John Burke (1844-1895)

John Burke was a brother to Martin Burke (my 2x-great-grandfather). He was born in Co Mayo in 1844, moved to Perth, Scotland with the family around the time of the Famine, and then emigrated to New Zealand around 1883. He died at the residence of his brother Martin in Burnham in 1895, and is buried in the Darfield Catholic Cemetery.

The first time we come across John is at his baptism. He was baptised on 2 June 1844, in Aghagower Parish, Co Mayo. His baptism entry reads:     June 2^nd John Michl Biddy Burke Derrycraugh   Richard Jennings Cathy(?) Flynn 

John’s parents, Michael Burke and Bridget Flynn, later moved to Perth, Scotland with the family. We also see those with the  sponsors’ surnames, Jennings and Flynn, in Perth. Bridget’s mother’s name (discovered from Scottish records) was Derrig / Derrick.

Aghagower (Aughagower) is a rural village, 8km from Westport, Co Mayo, that was once the site of a powerful medieval monastery on the pilgrimage route from Ballintubber to Croagh Patrick. It still has a round tower, and an extensive graveyard. This whole area was severely impacted by the Famine.

The rural townland of Derrycraugh was listed as the location of the family at the time of John’s baptism. Burton cousins who have visited report that there is nothing much to see there now, other than a few ruined buildings scattered in the rural landscape.

Within a few years of John’s birth, the family had left Aghagower Parish behind, and were next found in Perthshire, Scotland. Whether they left solely because of the Famine, and/or whether there might have been an eviction by the landlord, is not known at this stage. It's also not known whether they went directly to Perth or perhaps stopped somewhere else first.

By 1851 the Burke/Flynn family are established in Perth though I haven’t found them there in the 1851 Scottish Census. However, in April 1851, Mary, another daughter for Michael and Bridget Burke, was baptised there, and in 1852 we see that Patrick Jennings, a son of Richard Jennings and Mary Flinn, is also baptised there. (Richard was a sponsor for John’s baptism.)

At the time of the 1861 census we find the family living at 134 High St, Perth (having a room with 1+ windows). At home on census night is Michael Burke, aged 52, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Bridget aged 49. John is listed as being unmarried, aged 16, and a cabinet maker apprentice. Their son Martin is described as married aged 19, and a ploughman, while John’s unmarried brother Thomas is listed as being aged 20, and also a ploughman. His younger sister Mary is listed aged 9, with her birthplace given as Perthshire, Perth. She is the only family member with a birthplace other than Ireland.

In the 1871 census, the address of the family appears to be 129 High Street, with Bridget listed as head of the household, her husband Michael having died in 1868. John Burke is said to be aged 26 and a labourer. His older brother Thomas, younger sister Mary, and nephew Michael Burke are also living there.

In the 1881 Scottish census, we find just John and his brother Thomas sharing a household, and this is the last census in which we find mention of John Burke in Scotland. The brothers are both described as unmarried, and they are living at 126 High St  with their residence described as having two rooms with one or more windows. John is said to be head of the household and a railway porter. Thomas’s occupation is listed as waggon wright.

John emigrated soon after this census it would seem, as he was said to have been in New Zealand for 12 years at the time of his death in January 1895. He must have arrived in New Zealand around 1883, but I have found it very difficult to find out anything much about him here. (John Burke is a common name in South Canterbury, which doesn't help!) 

 In 1893, the first year in which women could vote, four members of the Burke family are enrolled to vote on the Selwyn Roll- including both Ann and Martin, and their two adult children, Thomas and Ann. These are John’s sister-in-law, brother, and nephew and niece. John, however does not appear. Perhaps he was living and working elsewhere? Or perhaps he simply never enrolled.

If I later find out more about John’s life in New Zealand, I will update this document, but for the time being I am going to skip to John’s death and burial.

A death notice appeared for John Burke in the Lyttelton Times on 7 January 1895, saying that he had died at his brother’s residence in Burnham on January 5^th, aged 52 years.

 There was a funeral notice the same day saying that Mr Martin Burke informed friends that the funeral of his brother John would leave his Burnham residence for the Darfield Catholic Cemetery at 8.30am on Tuesday 8^th January.

