I have retyped the excerpts from the book “Tall ships of the Piscataqua”. It should be considered one of the best sources for information on the ship Orient and gives the reader an excellent insight into its final days in the New Orleans area as a coal barge. The account gives us finite detail of the final hours (Sept 18 1885) of the barge and the tragic loss of its five crew in a devastating storm.

The reference to another incident in 1856, in Havre France, talks about the ship running aground due to the “stupidity” (quote unquote) of the French Pilot. Hill was the Captain and managed to get the ship towed back to England for repairs.

I will make up a legend that will refer to accounts such as this one (and all the other entries).

I am going to try to get to the Vancouver Public Library this week to relook at several books and try to find several of the books in my reference list that might have a picture of the ship and, hopefully in the near future, a picture of Hill.

Hugh Parkinson to Dana Parkinson

Excerpts from the “Tall ships of the Piscatagua” by Ray Brighton

Orient

Specifications: 1852 George Raynes. Billet head, Square Stern. Burthen, 1560 tons. Length 201 feet; beam, 41 feet; depth, 20.5 feet. Three decks. Original owners – Spofford and Tileston & Co., Capt. Francis M French, all of New York; and George Raynes.

In a news item on August 16, 1852, the chronicle said,

George Raynes has a ship ready for launching at his yard – intended for packet or freighter – of Herculean dimensions, – and of finish and fastening the most perfect and solid which timber and metal can form. Mr. Raynes has laid out upon this ship all the science and mechanism, for which, during years of experience, he has been distinguished, and the ship is a castle of strength and solidity which will challenge the admiration of every observer.

Pretty heady praise, but it was deserving. George Raynes was nearing the peak of his years as a shipbuilder. Not only did he excel in quality but also in quantity. During the year prior to the launching of the Orient, Raynes had constructed two clippers, the Wild Pigeon and the more famed Witch of the Wave. In addition, he had built and launched, to order, two almost identical schooners, the Minna, 299 tons, and the Brinda, 300 tons. The Minna is known to have had an alligator figurehead and a round stern. The two vessels were built for the people in Boston, who sent them to China to work in the highly lucrative opium trade. Great Britain had fought a war with China a decade earlier, and her victory opened up the Orient to Western trade, one of the by-products of which was opium. The launching of the ship Orient was reported:

Launch of a large ship. – On Wednesday noon a ship of 1800 tons was launched from the yard of George Raynes, Esq. in fine style. – Not having been sold, she is yet a candidate for a name as well as for a market. The high reputation of the builder will not leave her long on upon his hands. Her extreme length is 201 feet, 1 inch; extreme breadth 41 ft. 8 in.; breadth at plank sheer 38 ft. 3 ½ in.; whole depth 29 ft.6 in.; length of keel 191 ft. 3 in. (53):

Well that was praise from the Chronicle. On October 16 the Journal joined the chorus.

This ship which we announced a few weeks since as having been launched from the yard of George Raynes, Esq. and awaiting a market and a name, has been disposed of to Messrs. Spofford & Tileston & Co. and Capt. F.M. French of New York, – Mr. Raynes retaining an interest in her. She last week received the smooth name Orient. This term, expressive of the east as well as of the place for the rising sun, might a few years since have been regarded inappropriate for an American vessel, which is built on the sunset side of the Atlantic. But the westward course of empire has in fact made our States the Orient of the golden region.

The Orient is a noble ship of 1500 tons. Her extreme length is 201 feet, 1 inch; extreme breadth 41 ft. 8 in. breadth at plank sheer 38 ft. 3 ½ in. ; whole depth 29 ft. 6 in. length of keel 181 ft. 3 in. Her model is new, and her arrangements for passengers, very extensive and convenient. The arrangements for ventilation of the hold, are such as should be generally adopted in all large ships. Her deck cabin is finished in a style of elegance rarely surpassed – and as a whole she is an honor to the builder and to all those who have aided by the exercise of her respective arts. She will sail probably in the course of a week, either for New York or for the South, to be commanded by Capt. French.

The Orient went to sea on Friday, October 19, headed for New York and probable passage to Liverpool the next day, the Journal commented:

We would command her to the attention of connoisseurs in the ship building in New York, having some improvements which have not been before met with, which Captain French can readily point out. She has accommodation between decks for 870 passengers, allowing 14 superficial feet to each. Her government tonnage is 1,560 – carpenter’s 2,200.

