condemned, 2 August 1744; the ship and part of the cargo restored, 15 February 1745]

HCA 32/111/1/19; HCA 32/110/16; letters and papers added from HCA 30/243, HCA 30/657, HCA30/673 and HCA 30/679 in the 1950s

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