John’s death registration says that his occupation was a labourer, and that he died of cancer of the liver with a duration of six months illness. It is stated that he had been in New Zealand for a period of 12 years. His funeral was conducted by Fr Chataigner, a French Marist priest, and he was buried at Darfield Catholic Cemetery 

It is easy to find John’s grave, as his headstone is one of four tall similar ones, on the far right as you walk in the main gate of Darfield Catholic Cemetery.

The first headstone in the group was erected in 1892 for his niece Mary Riordan née Burke, who died aged only 29 of consumption. Alongside him is a headstone for his sister-in-law Ann Burke née Philp, who died just over two months after him. The last plot amongst the four was filled in 1911 when Patrick Riordan, husband of Mary Burke, died. (Ann was also said to have died of cancer of the liver, which makes me wonder whether something else like typhoid or hepatitis might have been the culprit for both her and John's deaths- just supposition though.) 

John Burke's headstone reads:
Of your charity pray for the soul of
John Burke,
who died 5^th Janry 1895,
aged 52 years.
R. I. P.
Have pity, have pity on me, at least you my friends.”

John Burke, late of Burnham, farm labourer, died intestate, and Letters of Administration had to be granted through the Supreme Court, Canterbury District to settle his estate.These were awarded to Martin Burke, ‘brother and next of kin of the said deceased’. Martin had to give an oath, and one of the things he stated was that John Burke was unmarried,  and that he believed the estate effects and credits would be under the value of two hundred and fifty pounds.

John, we don't know a lot about you and your life, but you are remembered as one of our family.  Rest in Peace.

Darfield Visit

 Today it was time for a trip out to Darfield and Charing Cross. First I went to the cemetery by the Catholic Church, where a quartet of headstones are there for my Riordan-Burke family. Mary Burke was the first one buried there, after she died of consumption when only 29 years old. Her mother Ann Philp (Burke) and her Uncle John Burke) died within months of each other in 1895. Patrick Riordan, Mary’s husband, died in 1911. 

Next I visited the Darfield Cenotaph, which carries the name of James Riordan, my great-uncle, who died of wounds received in the Battle of the Somme. 

The last visit for the afternoon was to Charing Cross where the Riordan farm used to be. Patrick raised sheep and grew crops, and it seems like similar uses of the land are still in place. But today there were large irrigators also in use. 

Burke Family Gathering

 Yesterday some of my Burke Family whanau had a gathering in Christchurch- a very enjoyable day. The first item for the morning was at Sydenham Cemetery where we had a blessing for a memorial plaque for Martin Burke- my 2x-great-grandfather. He doesn't seem to have ever had a headstone, and a group of us decided that it might be a good idea to erect one. Fr Simon Eccleton was the priest who came along to perform the blessing, a very special thing. He said he often does blessings for the month's mind at cemeteries, but for someone who died over a 100 years ago was a first for him!

Some of us then headed to Lyttelton and took a short cruise across to Quail Island. I appreciated being on the harbour to mark the day when everyone disembarked from the Mermaid, 160 years ago.

Next stop was at the Gondola, which gave a superb view down to the harbour, and also to parts of the Bridle Path that they had to climb over to reach Christchurch itself.

We finished the evening with a wonderful meal celebration with about 44 cousins. I particularly enjoyed meeting up with a couple of Riordan second cousins who I had never met before, and there was a group of Burtons there whose mother had helped me get started on genealogy many years ago. All round, it was a very special and satisfying day, getting to know a large group of whanau I hadn't met before.

Annie Riordan- Sr Majella

 The youngest child of Patrick Riordan and Mary Burke was Annie Riordan, who was just a baby when her mother Mary died of consumption. Sadly, Annie acquired it from her mother, though she lived to be 19 before she went quickly downhill with it.

Annie was reputedly very musical, and in Papers Past there are numerous references to her when at high school for passing music exams (piano and harp) and for singing in concerts. At high school in 1974 I had the lead female solo in a musical, and afterwards some nuns were telling me how much my voice reminded them of this nun who was my relative. It was only when I began doing genealogy quite some time later that I found out the nun in question was my great-aunt Annie Riordan, and that she had died in 1911. The nuns who told me the story about her singing voice could never have heard it, they must have just heard the tradition amongst the congregation about her voice.

I am presently in Christchurch for a Burke family gathering, and took the opportunity to go to Linwood Cemetery to update my photos of Annie's grave, in the plot ( Block 40, Plot 99C) of the Mission Sisters, RNDM (Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.) Her name in the convent was Sr Majella. The plot used to have a tall cross on it, atop a base with the sister's names on it. These names were solely their names in religion, and just the date of death was recorded. Now the cross lays flat over the plots, and there are plaques that carry the names and birth and death dates of each nun. Their family names are included along with their religious names.

Here are a few photos from how the plot looks now.

Mary Burke- Biography

 

Mary BURKE was born on 21 August 1862 at Polgavie Cotter’s Houses in the Parish of Inchture, County of Perth, Scotland.

 

She was the first child born to Martin Burke and Ann PHILP. Martin her father, had been born in Co Mayo, Ireland, and had emigrated to Perth in Scotland with his family around the time of the Famine. Her mother Ann was born in Fifeshire, Scotland.

 

Mary was a passenger to New Zealand aboard the ship Mermaid with her parents, while still only a baby. On the passenger list she is described as being 5 months old^[1]. The Mermaid departed England in November 1863, and Mary arrived with her family at Lyttelton in February 1864.

Sr Martina Burke told me that her father told a story about how Mary was carried on her father Martin’s shoulders over the Bridle Track from Lyttelton to Christchurch.

 

Mary Burke married Patrick RIORDAN on 11th April 1882, at the Catholic Church in Lincoln. Her occupation was described as servant and her usual residence was given as Lincoln. Her age was said to be 20, but actually would have been 19. Ann Burke, of Burnham (at home), was one of the witnesses.

 

Mary and her husband Patrick Riordan had six children. Their first child, John, was born in January 1883, and became parish priest in Ross. Martin, their second son, was born in 1884. He was my grandfather, and settled in Taranaki. Other children were Patrick Joseph (1886), James (1887), Bridget (1889), and Annie (1891). Her youngest child, Annie, was born on 23 August 1891, when Mary was already suffering from consumption.

 

Mary died on 26 March 1892, after two years of illness with consumption (phthisis pulmonalis). She is buried in the Catholic Cemetery beside the Church at Darfield, in a group of four graves, amongst the earliest in this cemetery. She rests beside her mother Ann, her Uncle John Burke, and her husband Patrick Riordan.

---

^[1] With a birth in August 1862, I would expect her age to be 15 mths, not 5mths, on embarkation.

Martin Burke

Martin BURKE was my great-great-grandfather, who was born in Co Mayo, Ireland. His family moved to Perth in Scotland when he was a child, around the time of the Great Famine in Ireland.

Not much is known about Martin before his marriage to Ann Philp, on the second of February 1861, in St John’s Catholic Church, Perth, Scotland. He was aged 19 at the time, and his usual residence was given as Perth. His parents were named as Michael Burke, labourer, and Bridget Burke, whose maiden name was listed as Flinn. His wife Ann gave her usual residence as Abernethy, and she was aged 21.

Image from Family Search microfilm back in the days of their microfilms!

Shortly after their marriage, the census was taken for Scotland, on 7 April 1861. On this night, Martin was with his Burke family in a house at 134 High Street, Perth, Scotland. (At least one other family shared the house with them.) Martin was described as married, aged 19, and a ploughman. There were five other family members listed at the address on census night- his parents Michael (52) and Bridget (49); his unmarried brothers Thomas (20), a ploughman, and John (16), a cabinet maker apprentice; and his sister Mary (9). At the date of this census, his wife Ann appears to be with her father in Balvaird Cot House in Abernethy, as a housekeeper.

In the census, the Burke family all had their birthplaces described as “Ireland”, except for Mary, who was born in “Perthshire, Perth.” Mary was aged 9, so must have been born around 1851/52. If John was born in Ireland some 7 years earlier than this, around 1844/45, the family presumably left Ireland sometime between 1845 and 1851, during the Famine. Maggie Gaffney, a third cousin and fellow Burke descendant, has done extensive research in the baptismal/marriage records in Perth, and has discovered that several related Burke/Flynn families also came to Perth.

We haven’t found a baptism for Martin Burke. In the census, his birthplace was just listed as Ireland, though his death registration in New Zealand says he was from Co Mayo. Maggie Gaffney discovered the likely townland/parish origin of the Burke/Flynn family and eventually found they were from Derrycraugh (Derrycraff) in the RC Parish of Aghagower. The location was finally confirmed when an 1844 baptism record was found for John Burke, Martin’s brother. (Maggie has a record of this from rootsireland.ie, though a transcript can also be found on FindMyPast.)