Those not acquainted with shipbuilding are not aware of the amount of salt used to preserve the hull. In the Orient, over 400hhds. of salt were used for this purpose – and will probably have to be renewed at the end of the year. (54)

Ships usually left the Port of Portsmouth under carpenter’s measure, and that was the way burthens were entered in the Portsmouth District Customs Records, dating back to 1789. The news story again emphasized the importance of salt in the construction of vessels.

The Orient startled New York’s shipping industry when she cleared for Liverpool on Dec. 7. It was “the largest cargo which ever for that port. Her cargo consists of 31,751 bushels of wheat, 1970 bales of cotton, 2259 barrels of flour, 1826 barrels of rosin, 165 tierces of clover seed, 63 tierces of ashes, 13,000 hhds. Staves and other packages; besides which she had 70 second class passengers . (55)

Spofford and Tileston had operated the Dramatic Line, which was sold in 1852, and the partners established the Patriotic Line, with the new ship Orient and the rebuilt Henry Clay as a nucleus for a packet fleet. “The Orient was a three-decker, 201 feet in length and measuring 1560 tons by the existing rule. Under the rule adopted in 1865 she measured 1833 tons” (56). It was also noted that the tide of immigration had ebbed slightly, but there were hopes it would flood again. And in 1854, the Orient did come into New York with 400 steerage passengers from Liverpool.

Her various adventures were well told in an article in Harper’s (January 1884), reprinted by the Chronicle on Jan. 5 1884:

Spofford & Tileston Liverpool line was started about 1852 with the “Orient”, the “Henry Clay” (rebuilt from the burned Henry Clay of the Grinnell Line), the “Webster”, and the “Calhoun”, Captain Truman. The “Orient” and the “Webster” were built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by George Raynes, and the former is afloat* to-day carrying cotton from New Orleans to Liverpool. Her commander in the packet period Capt. George S. Hill, the well known secretary of the Marine Society who once commanded the “Henry Clay”. In 1856, the “Orient” was chartered by the French government to take freight from New York to Havre at the rate of twenty-five cents a bushel of wheat. She carried 80,000 bushels (or 2100 tons) in shipper’s bags. And 1000 barrels of flour, but on arriving at Havre was run aground by the stupidity of a French pilot, and swung directly across the entrance to the harbor, and while some steamboats were trying to tow her off, she brought up on the old wall of a fortification and broke herself in two. Her master had her towed to Liverpool for repairs. On one of his trips to that city and back, Capt Hill collected $50,000 in freight money; and Captain Joseph J Lawrence, of the “Webster”, of the same line once “grossed” $60,000.

*The Orient when launched was put down at 1561 tons register, in the treasury list of merchant vessels for the year ending June 30th, 1883, she is down as measuring 1833 tons, the difference being in the methods of measurement employed at the two periods. And her name, in this list, is marked with a “star”, which indicated that the vessel referred to has been reported to the treasury department “as lost, wrecked, burned, abandoned, sunk, stranded, foundered, condemned or missing,” and that she “will be dropped from the next annual list, unless reported within one year as being in service.” Something over a year ago the Orient was dismasted in the Gulf of Mexico, shortly after leaving New Orleans for Liverpool with a cargo of cotton and was towed back to New Orleans; we have never seen any account of her sailing again, and doubt is she ever makes another voyage.

In 1870, the Orient was working in the Guano trade. Her freight charge was in gold. In the last year of that decade, the Orient was sold for $24,000 – not a bad price for a vessel 27 years old. George Raynes’s estate still held an interest in her.

