An enterprising Sunderland shipwright - Robert CLOSE 1825-1894.
Who was he?
There are over 300 people named Robert CLOSE in my current one-name study database. Little has been discovered about many of them apart from their family relationships and census records. However, there are some for whom an interesting back-story has emerged, and one of these is the Robert CLOSE born in Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland, County Durham, England, in 1825. He was christened on 24 February 1825 in Bishopwearmouth[1], the son of Jobling CLOSE and his wife Rachel, formerly HODGE.
On 25 May 1845, Robert was married in Monkwearmouth to Mary STUDHOLME[2], whose family had moved to the area from Cumberland. They appear on the 1851 census[3] together with their first child Mary (born 1847)[4] at 8 Walworth Street, Bishopwearmouth, where Robert is listed as a shipwright. Another five children were born to the family between 1850 and 1857, of which four died in infancy. The second surviving daughter was Elizabeth Ann, born 1855[5]. One wonders whether harsh living conditions were a contributing factor to these early deaths.
Emigration
Whatever the reason, by the late 1850s, Robert had decided to leave Sunderland behind and seek a new life on the other side of the world. He set sail for New Zealand and became one of the early settlers in Duvauchelle’s Bay, Akaroa, on the east coast of South Island. Wikipedia[6] states that
"The first freeholds were bought in 1857; economic activity was focussed on timber extractions and sawing, mostly totara trees."
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Clearly timber was plentiful in the area, and Robert put his skills as a shipwright to good use, as the Lyttelton Times of 25 January 1860[7] demonstrated in a detailed report which included the following:
“On Monday, the 19th instant, Mr Robert Close launched in Robinsons Bay a fine craft, built on the centre board or sliding keel principle. … Our correspondent claims particular attention to this vessel, as a thorough good specimen of a faithfully built, well designed useful coaster, likely to possess in an eminent degree the three money-getting features of a light draft, large carrying powers and good sea-going qualities.”
Evidently Robert had identified the need for locally-built boats to transport timber from the Akaroa area, and his activities appear to have been picked up by the Wikipedia contributor[8]:
"Timber exploitation was also the main activity, as well as boat building. The sawn timber was all carried out of the bay by locally built vessels."
The Lyttelton Times report of 1860 went on to describe the boat in further detail, and welcomed the opportunity to buy vessels locally rather than send money out of the region.
Family reunited
The 1860 report ends with this personal information:
“Mr Close, having given hostages to fortune, called his maiden effort Mary Elizabeth after certain olive branches, whom, with their mother, he hopes soon to welcome by an early ship to the land in which he has made such a successful debut as builder.”
Indeed, just a couple of weeks after the Mary Elizabeth was launched, the Lyttelton Times of 4 February reported in its ‘Shipping News’ a list of
“government immigrants in the Ambrosine, for this port, which left London on the 26th October. The list includes “Mary Close, and two children, Durham”.
Two sons, William (1861) and John (1863) were added to the immigrant family, which seems to have thrived in their new setting. A further report in the Lyttelton Times of 16 January 1864 welcomes the launch of “a fine ketch of about 38 tons”, the Mary Louisa, “from the building yard of Mr R Close, Head of the Bay, Akaroa.” The article expresses the hope that she may be “as successful as the Isabella Jackson, also by the same builder.”
Various encounters with the law ...
Life for the shipwright and his family was not all ‘plain sailing’, though. Further newspaper reports indicate the following:
Witness to hard drinking
Although it isn't clear if Robert CLOSE was directly involved in the incident, in January 1871 he was a witness at the coroner's inquest on a William WEBB who was evidently a habitual drinker. Robert had been in the Travellers’ Rest and witnessed Webb drinking a pint of beer, two glasses of gin and water, and then in response to a challenge, a pint of gin(!), all within three quarters of an hour. Unsurprisingly the cause of death was deemed to be “a certain grievous disease, accelerated by excessive drinking”.
Suing for payment
On one occasion in July 1871 Robert had done some work for which the customer failed to pay. Mercifully he successfully sued for £5 in respect of work done on the customer's vessel.
In the dock
Sadly, the next reported court appearance was not as a witness or a plaintiff, but as a defendant in a criminal trial. The Akaroa Mail of 1 April 1881 reports that Robert Close was charged with assaulting and beating his wife. The report continues:·
“Mrs Close in her evidence tried as much as possible to screen her husband, but her appearance showed clearly enough what sort of treatment she had received.
Two witnesses, Jonathan Shadbolt and John Wallace, deposed to having seen defendant ill-using his wife. It appeared that he struck her, dragged her by the hair, and kicked her.
In answer to the bench and defendant they both admitted that they had done nothing to help the woman.
Defendant said he was drunk at the time.
His Worship said a fine would not meet the case. Defendant would be sentenced to fourteen day’s imprisonment with hard labor.”
In conclusion ...
Nevertheless, the boat-building business continued to prosper. In July 1890 he advertised another new boat, 19ft long, for sale. However, his contribution to the local economy came to an end with his death on 7th October 1894 at the age of 69. This was certainly not the end of the CLOSE family in Akaroa, though. By the time of Robert's death, his son William had married and had already presented him with six grandchildren. No doubt there are present-day descendants who could add to this story of the enterprising Sunderland shipwright who ventured to set up a boat-building business on the other side of the world.
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| Duvauchelle Post Office 1921 By PhilBeeNZ - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18333922 |
[1] Familysearch.org
[2] Familysearch.org
[3] 1851 Census HO107/2396 F420 P17 S80
[4] gro.gov.uk 1847 Q3 Sunderland 24 305
[5] gro.gov.uk 1855 Q1 Sunderland 10a 358
[7] Paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers
Thanks for sharing this interesting story! I didn't know about any Closes in New Zealand, though one of my great uncles (Andrew Close) emigrated to Australia.
ReplyDeleteRobert Close was my great grandmother Elizabeth Close's brother. He emigrated to new Zealand married and had a family and died there, He was my maternal grandfathers uncle. they originated in BishopWearmouth. My grandfather William close Davison joined the Royal navy and eventually moved to Ireland where he met and married his second wife Annie having been previously married but widowed. I live in Dublin Ireland Another brother of Robert, Edmund emigrated to Michigan USA where he too was involved in the ship building business. my great great grandfather was Jobling Close married to Rachel Hodge. I would to hear from you regarding this discovery.
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