Cork - Wreck of the Royal Adelaide Steamer - 7 Apr 1850 *********************************************** Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives Cork Index Copyright ************************************************ File contributed by: Michael Coomber MICHAELCOOMBER@aol.com WRECK OF THE ROYAL ADELAIDE STEAMER - 7 APR 1850 AWFUL AND FATAL WRECK OF THE ROYAL ADELAIDE STEAMER. We regret exceedingly to announce one of the most melancholy casualties at sea which has occurred upon our coast for some years. The City of Dublin Steam-packet Company's ship, Royal Adelaide, Captain John BATTY, plying between the ports of Cork and London, left the former city on Wednesday afternoon, the 27th ult., with a full cargo of goods and passengers, touched off Plymouth on Thursday evening, left that port for London on Friday morning at three o'clock, and was totally lost on the Tongue Sand, off Margate, at eleven o'clock last Saturday night, when every soul on board perished. The following return of the names of the crew of the Royal Adelaide was received on Thursday, by the secretary of the company from Liverpool, to which port it appears, nearly the whole of them belonged. William GOWER, chief mate ; George NORTH, second mate; William SCOTT, third mate; William REILLY, chief engineer ; William CROOK, second engineer; Charles COCKLAND, fireman; John DELANY, fireman; Thomas WILLIAMS, fireman; James MOORE, fireman; John DOYLE, fireman; William BELLIS, fireman; Patrick CAREY, coal- trimmer; Michael WOOLFE, coal-trimmer; William SEAGAR, sailor; James NEICE, sailor; John STAMPER, sailor; Robert TOZER, sailor; Joseph MORGAN, sailor; Ambrose TURNER, carpenter; Thomas BUTLER, boy; Henry HILLIER, steward; and Sarah GARETTY, stewardess. The Royal Adelaide was commanded by Captain John BATTY, of Cork, who has been in the service of the Dublin Steam-packet Company upwards of twenty years, during a great portion of which he has commanded ships on the London and Dublin and London and Cork stations. He was considered one of the most experienced sailors in the service, and was besides a man of no ordinary attainments. The sole command of his ship devolved upon him until he arrived off Gravesend, when the river pilot took charge. Captain BATTY was universally beloved and respected, and his fate is deeply regretted. He has left a family of young children. His wife died suddenly about six months ago. Fourteen passengers boarded at Plymouth at 3.30 a.m. on Friday morning, bound for London, viz :- Cabin Passengers:- Mr & Mrs PAYNE and two children, Mrs HURST, Miss WETTERS, and Mr TUCKER, a young sailor, who was going to London to join a ship bound for New Zealand. The deck passengers from Plymouth were a woman named WELSH and three children, a an named SQUIRES, about twenty-five years of age, and two other passengers named respectively MUNRO and THOMPSON. Mr PAYNE was a surgeon, who resided at Albany-place, Plymouth. Mrs. Mary Anne HURST was the wife of a coachman in a gentleman's family residing on the Surrey side of the river; she was married only at Christmas, and had been on a visit to relations in Lostwithiel, with her sister Miss WETTER. Ann WELSH aged 35,of 16, Mulberry-street, Devonport , had 3 children with her aged 14, 9 & 6, and had left a son aged 17 who is employed at the ship- building- yard of Mr BANKS, Frank's-quarry, Mount Edgecombe. Ann WELSH took her furniture and was going to join her husband, John WELSH, a boatswain in the Royal Navy, on board a man-of-war at Woolwich. The following list of the passenger's was received by Mr HARTLEY, the manager of the City of Dublin Steam Navigation Company, on Friday morning, from the agent at Cork. Ally HICKEY and N. LEARY, BATTERBY, P. and Ann SULLIVAN ; LEARYS ( wife and child ); C. KEANE, P. DELANE and boy, R. REILY, E. HAMILTON, M.CREED. J. KEEFE, E. WALL and wife; C. DEVANE, D. DALY, HOWLEY and COLLINS, M. DAY, one child; C. BUCKLEY, Mary ROACHE, B. MURPHY, SULLIVAN ( E, N, & J. ) E. BUTTLER, M. YOUNG; J. MEAGON, wife and two children; Biddy HOLAN and 2 children. HURT, SULLIVAN, and 2 children; Andy BARRETT, T. MURPHY, J. MURPHY. Julia MURPHY, one party; Alice MURPHY and 3 children, BARRETT, MADEGAN, and COLLINS; Ellen REARDON, J. APERN, Jude KELLY, one party; J. GRAHAM and daughter; M. LORDEN, Ellen LEARY, UNDERGAR, WALSH, HOGAN and HAYES; E. and M. ROYMAYNE; BOYLE and sister; Abraham BOYLE, Will BOYLE, one party; E. KELEHUR and child; D. COLEMAN, D. COLEMAN, jun., Jane HURLEY, Ellen DALY, C. CRONIN, one party; E. CROWLEY, M. McCARTHY, S. SINCOCKS and child; Hannah LAHIVE, B. SHEA and KELLY; M. BRIEN, J. HOGAN, J. HARRINGTON, Mary PUCKL, Mary DRISCOLL, Mary COWLEY, and 3 small children, one party; four adults ( no names given ) John FITZPATRICK, Mary PICKET and child; C. SULLIVAN ( booked and not gone ) REGAN and child, one adult ( name not given ) M MADIGAN, PUCKLE, J. MARONY, M. SHAUGHNESSEY, D. SHEHAN, one party; KAUFIL, J. KAUFIL, QUICK, one party; SCALON, C. WILLIAMS, A. SWEET, MAGRATH, J. GREEN, M. HENESSY, MACKIN, WALSH, J. BUCKLEY, Sally FINNEEN, DWYER, M. CORBOT, NOONAN, Mary LEARY, FAHY, C. D. BRIEN, one child, a soldier named BENNETT, J. SULLIVAN, M. BARRY, HERN and HOWGAN, MURPHY, COLLINS, HINGELEY, FLANNAGAN, 2 SULLIVAN's, COUGHLAN, REARDON, McCARTHY, MELLISH, F. GLYNN, TWOOMY, HEALY, WELDON and wife, J. SHAUGHNESSY, MADIGAN, SULLIVAN, HEALY, 2 adults and 3 boys ( no names ) The only cabin passenger for London was Mr O'CALLAGHAN, who said he might get out at Plymouth. There were 144 adults from Cork; 23 children from Cork, 14 passengers from Plymouth, 25 crew, including Captain Mr. J. BATTY, a total of 206, who perished on board this steamer, off Margate. Source: Extracts from a report in The Era ( London, England ), Sunday, April 7, 1850; Issue 602.