The beginning of the end of the Orient

The beginning of the end came three years later when the Orient was wrecked in the Gulf of Mexico. She was abandoned on Sept. 9. 1882, dismasted and waterlogged, floating with her second deck under water, her cargo of lumber keeping her from sinking. She was “towed from the Southwest Pass on the 18th by the pilot boat Underwriter, and taken up to the New Orleans on the 19th by tug boats. Her bow was badly stove, her upper decks nearly all gone, and her topsides carried away down to the second deck on the starboard side. Had she not been put together, as was customary with ships built on the Piscataqua 30 years ago, and ever since for that matter, the hammering she received from the sea would have made matchwood of her”. (57)

The damage apparently was severe enough to end the Orients career as a sailing vessel. She was stripped down and turned into a barge – often the fate of rugged Piscataqua ships. On September 21, 1885, the Chronicle reported:

Gone at last

A dispatch of Sept. 18th, from Galveston Texas, gives the following particulars of the loss of the coal barge Orient, with her crew of five men:

“With the tug Ranger, towing the barge Orient, from New Orleans with coal, was rounding a bar this morning, the hawser parted. The barge anchored, and the tug came in for a new cable. A heavy sea was on, and the anchor chain parting, the barge was driven aground five miles from the island. When the Ranger returned she was unable to reach the barge, or to rescue her crew of five men. A lifeboat was immediately manned by five experienced seamen, and started for the Orient. When they reached the barge the sea was fast wrecking her. The lifeboat drew close to the barge, when one of the imperiled seamen jumped into the boat and capsized it. All of the seamen who went out in the lifeboat came ashore near the Beach hotel, floating on their life preservers. The man who jumped into the lifeboat is undoubtedly lost, as are his four companions on the barge. Quantities of drift floating ashore indicate that the Orient has gone to pieces. The Ranger has returned. It is impossible for any boat to reach the scene of the wreck in the heavy sea now running”.

Such was the tragic end of the old ship Orient.

Dana, for the record, here is the list of sources that I have established over the last 13-14 years in the process of researching parallel aspects of the Prudence Journal and the ship the “Orient”.

I thought it best to catalogue these sources for others to follow up (and expand on the site) in the future.

I am heading to Calgary on Sunday Mar 15 (for business meetings with CP Rail on Monday Mar. 16) and will stop by to see Vera Sunday afternoon to show her the first cuts of the web site. I talked to her tonight and she told me that the journal was obtained by Gordon and Vera from Peter Frymann (Born May 19,1946) in England. Peter is the son of Arthur (born 1910) and Yvete Frymann, a relative of ours through the Becklake, Frymann and Robinson clan. Vera will try to put me in contact with Peter (address and phone number) so that I can alert them to the pending web site and to attempt to trace who gave the journal to him and try to trace it back to Prudence.

Gordon advised me that Captain Strible Hill’s sister Frances Strible Hill was my Great, Great Grandmother, so there is the connection.

The Captain lived on Putnam Ave in New York, died in 1888 and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in NY.

Prudence died in 1904. Her diamond ring was passed onto to her niece, Martha Theresa (also known as Aunt Tiese) (born 7 / 20 in New York / 1871 died 9 / 4 / 1946, (unmarried)

Reading the family tree further, I might be able to connect the dots to tract the path that the Journal took to get to Peter Frymann and possibly, the hands that the quilt passed through to get to Kay Robinson. Betty (who now has the quilt) is going to ask Kay, at her 102nd birthday in June, in Salmon Arm.

We have copies of the family trees that traces the Smith / Frymann / Robinson / Becklake families through to my parents and me.

Love, Dad
(Hugh Parkinson to Dana Parkinson)

Tim,

I am going to be in Calgary Sunday Mar 15 (business mtg at CP Rail Monday Morning).

I called Vera (Becklake) last night and mentioned that I would like to stop by and see her to show her the start of our family web site (that my daughter Dana has started working on) on the shipThe Orient.

I also asked her to pass on the address and phone number for Peter Frymann (in England).

As mentioned to you in an earlier email Tim, Peter is the relative in England that was the keeper of the Prudence Strible Hill (Captain George Strible Hill’s wife) journal, that Gordon and Vera picked up, from Peter, and brought back to Canada.

The web site will include pictures of the quilt that Prudence hand made while on the Orient.

Fortunatley, the quilt is now in the hands of Betty (nee Robinson) and Garth down in Denver, Colorado. Betty took the quilt away from Kay Robinson (102 years this June) now in a nursing home in Salmon Arm, knowing the significance of its family history of this quilt, in order to make certian that it was not thrown away (or given away by mistake by a care worker). Vera says she has a small photo of the quilt, as well.

I will also be asking Peter if he can trace a path back to who he received the “Prudence” Journal from to see if we can link it back to Prudence.

We will also (through Betty) attempt to trace the trail of the Quilt and determine who (in England, or possibly New York, where Prudence died), she got the quilt from. An interesting bit of detective work, to say the least, Tim.

I will have a copy of the (Prudence) Journal, along with all the background info, with me on Sunday, so if you would like to review this, I will be pleased to brief you on it, at Vera’s.

I will be there around 1:00 p.m. ( I know that Vera has a St. Patrick’s day dinner at 5:30 so I will only be there until about 3:00 pm)

Hope to see you there.

Regards

Hugh Parkinson (to Tim Becklake and Dana Parkinson)

Hello, Betty, it was great to hear from you today. It is hard to believe that it was 1969 when we last met you and Garth (at your apartment in Montreal) when Gail and I were heading to Asbestos, Quebec for the one year (mining) project at CJM, with Dana (our daughter).

This is terrific news about the fact that you have the quilt in your care. This is the solid link that we can now collectively point to and admire as the achievement of a remarkable and strong-willed lady, namely, Prudence Stribblehill.

The fact that Kay was the keeper of this treasure for so many years is, in itself, also very important and (if you agree , Betty), I would suggest that we acknowledge Kay as the steward of the quilt still today (even though it is in your safe hands).

The fact that she introduced the quilt to her friends (and shared its historical significance) amongst the quilting community should (and will) also be noted in the web site.

I will suggest to our daughter, Dana Parkinson, (who has started the ardous process of establishing the web site) www.roundthehornin1867.com, that we acknowledge this physical connection to the Orient journal’s author -Prudence, in the form of the quilt, through Kay.

I will also suggest to Dana that we include the Robinson family in the heading (now reads as Parkinson, Becklake families) if you agree, Betty.

What we would like to establish (if at all possible) is how (through which family connection?) Kay came into possession of the quilt. Perhaps she can shed some light on that.

Any names of the relatives that had the quilt (in England) that Kay can recall as holding the quilt (before handing it over to Kay) would certainly be a bonus, for the web site.

We would be pleased to include those names (in England or elsewhere) that were in possession of the quilt at some time on the web site, of course.

Ideally, we would want to trace it back through to the date that Prudence worked on the quilt when she finished her journey (on the Orient) on Sunday Feb. 7th, 1869 in Browershaven, Shonwen Island, Holland.

Copied above is Tim Becklake (Gordon and Vera’s son). I will ask Tim, here, to make sure that Vera gets an opportunity to read this email since it was Vera (still sharp as ever) that was able to give us your coordinates, Betty.

Perhaps (with Tim’s help), Vera can recall if the relatives that gave her and Gordon the journal, (during their trip to England in the early 90’s) may have also been the connection that gave Kay the quilt. It is worth asking, I think.

The information that we have accumulated (in addition to the 18 page journal, by Prudence) to date, Betty, includes:

Copy of a (dated) San Francisco Newspaper (Gail and I dug out in the old archives during a trip to Sacramento, California in the mid 90’s) that gives the dates of arrivals and departures of specific ships (by name, including the Orient) ), including the Captain’s name, which matches exactly the dates referred to by Prudence in her Journal. This information authenticates her journal.

Pictures (from various marine books and accounts from around the world) of the Orient’s Builder and a record of the names of most of the ships that he built on the east coast of the US.

Picture of the shipyard (where the Orient was built) with one of the ships (without masts) on the weighs, just before launching.

Pictures of one of the owners of the Orient.

Pictures of the flag that the Orient flew.

A description (from an early advertisement) of guano (bird excretions) and its benefits as a fertilizer. It was guano that the Orient loaded in Peru and transported to Holland on its last recorded (by Prudence) voyage.

Pictures of sister (three masted, packet) ships of the Orient. We do not have a picture of the Orient yet.

Detailed ledgers of several sailings from New York to London, of the Orient and other similar-sized packet ships including: type of cargo carried, crossing times (in days) compared to the other ships, the name of the Captain (George Stribbelhill);, the name of the owner.

Detailed (2-page) description of the Orient, written in the prose of the day just after she was built including:  length, beam;, draught dimensions, 3 main mast dimensions, above deck and below decks detail. There is enough information in this article to build a model of the Orient.

A hand-written account of the minutes of a meeting (in New York) where George Stribblehill is mentioned as one of the directors of an exclusive marine association, which also includes his registration number in the association.

Detailed account of an incident off the coast of France where a French pilot gave the wrong command and the Orient ended up breaking apart on the rocks. Captain Stribbelhill managed to get the ship patched up enough to have it towed back to England where it was completely rebuilt to sail again.

Detailed account of the last months, weeks and days (down to last hours) of the Orient (at this point running as a towed coal barge) after she was caught in a hurricane off the Gulf of Mexico are seen here. Several men were lost at sea (from a tug boat company trying to save the barge). The barge finally sank.

A reference in a periodical of the death of George Stribblehill and the address of the cemetery where he is buried in New York is included.

I believe we have enough information (now that we can include pictures of the quilt, and possibly Kay’s recollections of who she received it from) to put a rather interesting (factual account) web site together.

During the mid 90’s I contacted several maritime museums around the world searching for additional historical information on the ship “The Orient” as well as on Captain Stribbelhill. One of the most interesting connections was with Jim Delgado who (at the time) was the director of the Vancouver Maritme Museum. Jim was very interested in the journal and was very helpfull in digging out a wealth of information on both the ship and the Captain. I asked if he was interested in a copy of the journal and he said “yes, by all means”, so we traded.

For the record, Jim is now one of the key figures in the (TV series on Discovery) The Sea Hunters, which is funded by, and inspired by (for the show), Jim’s business associate, Clive Cussler (the author of many fiction and non-fiction books).

Who knows, perhaps a novel and a blockbuster movie sequel, to follow. I will have to get a hold of Jim when we are ready. I won’t hold my breath, but it is fun to dream, I think.

Dana has done a great job of getting us started (with her uncanny computer skills) but this (web site constructon) is not going to happen overnight since we are all busy. However, the fact that we have the information in our possession is a great first step. The fact that we can now point to the quilt, with pictures, as the physical link back to the journal, is a real bonus.

Thanks once again, Betty, for getting in touch. You mentioned coming through White Rock in late April on the way to visit Kay for her 102nd birthday on May 1., which in itself (her 102nd birthday) is fantastic.

We would love to have you stop by (perhaps for dinner or lunch, if you have time) on your way to Morgan Creek, and on to Salmon Arm.

Tim, stay in touch and let us know what Vera can recall about the possible connection between the keeper of the journal (when Gordon and Vera picked it up in England) and if it was the same family member that passed the quilt onto Kay.

Regards

Hugh Parkinson

Hugh Parkinson to Dana Parkinson (daughter), Gail Parkinson (wife), Tim Becklake (cousin) and Betty and Garth Robinson.

Tim,

I thought that, after our family get-together last year at Vera’s and our conversation regarding the family journal “Round the Horn – 1867″, written by Prudence Strible Hill (wife of Captain George Strible Hill) that you might be interested in the fact that our daughter Dana (living now in Manzanillo Mexico) has started to develop a web site on the journal.

You can view the first part of the journal (the first 1/2 is now complete) at www.roundthehorn1867.com

We will be adding features (that we have researched back in 1996 and 1997, since Gordon and Vera brought the journal back from England in the mid 90’s) to the account, as time goes on, including:

Specifications and a complete published description of the the Ship “The Orient”, just after it was launched.

Where it was built and the name of the shipyard; A picture of the builder;

A picture of the owner of the ship at the time Captain Strible Hill was running the ship;

A picture of the flag that the Orient flew.

A picture of a sister ship to the Orient (we are still trying to get a picture of the “Orient”);

An account of various sailings of the Orient under Captain Strible Hill to England from New york including sailing dates;

Total sailing times and cargo aboard, and comparisons of sailing times against other three-masted packet ships of that period;

We have an advertisment (from the 1800s) that details the features of guano (bird excretment) that the Orient loaded in Peru on the final voyage (back around the Horn eastbound) to Holland, where the journal ends;

A published account of where and when the Orient was destroyed and sank in the Gulf of Mexico and references to the fact that several (tug boat) deckhands died trying, unsucessfully, to get a line on the ship to save it from going aground.

A copy of a newspaper (from California) that details the exact date that Prudence refers to in her journal on the day that they arrived in San Fransisco (from New York) and the exact date of departure from San Fransisco for Peru. This (ship arrivals and departures section of the newspaper) article legitimizes the journal.

