Lady Frances

Cory, Lohden & Co., was formed in 1869 by Ebenezer Cory and Jacob Lohden. They went into partnership with George and Walter Jackson of London as ship agents and ship insurance brokers. In December 1881 Jacob Lohden left the partnership and started up as J. Lohden & Co. Ebenezer started up as E. Cory & Co. By 1885 the company had become Jackson Bros. & Cory. Ebenezer was also part of the firm of Cory, Wilcocks & Co., colliery agents of Fenchurch Street, London. Jackson Bros. & Cory was broken up in 1923 and became Jackson Bros.

Cory, Lohden & Co., had nine ships between 1869 and 1881. E. Cory & Co., had three ships between 1881 and 1886.

Family History:

Ebenezer Cory was born in April 1841 at Cardiff to parents Richard and Sarah. He married Jane Pyman, daughter of George Pyman, in 1865 and they had three children. Jane died in 1870 and Ebenezer remarried in 1871 to Janet Gow Irvine, daughter of Robert Irvine, shipbuilder. The couple had five children. The family lived at Stranton, West Hartlepool before moving to Surrey.

Ebenezer shot himself on 7 October 1886 at Claremont Villa, Trewsbury Road, Penge at the age of just 45. Those close to him stated that he had been unwell for a time. The subsequent inquest found that he had committed suicide whilst of unsound mind. Ebenezer left a personal estate of £7,235.

Owners: 1876 Robert Morton Middleton & Co. West Hartlepool: 1885 Jackson Bros. & Cory (Walter Jackson) London.

Masters: 1877-80 H Dew: 1880-81 JR Williams: 1882-83 J Higgon: 1884-85 J Hetherington.

Voyages: May 1881 Swansea for New York & St Johns, New Brunswick: June 1881 St Johns for Sharpness & Swansea: July 1881 Swansea for Kiel & Lulea: August 1881 Lulea for London & Savona: September 1881 Savona for Carthegena & Baltimore: November 1881 Baltimore for Con Bay, New Brunswick & New York: December 1881 New York for Sydney, New Brunswick & Havana January 1882 Havana for Cardenas & Sagua La Grande: January 1882 Sagua La Grande for Boston, Mass & Baltimore.

On a voyage from South Shields to Alexandria with a cargo of coal Lady Frances was wrecked near Alexandria on 11 September 1885 with the loss of nine lives.

Stockton & Hartlepool Mercury 24 October 1885:

A survivor’s account:

‘She left South Shields on 26 August 1885 bound for Alexandria with a cargo of coal & a crew of 19. About 170 miles from her destination, on 11 September, Lady Frances struck the Ishailah Rocks. Four of the ship’s boats were launched, two in charge of the master & two in charge of the mate. The master’s boats, a gig holding three men & a lifeboat holding seven, stayed by the ship until she heeled over & sunk the following day. The small boats kept to the coastline but on the third day a gale sprung up so the gig was cut adrift & the three men got into the lifeboat. In the early hours of the morning the lifeboat capsized. Eight of the men managed to get onto the keel of the boat ?**but the chief & the 3rd engineer. After extreme effort the survivors managed to right the boat. Most of their clothing had been lost & they had no food or water which caused them to become delirious. The master was the first affected & drowned when he stepped out of the boat thinking he could wade ashore to get some clothes. A fireman & two seamen followed & in the same manner. The steward was almost deranged & kept asking for a knife so the only one aboard was thrown into the sea to avoid any casualties. The steward then tried to get all the caulking from the boat & capsized it twice. Finally he too went over the side & was drowned as was the 2nd officer. There were now only two in the boat Joseph Bennett & Francis Davidson. On 18 September the 2 men were picked up about 5 miles from Alexandria by the tug Whitworth. They were taken to a hospital to recover & then went aboard the Magdale which took them to Liverpool where they were looked after by the Shipwrecked Mariner’s Society'.

The mate’s boats were at sea for five days with the men suffering badly from thirst. On the 6th day the lifeboat tried to run aground on a beach. The boat capsized & one man was drowned but four made it ashore. They were met by Arabs who took them to Alexandria by camels. The subsequent inquiry found that the 2nd officer could not have been keeping a proper lookout & the stranding was due to the vessel being kept too much to the southward. The master had been given his appointment in 1883 but in June 1885 he had been degraded to chief officer & the vessel was under Henry Dew but, after one voyage, Etherington was made master again. There was no explanation for this unusual state of affairs but he may have been demoted for misconduct, perhaps drinking. There was strong reason to suspect he had been drunk during this voyage & it was proven he was in that state when the vessel was stranded. Nine lives lost

Lives lost September 1885: Cole, chief engineer; Hetherington, John, master; Smith, 3rd engineer; Southcote, 2nd officer

Survivors 1885: Bennett, Joseph; Davidson, Francis

R.M. Middleton founded Middleton & Co. with the purchase of the steamship Rose Middleton from William Gray in 1874. All of the company’s eight ships were built in Hartlepool, four by William Gray and four by Withy. When the first Alverton was wrecked in 1879 they gave the name to another ship purchased in 1880.

The last of the ships were sold in 1886 and 1887, although Robert continued as a shipbroker and shipowner.

'Notice is hereby given that the partnership heretofore subsisting between us, the undersigned, Robert Hayes Carrick, of Bute Docks, Cardiff, in the county of Glamorgan; Otto Kramer Trechmann, of West Hartlepool, in the county of Durham; Albert Frederick Trechmann, of West Hartlepool aforesaid; and Robert Morton Middleton (the younger), formerly of West Hartlepool aforesaid, but now of Ealing, in the county of Middlesex, carrying on business as Ship and Steamship Owners, Ship and Steamship Managers, Ship and Insurance Brokers, Coal Exporters, and Commission Agents, at Cardiff and Barry Dock, in the county of Glamorgan, and Newport, in the county of Monmouth, under the style of "Trechmann, Carrick & Company," has by mutual consent been dissolved by the retirement of the said Robert Morton Middleton from the said Partnership, as from the 12th day of November, 1897. All debts due to and owing by the said late firm will be received and paid by the said Robert Hayes Carrick, Otto Kramer Trechmann, and Albert Frederick Trechmann, who will continue to carry on the said partnership business of Trechmann, Carrick, and Company" at Cardiff, Barry Dock, and Newport aforesaid. 12th November, 1897.'

Family History:

Robert Morton Middleton was born on 25^th January 1846 at Sowerby, Yorkshire to parents Robert Morton (banker’s agent for Backhouse Bank) and Mary Ann (nee Hutton) Middleton.  He grew up in Northallerton and also went into banking as a clerk for Backhouse Bank. Robert moved to Hartlepool and married Rose Helen Meredith on 7^th July 1870 at Christ Church. During their marriage they had five daughters and a son.

On the 1871 census Robert was listed as a banking accountant living at York Road, Stranton with his wife. By 1881 he was listed as a shipowner living at Hudworth Cottage, Castle Eden with his wife and five daughters. On the 1891 census Robert was listed as a shipowner and investment agent living at Ealing, Middlesex with his wife, four daughters and their son.

Robert was a keen botanist and a collector of natural history specimens and became a fellow of the Linnean Society. He stayed for a short while in Tennessee and then in Valparaiso, Chile. In 1890 he donated a large number of specimens to McGill University in Canada. He returned to England, probably in 1891 as he is listed in the census as living at Ealing, and was a temporary assistant at the Natural History Museum until his death.

Correspondence to and from Robert regarding natural history can be found on the internet.

 Robert died of appendicitis aged 63 on 9^th August 1909 at Carshalton, Surrey leaving effects of £9,268. His wife, Rose, died in 1923.