Just Terror Stuff

Because they have been out of copyright for a while, because the scans that tend to go around are unsearchable, and because I need something to launch with, I’m giving you: those letters written by James Fitzjames on the 1845 Franklin Expedition that everyone loves to talk about! 

Originally published in The Leader and Nautical Magazine (1852) after being edited for publication by William Coningham.

a lovely memorial to Lt Fairholme, in the town of Melrose

Tidbits such as bonus illustrations and chapter covers from the print comic Im Eisland (that I was too lazy to include in the webcomic Icebound), part 3:

James Fitzjames’ Birthday Week Extravaganza!

There’s been some really interesting development. JCR gang appeared. Silna is beating Jopson’s and Blanky’s asses. Tozer finally took over Little, they were at the same score for the longest time. Francis takes the lead!!

And everyone loves Pilkington. (I wish, I’m the only one who voted for him, ignore that)

He was born in 1818 and christened at St Clements Church, where his parents were married, in Hastings, in what’s now the Old Town. I used to drink in a pub right by that!

His father was Captain Henry Collins (1795-1878) and his mother was Georgiana Foster (1797-1861). His grandfather was also called Henry, making him the third.

He had six siblings, William (b. 1827), Margaret (b. 1830), Decima (b. 1836), Thomasina (b. 1834) and Elizabeth (b. 1840). The other sibling, George McKinley Collins was also born in 1818 so I’m wondering if Henry Foster was perhaps a twin.

Henry was admitted to the Greenwich Hospital School in 1829 aged 11, a naval boarding school meant for the children of Navy men, specifically those who were orphaned, motherless, or had fathers on distant postings. Presumably, he was of the latter case. George McKinley was also admitted, though I don’t have an admissions date for him. Greenwich Hospital School records haven’t been digitised so sadly I haven’t been able to find out more, but the school itself was focussed on navigation, Naval skills, and mathematics so it’s safe to assume that George McKinley was likely a sailor too.

I’ll start with George McKinley Collins, or the possible ghost of. Basically, no proof exists of Georgey beyond his death. Him and Henry are 99% likely twins (as there’s no reason like with the Tozer family to assume that they delayed baptisms), born somewhere in 1818 (likely) and then baptised.(1) 

That’s the only confirmed mentioned of George. Anywhere. It’s pretty easy to find the Collinses in the census, where they in 1841 happily show up with all their children, but not George. George also doesn’t go to Greenwich Hospital School. I got to dig through the entire box that contained Henry Foster’s admission, which had every person named Collins admitted (I assume 1728-1870 as on the Discovery description). Loads of Georges, loads of Henrys, no George McKinley. Henry was also a “this is very close on being too old for it” case, so if George went, he would’ve likely been in the same box. By 1829: no George McKinley, not at Greenwich at least.(2)

What I did find, with the speculation of “what if he just… died” because sadly, that’s what people just did, I went looking for Georges born around 1818 that died somewhere between that and 1829 and ended up with a George Collins who died in 1822 in Brighthelmston, Sussex, not all that far from Hastings. I’ve been unable to confirm if it’s him, because I only have a burial record and no one put a notice in the paper about this boy’s decease.(3)

Concluding, George McKinley did not go to Greenwich HS in 1829, nor did he live at home like Henry at 1841. It’s kind of likely that he somehow died in childhood.

Secondly, Samuel Dowbiggin, who didn’t really get mentioned in the OP post but alas, here he is, since there is a connection to the Collinses, though it doesn’t necessarily explain why Henry would leave his estate to him.(4) It’s indeed Major Samuel Dowbiggin, of Porchester Terrace, Bayswater (London, England).(5) 

Ancestry has him in the 1861 census, which I happily looked at, first to confirm it was him, then to see if it was the mention you made of a census.(6) Also in that census is a Margaret F. Collins (29 y/o), Lady Servant, born in Ireland, aka Henry’s sister Maggie Foster.(7) 

So basically, the connection so far is that Margaret likely went from living with her parents to living with Dowbiggin as a servant.(8) The odd problem is that at that point, Margaret is anywhere from 12 (1861 census) to 15 (1841 census) years old (please note that early censuses were known for being inaccurate), which makes Collins giving his estate to Dowbiggin just by that connection odd (as it may not have existed yet), but I guess there is just some earlier connection between the two families (or just Samuel and Henry) that isn’t known – there’s a lot of Henry’s past that we have no idea about.

Thanking @thomasblanky for rapidly answering my vague shouts about the Collins’ family whilst I was searching since I don’t know everything off the top of my head (and also for digging up some of these docs in the first place). Sources under the cut:

So I was curious about the origins of this quote, and apparently Links with the Past (1901) is a late-in-life memoir written by Sophy (Louisa) Percy Bagot (December 24th, 1821 – November 7th, 1908), who was the daughter of Vice Admiral The Hon. Josceline Percy. Right before this tidbit about Fitzjames, there’s a long and heartbreaking description of Ross & Crozier, whom Sophy apparently met while they were coming back from the Antarctic (around 1843, given that they arrived home in England in September of that year). Sophy says they “anchored in Simon’s Bay,” which probably means Simonstown, South Africa, where her father served as Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope Station from 1841 until 1846. 

What’s so funny to me is that Sophy then “transitions” (read: jumps) directly into talking about Fitzjames, who (of course) was not on the Ross & Crozier ships. Sophy does say that she “had known [James Fitzjames] in Hertfordshire” but she may also have run into Fitzjames in South Africa: 

(From the Battersby biography of James Fitzjames)

But this visit to Simon’s Town may also have been a near miss: Sophy’s father seems not to have obtained his post until November of 1841 (reliable sources are hard to find on this), at which point HMS Cornwallis was already in Singapore, with Fitzjames aboard. 

So, assuming that Sophy did not in fact see Fitzjames again in South Africa, then her placement of Fitzjames right after Ross & Crozier is solely because of Fitzjames & Crozier’s shared fate with the Franklin expedition. 

The next question, of course, is whether Sophy ever referenced Sir John Franklin. The answer is yes, once, on page 101 of Links with the Past: 

And here again Sophy’s recollection is a bit surprising – the Rattlesnake isn’t one of the well-known rescue ships, like the Enterprise (James Clark Ross), the Felix (John Ross), the Resolute, the Lady Franklin, or the Fox (McClintock). How many rescue expeditions were there, actually? 

Apparently, that’s actually very contested! This 2002 article by W. Gillies Ross (no relation, I assume???) says that estimates have ranged from 17 rescue expeditions to MORE THAN 70. It apparently depends what you count as a “rescue attempt.” Regardless, (W. Gillies) Ross reliably informs us that the Rattlesnake ran supplies to the rescue-ship the Plover during 1853-1854, under the command of Commander Henry Trollope. 

It’s interesting that Sophy groups her recollections of Crozier & Fitzjames, while keeping this mention of Franklin separate (and neglecting to mention Crozier & Fitzjames in relation to the search parties.) Perhaps because she (seemingly) never met Sir John Franklin? We may never know. 

a primer on that handsome lad, james clark ross

here’s a bunch of stuff that i’ve learned the past year about the handomest man in the navy, sir james clark ross. we don’t know about him much, and from what we do know, it’s all in relation to the franklin expedition. so here’s a long list of trivia about the man who located the north magnetic pole, the “discoverer” of the antarctic, and francis crozier’s best friend. 

feel free to use excessively (i.e. pls write him in fanfic tnx)

early life:

was born on 15th april 1800 to george and christian clark ross. his siblings were andrew clark, george clark, isabella, and marion, and two siblings who died in infancy.

his mother died in 1808 and the ross children were raised more by their uncles than their father.