Thursday 29 March 2012

The Harpy

The Harpy is a name familair to the Dutch Vlieland family.
Let me explain why.
Hendrik Vlieland  the brother of Jeroen Vlieland sailed with his ship de Jonge Elisabeth from Rotterdam to Havre Le Grace.


On this trip he sailed under Prussian flag to avoid the Anglo-Dutchwar.
But during this trip he was taken as prize by the Kingsship Harpy by commander Henry Bazely.
Being taken as prize meant losing your ship , your cargo ,and taken on board of the privateer and ending as  a prisoner of war in one of the prisons specially built on the Thames.
The prizeship was then towed to an English harbour with aid of some seamen of the kingsship .
The prize was sold ,and the money was shared by the crewmembers of the crew of in this case the Harpy.
In the case of Hendrik Vlieland it was even worse .
His son and crew were killed.
He went to declare first thing on arrival in Dover what had happened to him and his crew .
You can read all this (in English ) in the photocopies below.
He did the same in Rotterdam and in Noordwijk where he lived.
So when he arrived in Dover he went straight to Phineas Kennets to report what had happened.

Later he learned that parts of his ship ended up on the beach of Noordwijk and the parts were recognised by him as well as by Maarten Kruijt mayor of Noordwijk and by Jan de Booy blacksmith.
The crew however was lost and never heard of.
His son Aldert Vlieland (18)among them.
The wifes and mother of the lost crewmembers made a declaration in Noordwijk about the loss of the "jonge Elisabeth"
Date August 20, 1798 January standing before me Jan Gerard Crameris, secretary and Jan Hoekman and Job van der Weijden, sheriffs of both Northern Districts, and Langeveld Offem:
Marijtje Arrishoek, wife of Hendrik Vlieland, Annetje van Duin, wife of Zacharias de Jong, Aaltje Dirkx van Duin, wife of Dirk Pietersz. Balkenende, residing on the first and third in Noordwijk aan Zee and the second to Catwijk aan Zee, which claimed the benefit of all whom this would by no allowed to enter and serve each other when necessary and that her sons in quality as the first captain and her son Aldert Vlieland and the two men also his companions on "de jonge Elisabeth", which was reported last seen in the month of October or beginning of the month November 1797 in Rotterdam and that the English King Ship according to testimony of the first witness husband was Hendrik Vlieland taken deposantes and her first husband was repatriated. All the other men were gone and never heard off.
 So that they true and also truly believe it to be on the grounds that they witnesses to this day and the best of knowledge of life or residence of their men and son .
Despite all efforts and searches that have been obtained.
Being witnesses they are prepared to swear an oath to confirm all this.

Hendrik declares being the captain ,he was taken on board the Harpy and taken to Dover .
Because of the rough seas he could not see his ship any longer.
After landing in Dover he complains to Phineas Kennets  and is repatriated to Holland.
Assuming his ship is wrecked and the crew death.
Later parts of the ship were found on the beach of Noordwijk where they washed ashore and were recognised by the Mayor , the black smith and the shipbuilder.
In 1804 Hendrik buys a new ship , again a bomship (nothing to do with boms but with flat bottomship)
de Aufwarter  or The attendant.
And to avoid any trouble with France or England he declares himself inhabitant of Prussia of the county of Knijfshaulen.

In several pieces in the blog you can find parts of the story in.
In the London Gazette you can find the sale of some goods of de jonge Elisabeth
The harpy .

Phineas Kennet .in 1805 Mayor of Dover
Phineas Kennett was Mayor when the guns, twenty-four and twelve pounders were landed at Dover to arm the MartelloTowers, which were then being erected round the coast from Folke-stone to Lydd.







No comments: