Career
Ellegood was registered in London in 1795, with F. Holman, master, and Liddle & Co., owners. The entry in Lloyd's Register gave her place of construction as Nova Scotia and her year of launch as 1794. It also gave her trade as London-Martinique. [6]
Captain Francis Holman sailed from Gravesend on 11 October 1796, bound for Madras and Bombay for the EIC. She reached Madras on 15 February 1797, Cochin on 8 March, Goa on 20 March, and Bombay on 28 March. She left Bombay on 28 June, reached St Helena on 11 September, and arrived at Long Reach on 13 December. [7]
In 1798 Elligood was sold to Daniel Bennett for service as a South Seas whaler. He would remain her owner through 1805.
In 1798 she sailed to the east coast of Africa under the command of Captain Christopher Dixon. She returned to Britain on 16 July 1799. [9]
On 15 January 1800, Captain Christopher Dickson received a letter of marque for Ellegood. [4]
Under Dixson's command, Elligood sailed from London on 19 February. Several whalers sailed at the same time, including Kingston, Thomas Denis, master. [10] Elligood and Kingston were to sail in company on a speculative voyage to New Holland for whales. They were then to examine King George Sound, proceed to Shark Bay and the north-west coast, and return via Madagascar and southern Africa.
Elligood and Kingston arrived in Cape Town on 5 May 1800. The two vessels did some whaling off the African coast and then turned east, cruising off Western Australia from 9 August to 22 December. On 27 August they were at King George Sound. There, at the entrance to Oyster Harbour, Western Australia ( 34°59′37.9″S117°56′39.8″E / 34.993861°S 117.944389°E / -34.993861; 117.944389 , Dixson made a small garden and left a copper plate engraved "Aug. 27 1800. Chr Dixson, ship Elligood". Late in 1801 Matthew Flinders found the plate on his way along the southern coast of Australia to Port Jackson.
Ellegood returned to Cape Town in May 1801 under the command of Job Anthony as it had been reported that both Dixson and nine crew had died of scurvy. Dixson had died on 4 January 1801. On 3 November Lloyd's List reported that in August she had been at Walfish Bay, together with a number of other whalers such as Barbara, Charming Kitty, Indispensable, and Perseverance, and that they were generally successful. [12] Ellegood was at St Helena on 19 September, and arrived at London on 8 December.
William was a merchant vessel built in France in 1770 or 1771. From 1791 she made numerous voyages as a whaler. She also made one voyage in 1793 transporting supplies from England to Australia. She then resumed whaling, continuing until 1809.
Hillsborough was a three-decker merchant ship launched in 1782. She made six voyages to India and China as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. In 1798 she transported convicts from England to New South Wales. After delivering her convicts in 1799, she became a whaler in the South Seas fisheries for several years. She was broken up in 1804.
Experiment was launched in 1798 at Stockton-on-Tees, England. Between late 1800 and 1802 she made a voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1803 she transported convicts to Port Jackson. In 1805, on her way home the French captured her, but the British recaptured her. In 1808 she became a West Indiaman. Still, in 1818 or so she sailed out to India. Experiment was condemned at Batavia in 1818 and sold there in 1819 for breaking up.
Duke of Portland was a sailing ship built in 1790 at Bordeaux, France. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1794 after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. British owners named her Duke of Portland and employed her as a whaler. As such she made some eleven whaling voyages. On the outbound leg of her eighth voyage she transported convicts to Port Jackson, New South Wales.
Indispensable was a sailing ship built in France and launched in 1791. She was captured in 1793 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars and thus came into British hands, keeping her name. She performed two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1793 and 1797. During this period and later she made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. Amongst her notable events were the discovery of Indispensable Strait (1794), the capture of a Spanish vessel (1798), and the rescue of some castaways (1814). She later went on serve as a whaler in the South Seas until autumn 1827. She ceased trading after this last voyage and was broken up by April 1830.
The British East India Company (EIC) had Whim built for use as a fast dispatch vessel. She was sold in 1802 and became a whaler that a French privateer captured and released, and then a merchant vessel. She is no longer listed after 1822.
Amelia was built in France in 1787. The British captured her in 1793. She became a general trader that made a voyage as a whaler in the South Seas Fishery before returning to trading. She made one voyage as a slave ship. She is last listed in 1806, but the data is stale.
Exeter was launched at Calcutta in 1793. She made three voyages from Calcutta to England for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost in August 1806 in a hurricane while returning to London from Jamaica.
Camden was built at Whitby in 1813. She served as a general trader for much of her career, though in 1820-21 she made one voyage to Bombay for the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1833 and 1837 she was a Greenland whaler out of the Whitby whale fishery, and was the last vessel from Whitby to engage in whaling. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1850.
Cumberland was launched in 1800 and sailed as a West Indiaman until 1807 or 1808 when she was sold to Enderbys. She then made five voyages as a South Seas whaler. Enderbys sold Cumberland and she proceeded to sail between England and Australia. In 1827 she sailed from Hobart and was never seen again. It later transpired that pirates had captured her off the Falkland Islands and killed her crew and passengers.
Crescent was launched at Rotherhithe in 1790. She initially traded with the Levant, particularly Smyrna. After the outbreak of war with France she may have tried her hand as a privateer. In 1796–1798 she made a voyage to the East Indies, almost surely on behalf of the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. In 1802-1804 she made one voyage as a slave ship carrying slaves from West Africa to Jamaica. In 1805 she became a whaler. She was lost in 1807 off Patagonia while homeward bound from her first whaling voyage.
Duckenfield Hall was launched on the Thames in 1783. She spent most of her career trading with the West Indies. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1797 and 1798. In 1819 she became a Greenland whaler. She was wrecked in the Orkney Islands in 1820 while returning from a whaling voyage.
Eliza was built in Spain in 1794 under another name and taken as a prize circa 1800. She then made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she made one voyage to Timor as a whaler. She next became a West Indiaman. In 1810 she apparently was sold to Portuguese interests and who continued to sail her under the name Courier de Londres. She is last listed in 1814.
John and James was built in France in 1791 under another name and taken in prize in 1796. New owners renamed her and initially sailed her as a West Indiaman. She then made a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Next, she became a slave ship, making three voyages between West Africa and the West Indies. Finally, she became a whaler, but was lost in 1806 to a mutinous crew.
Cornwall was launched in 1794 as a West Indiaman. In a little more than three years later she had left on the first of three whaling voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery. On her first whaling voyage she captured a Spanish ship and fought off a French privateer. After her third whaling voyage Cornwall returned to the West Indies trade. Around 1817 new owners sent her to India where a Parsi merchant purchased her. She traded in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and also participated as a transport in a naval expedition to the Persian Gulf. She was last listed in 1824.
Kingston was launched at Bristol in 1780 as a West Indiaman. From 1798 she made ten voyages as a whaler. She then briefly sailed between England and Quebec, and is last listed in 1819.
Ceres was launched in France in 1784. The British captured her circa 1800 and sold her as a prize. Once under British ownership she sailed to the Mediterranean, but in 1801 she started sailing in the slave trade. She made four voyages as a slave ship, gathering slaves in West Africa and delivering them to the West Indies. After the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807 she became a West Indiaman, and then an East Indiaman. She was last listed in 1822.
Ganges was launched in 1799 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) bringing rice from Bengal for the British government. She then became a West Indiaman until the French navy captured her in 1805.
Comet was launched in 1791 at Rotherhithe. At the outbreak of war with France, she briefly became a privateer before the British East India Company (EIC) chartered her for one voyage to bring back sugar, saltpeter, and other goods from Bengal. Between 1812 and 1821 she made three voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. Then between 1823 and 1840 she became a whaler based in Hull, whaling in the British Northern Whale Fishery. She returned to trade in 1841 and was lost on 1 December 1843 homeward bound from Quebec.
Barbara was built in France in 1792. The Royal Navy captured her circa 1798, gave her a thorough repair in one of their yards, but then sold her. She sailed on one voyage as a West Indiaman. She then became a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fisheries. On her first whaling voyage she sailed to Walvis Bay. She was captured, either near there or on her way home, and taken into the Río de la Plata.