Tower at Aghagower, Co Mayo, from Nigel's Photo Blog

 In 1862, Martin and Ann’s first child, Mary Burke, was born on 21 August at Polgavie Cottar’s Houses, in the Parish of Inchture in the County of Perth. Martin Burke was the informant for the birth as father, and he was again described as a ploughman.

We next hear of the family when they emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in Lyttelton on 16 February 1864, on the Mermaid, from London. Martin Burke was listed as a ploughman, aged 22 from Fifeshire, with wife Ann aged 21, and one child Mary, who was listed as being 5 months- though Mary must have been 15 months old by this stage. I was told by Sr Martina Burke that there is an oral story told in the Burke family that Martin Burke hoisted Mary onto his shoulders for the walk over the Bridle Track from Lyttelton.

There were two more children born into the Burke family in New Zealand. In December 1864 a second child, Ann (Annie) was born at Addington in Canterbury. Their third child, Thomas, was born in September 1866 in Christchurch.

At some stage the Burke family moved out to the rural area of Burnham where they were farming. In the Wises’ directories we can find a listing for ‘Burke, Martin, farmer, Burnham”, from 1880-81. Electoral listings for 1887 (Lincoln) and 1890 (Selwyn) list “Burke, Martin, freehold, Burnham, farmer, rural sec 28098.”

This indicates where the Burke rural section was in Burnham. I obtained a copy of an old Leeston survey map that had similar numbers along Hawkins and Burnham Rd, but couldn’t find section number 28098. Maggie Gaffney then found an earlier map online with the correct section number included- it became clear that two sections had later been joined and renumbered.

It's not clear exactly when Martin Burke sold this piece of rural land, but by 1898 it was clearly owned by a Mrs E Burdon, who was offering sections 28098 and 28099 for sale. (Papers Past, Press, 20 August 1898, page 12.)

In 1892, Martin and Ann faced the death of their firstborn daughter Mary Riordan née Burke, aged 29, of consumption. She was buried in the Darfield Catholic Cemetery, one of the earliest burials there.

In 1895, Martin faced two other significant deaths amongst close family. In January, his brother John Burke died at Burnham. He was 52, a labourer, and was said to have died of cancer of the liver. He had been in New Zealand for 12 years so must have arrived around 1883. He was unmarried, and was buried in the Darfield Catholic Cemetery near his niece Mary (Riordan, nee Burke) who had predeceased him.

Then just over two months later, on 13 March 1895 at Burnham, Martin’s wife Ann died, aged 53. She was also said to have died of cancer of the liver. She was buried in the Darfield Catholic Cemetery near her daughter Mary Riordan and brother-in-law John Burke. (A quartet of graves was completed in this cemetery in 1911 with a fourth headstone for Patrick Riordan, Mary Burke’s husband.)

Graves for John Burke, Ann Burke née Philp, and on the other side, Mary Riordan née Burke and Patrick Riordan. Darfield Catholic Cemetery

 Martin Burke died on 27 November, 1918 at Nazareth House, Sydenham aged 78, of chronic heart disease and heart failure. On his death registration it said that he was born in Co Mayo, Ireland, and had been in NZ 53 years. He was buried in the Sydenham Cemetery, Block Number 22B, Plot number 63. A newspaper death announcement said he died at Nazareth House, but was late of Harewood Road, Papanui. 

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT19181128.2.3.2

There is presently no headstone on Martin’s plot, but a small one is being erected and will be unveiled in February 2024 at a Burke Family Gathering.

Martin Burke made a will with the Public Trustee as executor on 24^th April, 1918, giving his address at the time as Guthrie’s Boarding House, Moorhouse Ave, Christchurch. He described himself as a retired Farmer. He gave two bequests. He gave £100 to the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese, Canterbury, for the Cathedral Building fund; and £100 to his son Thomas. His freehold property of 35 acres at Redwoodtown, Blenheim was left upon trust for his daughter Annie Burton, the wife of Francis. On 31^st October 1918, less than a month before his death he added a codicil to this will, giving the sum of £40 to Nazareth House, Sydenham, ‘for the benefit of orphan boys and girls who are inmates thereof’. 