We also have an article that (in handwritten form) shows a reference to Captain Strible Hill as a member of a an exclusive Mariners’ Club in New York and refers also to his club registration number.

We have the date of death of both the Captain and Prudence along with the location of the cemetery (for the Captain) in New York.

I am attempting to get a hold of a picture of the quilt that Prudence (we have seen picture years ago , before Gordon died) made during the voyage. She refers to working on the quilt several times, in the journal. We understand from Vera (called her last night-she had the flu, unfortunately) that Kay Robinson (in a rest home in Salmon Arm) has this quilt and we are hoping to get a picture of the quilt from someone in the Robinson family that can possibly recall having seen the quilt. This (the quilt) will become a living piece of the historical account.

Vera (tonight, and feeling much better) has given me a phone number for Betty Robinson in Denver, Colorado, so I have left a message and I am hoping to hear back from her to see if she could possibly arrange to get a picture from Kay and of course ensure that the quilt is kept in the family and not given away to someone that does not appreciate the significance of this piece of history.

Perhaps you could pass this journal web site connection to Pat and Paul. I will gladly answer any questions you and the other family members might have, Tim.

Regards

Hugh Parkinson to Dana Parkinson and Tim Becklake

I have a stack of approx 2″ of background information including:

Picture of, and a bio on, the Orient’s builder, George Raynes.

A list of the ships that Raynes built, including the Orient.

Pictures of similar-sized, three-masted, packet ships (no picture so far of the Orient).

Picture of the George Raynes’ ship yard in Portsmouth, with a packet ship hull (no masts) on the weighs.

Article from the San Francisco newspaper (Mom and I retrieved from the archives in Sacramento Cal.) that details the arrival date in San Francisco of several ships on a particular day (including the Orient) that matches and authenticates the Prudence journal (including reference to the Captain) and the departure date for Calleo (Peru) to pick up the load of Guano.

Sketches of typical rigging (mast sizes, sail sizes, etc.) of typical packet ships of that era) with incredible detail.

A two-page (written at the time of launch of the Orient in very flowery language of the period ) very detailed description of the Orient. Likely enough detail to have a model built.

Several pages describing typical packet ships (of which Orient was one) crossing dates (arrival; departure, tonnages); name of the Captain (Hill); comparisons of the fastest and the slowest crossings from New York to England.

An account of the fact that the packet ships were also used to transport new immigrants to America including the range of the number of passengers.

Excerpt from the Society of Marine Captains (Hill was a member in New York) that describes George Strible Hill and his Mariner’s Certification number and his involvement in the society, all hand written by a recording secretary.

Date of birth and death (where he is buried in a New York cemetery c/w address of Cemetery ) of Captain Hill and the date of death of Prudence.

If in New York, it would be rather interesting to go to his grave and take a picture. It would be

interesting also to drop into Portsmouth to see what we could find on the location (street address

mentioned in article) of the George Raynes shipyard and dig a little deeper into trying to find a picture of the Orient.

A picture of the owner of the Orient during its Packet ship period.

A picture of the company flag that Orient flew.

An early advertisement in a trade journal that highlights the features and benefits of guano (bird crap) as a fertilizer. That was the load (guano) that the Orient picked up in Calleo, Peru to transport back to Holland where the journal ends.

An account of the amount of money that the Orient received for hauling a particular cargo to England from New York ($50,000.00).

An account of the fact that Capt. Hill was of such stature (in the shipping business) that he was allowed to take his wife (Prudence) with him on the crossings.

An account of the Orient running aground off the coast of France (due to the “stupidity” of the French pilot). and the fact the Capt. Hill was able to patch the broken hull back together enough to get the damaged packet ship hauled (by tugs) back to England for repair and that they were able to put the ship back on the run to New York.

A full account of the final months, weeks and down to the day (including the date and time) that the Orient was destroyed in a storm in the Gulf of Mexico off New Orleans. Tragically, five people were lost at sea trying to save the ship (which, by that time in its long service was chopped down (sails and cabins removed) to serve as a towed coal barge).

I would say we have enough material to flesh out a rather interesting, online, book. It will take some time to put all the articles together since some of them have started to fade (done in 96-97) and may have to be recopied at the libraries that I sourced the material from.

Regards

Dad
Hugh Parkinson to Dana Parkinson and Gail Parkinson