Aberfeldy Voyage History

Completed March 1875;  Official No. 72642: Code Letters NRVSE.

Owners: 1875 James Groves, McLean & Co, West Hartlepool.

Masters: 1875-76 G Barnes: 1876 Howells: 1877 John Payne: 1878-79 Sandwell.

Bound from Philadelphia for Ipswich with a cargo of 6,000 bushels of Indian corn & a total crew of 21 the Aberfeldy foundered during a hurricane in the North Atlantic in 38.24N/67.00W on 24 February 1879.

New York Times 2 March 1879:

‘THE ABANDONMENT OF THE ABERFELDY-VAINLY FIGHTING A STORM FOR FIVE DAYS. Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1 March, Captain Sandwell & the crew of the S.S. Aberfeldy, of Hartlepool, Great Britain, previously reported abandoned at sea, reached here late last night from Port Medway, Queen’s County. The vessel was on a voyage from Philadelphia for Ipswich, England. The Captain reports that a gale encountered on 20 February increased, the next day, to a hurricane, causing the steam, ship to labour severely. Three boats were washed away with everything movable on the deck. The starboard bunker, hatch tarpaulin was partly washed off & an attempt to cover the hatch for a time was unsuccessful the men being washed away from their work. The master & a 2nd mate were washed overboard, but were washed back again on deck. The latter & one of the crew were disabled. They finally succeeded in getting a spare sail covered over the hatch, but by a great quantity of water coming down through it, & also through the engine-room skylight & stoke, hole gratings, the water began to rise in the engine- room very rapidly, the floor, plates were washed out of place, & at last, about 6am, the fires were extinguished & the engines stopped. ‘We then got the best hawser out from the fore, hold’ the Captain’s story continues, & by binding the accommodation ladder to it & paying it out we made a sea anchor. We also got the next best hawser, with kedge attached, to assist the after, sails in keeping our head to the wind. At 8am the port pump got out of order. We immediately rigged gear in both stoke, holes to bail out with, & continued working in this manner. There were two feet of water in the hold. At 3pm we found the ship would not lay head to sea, & the sea was breaking right over her. She was straining very much & the deck seams opened, which caused leakage. The port lifeboat was stove & work was now rendered very dangerous. We cut away the foremast, at which time the mate was disabled & had to leave the deck. The crew then commenced to jettison cargo & continued to do so until dark. At 6am on 22 February the coal washed out of the bunkers, choking the starboard pump. At midnight there was four feet of water in the hold. The weather was moderating. Sunday 23^rd cut a hole in the bulkhead of the water, tight compartment to get the water through the shaft, tunnel into the ballast, tanks & thus relieve the engine-room. About 4pm succeeded in cutting a hole into the tank, we working all the time in four feet of water. This rendered the master unfit for duty & he was taken from the lazaret almost insensible. At midnight the sea again became stronger. All day we had signals of distress flying for passing ships, but, although two passed they took no notice. The water at midnight was six feet deep in the hold. At 10am on Monday we began to repair the lifeboat & get ready to leave the ship in the evening, all on board being now quite exhausted. About 1.30pm the schooner, OA Memac, was sighted, & it being thought that the steam-ship could not float until midnight she was abandoned.’

The Court of Inquiry found that the vessel met with heavy weather & sprang a leak. The fires were quenched, &, although she was lightened by jettisoning a part of the cargo it was found necessary to abandon her. No lives lost.

Listed here are the ships of various companies at least partly owned by William Maclean. These include Groves, Maclean & Co., Maclean, Doughty & Co., and Maclean & Co.

In 1868 William set up his own office in Victoria Terrace in partnership with James Groves as coal and timber exporters. James had owned or had shares in six ships between 1848 and 1872. Groves, Maclean & Co., purchased their first steamer James Groves which was launched in 1871 and completed in 1872. The steamer was lost in 1875 and they purchased another steamer of the same name.

James Groves died in 1881 and in 1888 Henry Doughty joined William Maclean and Groves, Maclean & Co. became Maclean, Doughty & Co. The partnership was dissolved in 1889/1900 with Henry taking four steamers with him.  William Maclean carried on trading under Maclean & Co. until their last steamer, Duart, was sunk in 1918.

Family History:

William Maclean was born on 6 September 1832 near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland to parents James and Ann (nee Anderson). He spent time in Edinburgh, Scarborough and London before arriving in the Hartlepool area.  In 1861 he was living at Seaton Carew and listed as a gentleman. Sometime in the early 1860’s he went to work in the offices of George Lockwood and Son, coal merchants in Stockton-on-Tees.

On 26 March 1866 William married Clara Hogg at Tynemouth and by 1871 the family were living at Scarborough Street with William listed as a coal exporter. In 1881 they were living at Wellington Street, Stranton and William was now listed as a shipowner.  1891 saw the family living at Grantully House which they had built in Westbourne Road. (The house later became a maternity hospital)  In 1909 the family had moved to Lochbuie House in Harrogate where William died on 12 July 1920 at the age of 87 leaving effects of £109,011. On his death he was described as a ‘fine old English Gentleman’.

In 1875, William was a founding member of the Hartlepool Shipowners Society whose other committee members included George Horsley and Thomas English Pyman. He also became a Trustee of Hartlepool Hospital, was involved with Cameron Hospital, founder and secretary of the Hartlepool Chamber of Commerce and one of the original bench members of the local Borough Magistrates.

William Share Maclean was born to William and Clara on 2 July 1873 at Hartlepool. He was married in 1902 at Easington to Georgina Elliot Hall. By 1909, when his father had retired, William had joined the company.

William died on 17 August 1934 leaving assets of £51,086.

James Groves was born on 14 February 1824 at Whitby to parents Robert Hugill and Esther Mary (nee Eskdale). By 1861 he was living at Albion Terrace, Hartlepool with his wife Hannah (nee Doughty) whom he married at York on 1 September 1852. By 1881 he was living at Billingham and was listed as a magistrate and Alderman of the Borough of Hartlepool.

James died on 21 December 1881 at Billingham Hall aged 57 leaving a personal estate of £16,464. James bequeathed £150, the income to be distributed at Christmas among all the fishermen who might at the time be natives of and residents in Hartlepool, and not less than fifty years of age. The charity came into operation on the death of the testator's widow in 1900, but owing to an insufficiency of assets a sum of £127 3s. 9d. only was paid, which was invested in £138 8s. 8d. consols, producing £3 9s. a year.