There is an M Burke listed on a marble plaque listing benefactors that was in the now demolished Cathedral in Christchurch. It seems likely with his donation(s) that this was our Martin Burke. I understand this large plaque has been rescued, so it will be interesting to see if it finds some kind of place when a new Cathedral is erected.

An earlier, shorter version of this blog post appeared here.

Margaret Riordan, 9 December 2023
Please contact me if you are also a Burke-Philp relative, or if you would like copies of sources etc. 

See website for the Burke Family Gathering or the associated Facebook page .

 

Calling all Burke-Philp descendants

If you are a reader of this blog, and happen to be a descendant of Martin Burke and Ann Philp, we are having a Burke Family Gathering mid-February 2024 in Christchurch. 

Martin and Ann arrived in Lyttelton in February 1864 onboard the Mermaid, with their first child, Mary Burke, my great-grandmother.

This gathering marks 160 years since the Burke family arrived in New Zealand, and will also allow us to view the new memorial plaque for Martin Burke in Sydenham Cemetery. 

You can read more about what's planned for the gathering on this website.

https://burkefamilynz.org/

"FAN" discovery in a cemetery

Several related Burke and Flynn families left Derrycraff in Aghagower Parish, Co Mayo, around the time of the Famine, and ended up settling in/near Perth in Scotland. We don't presently know whether they left because of starvation and extreme hardship, or whether they were evicted from their land.

Recently my third cousin Maggie Gaffney visited the Perth area, and made a visit to Wellshill Cemetery to see the grave of our mutual 3x-great-grandparents, Michael Burke and Bridget Flynn. She had made a previous visit, and had given me a copy of a photo of their headstone.

This stone marks the burial place of Michael Burke and his wife Bridget, whose maiden surname of Flynn is used on the stone, and of their daughter Mary. Mary is found on the 1861 census as a child aged 9, the only member of the family listed at 134 High St Perth who was born in Perthshire, Perth, rather than in Ireland. At the base of this headstone you can vaguely read the name of John, who died in New Zealand. He was the son of Michael and Bridget, and brother of Martin Burke, my 2x-great-grandfather. John is buried in the Darfield Catholic Cemetery in New Zealand, alongside his sister-in-law Ann Burke née Philp, and his niece Mary Burke, the eldest daughter of Martin and Ann.

When Maggie sent me the above headstone photo, she also sent me another photo from a slight distance, that gave an overview of the position of the headstone in the cemetery. There was another headstone quite close to 'our' one, but I never gave it much thought.

On Maggie's recent return visit to this cemetery, she took some time to clear the earth from the base of our 3x-grt-grandparents' headstone so you could read John's details more clearly. She also sent me a close-up photo that had both headstones. On the adjoining headstone, the name was Judy Flynn. Flynn is quite a common name in Ireland, but the proximity of these two stones had me querying whether there was a FAN relationship going on here, ie Friends, Associates and Neighbours. Could the Flynns in neighbouring graves be connected somehow? Judy was not a name I had ever heard of in our family, but it seemed it was worth exploring the possibility.

On this headstone Judy Flynn was listed as being 58 years old when she died in 1861, so it would seem she was born around 1803. The second name on the headstone was Ann Mulroy who died in 1908. This raised questions about whether Mulroy might be Judy's married name, and whether Ann could perhaps be Judy's child.

As it turned out it was surprisingly easy to get an initial answer to my query about whether Bridget and Judy Flynn were related. There was help on Ancestry, as several people are clearly researching the Milroy/Mulroy family, and someone had put a death registration for Judy on her profile.

It became immediately obvious that Judy and Bridget were most likely to be sisters. We know that Bridget's parents were Patrick Flynn and Mary Flynn née Derrick/Derrig, and these names were listed as parents for Judy. We also know that Bridget had a brother called Peter Flynn who had come to Perth, and the informant for Judy's death was a Peter Flynn, who was described as her brother, present at her death.

Clearly at some stage more research will be needed to uncover more links and confirmation. From the trees on Ancestry, it seems as if the Milroy descendants don't know about Judy's nephew Martin Burke who came to New Zealand. Contacting them is on my list of things to do. Meanwhile, I am just glad I thought of pursuing the possibility of a FAN relationship, even if the neighbours concerned were in a graveyard.

Thanks to Maggie Gaffney for sharing the headstone photos with me, and for thus sparking off this whole FAN investigation!

Perdu en Mer- Lost at Sea

I have written in a previous blog post about Captain Thomas Jean PAYN from Jersey, brother of my great-grandfather Francis Davis Payn. In January 1876, Thomas is recorded as receiving his certificate of competency as a Master in the Merchant Service. Several years later in January 1881, he is recorded as Mate when joining the ship “Gryalva” in Liverpool, and then he succeeded as Master at Benin on 4 April 1881. (Ancestry: Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919 for Thomas J Payn; Gryalva 1881.)

Sadly, Thomas Jean lost his life at sea in 1893 while serving as a Captain, and this is recorded on a Payn family headstone, in St Martin's Parish, Jersey, as:

'comme aussi de Capt Thomas Jean Payn   
perdu en mer
dans l'année 1893
dans sa 46ème année.'   

I have previously tried searching old newspapers for more information about how Thomas John Payn died, but without success. But as is often the way with genealogy, answers to some of those lingering questions do finally emerge.

The first breakthrough came when I discovered an aerogramme that had been uploaded to Ancestry, sent by ‘Cousin Hilda’ Payn in 1958 from Taupo, New Zealand, to a couple getting married in Europe. Cousin Hilda was the daughter of Captain Payn, and would have been aged about 9 years old when her father died at sea. A woman called Joy had uploaded this letter, and I messaged her, and magically, she replied! During the course of several emails, Joy told me that Cousin Hilda had been in possession of a painting of her father’s boat, but left it behind with family in Jersey when she emigrated. Joy’s family had recently had this painting cleaned, and she offered to email me a photo of it. This was one of those special moments in genealogy, when suddenly a person in your family tree becomes ‘real’.

Grijalva, captained by Thomas J Payn

But I still didn’t know anything concrete about when or how Captain Payn had been lost at sea. I found a Lloyd’s shipping website but unlocking any information from it seemed beyond me, even with this excellent guide to the Merchant Navy wrecks losses and casualties from the Royal Museums Greenwich. Enter stage left, my clever genie 3^rd cousin Maggie. She happened to be in the process of researching some early shipboard immigrants to New Zealand, and I mentioned to her that my Captain Payn had been lost at sea but I hadn’t been able to find out anything much about the circumstances. By the next morning she had found two newspaper articles about the Grijalva, feared lost, under Captain Payn. (Note, the spelling of the ship varies in different sources, and potentially a search with 'Payne' would find more entries.)

The first newspaper clipping was from the Liverpool Weekly Courier, 23 December 1893, with a headline, ‘Feared loss of a Liverpool vessel and all hands’. And it read that: “Great anxiety is now felt for the safety of the Liverpool vessel Grijalva, and in many quarters she is regarded as lost with all on board.” The ship left Opobo River, West Africa, on the 20^th July for Liverpool, but nothing more had been heard of her. She was under the command of Captain Payn, and had a valuable cargo of African produce.

Modern Opobo is in the south of modern Nigeria, and presumably the old river port was somewhere in the vicinity.

The second clipping that Maggie sent me was a Lloyd’s notice, published on 1 February 1894 on the Lloyd’s list, with the Committee of Lloyd’s seeking any information. It read: “The Grijalva, Payn, of Liverpool, which sailed from Opobo for port of call, on July 20, 1893.”

Armed with Maggie's newspaper details I made a visit to my local library, hoping to perhaps learn a little more, using either the FMP or BNA websites. There were in fact many references to the Grijalva in ordinary shipping news, eg in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on 17 October 1891 it was recorded: "British barque, Grijalva, Payne, from Hamburg to Benin, with gin and coal."

But by late 1893- early 1894, it was clear that great fears were held. One newspaper said that the barque had 'a cargo of palm kernels in bags, and had sailed from Opobo on July 20 1893, 'and has not since been heard of.'

So, it appears that Captain Payn came to grief in the Grijalva somewhere on the sea journey from the west coast of Africa, back to Liverpool, with all hands. Most likely, the ship rests on the sea floor, one of many such ship wrecks.

I am grateful to both Joy and Maggie for the extra information they have given me about Captain Thomas John Payn. His life had a sad ending, but it is good to know more about what happened.
Margaret Riordan
May-June 2023