A New Start – With his wife and two small children he stepped on board the Princess Royal in Glascow. The year was 1852 and It was the first step into a new life in faraway Australia. Glaud and Grace Pender had left Fauldhouse in West Lothian with 3 year old Mary Ann and 21 month old William.
Glaud was to keep a journal of the trip. Here is a transcript of some of the entries. Those in italics have been added by Glaud at some later date.
June 1852
22nd Aboard the Princess Royal. Clearing away from Old
Scotland while Glascow is only to seen in the distance.
It now seems to me as if all the former scenes ,
Circumstances and enjoyments of my life combined
together rush upon ….. with a force I will not attempt
to describe as I am borne away from my native Land and
from those dear friends Some of whom in all probability
I will never meet again. Hundreds of people assemble on
the banks of the Clyde to witness our departure, while
their hearty cheers are accepted and returned by the
Emigrants in the way of a kind Farewell.
23rd After a rather unpleasant passage we arrive at
Liverpool at 2 pm. A River Steamer takes the emigrants
across to the Birkenhead. all is bustle and confusion.
Emigration scenes are certainly both curious and
interesting.
24th In the Depot very uncomfortable quarters. Some are
crying bad meat, others bad beds, and many have occasion
to cry lousy bed. PS it might not be out of place here
from experience to Remark as my opinion that the great
sickness on board the Marco Polo was in great measure to
to be attributed to the very bad treatment in that
Pandemonium they call the Depot. This disease was
planted in the constitutions of the young where (it) lay
concealed but a few days. There followed those awful
scenes aboard our splendid ship which will never be
erased from my memory.
28th we have slept our first night on board the Marco Polo
and feel much more comfortable. In my opinion she is a
fine ship and said to be a very fast sailer. Some of
the Passengers already begin to dispute how long she
will be in making to Australia. One of the single women
is supposed to have lost her reason. at night she leapt
out of bed and with one of the lights in her hand began
to dance naked on the deck. I upon hearing the screams
of the women ran into their appartment and got after
which the doctors conveyed her to the hospital. it is
doubtful whether she will be allowed to proseed on her
voyage.
29th We move out of the dock and anchor in the River.
30th A number of Gentlemen dine on board on the poop deck
with a fine Instrumental band in attendance. I observe
there is a good hospital on board. I hope its use will
not be much required on the passage.
July 1 one of the Passangers gave birth to a child.
2nd In the evening a dance by the Sailors and a few of the
Passangers on the Top Gallant Forecastle , a number of
Passengers on the rigging looking on. Some of the
Sailors got up and tied a poor Highlander to the shrouds
amidst roars of laughter from Those on deck.
3rd One of the Sailors fell overboard. The Captain
discovering it instantly leapt into the water and
succeeded in taking him out not much the worse. In the
evening a farewell service on board. text in the 16
Chapter of Proverbs. wisdom is more to be desired than
Gold. the speaker addressed us in a very impressive
manner entreating as new scenes, new desires and new
hopes were before us not to forget the one thing
needfull
4 (Sunday) half past six AM Weighed anchor. A Steamer
taking us in tow we begin to move away for Australia.
The Steamer after taking us over the bar left us with a
fine breeze in our favour. O may God be with us to
Protect and to Prosper us on The voyage.
5. Beating up the Channel, a steady breeze ahead, …..
little speck
7. I have seen for the first time what they say is whales
blowing sending the water up a great height. I think
the hoes (?) of an ordinary fixed engine playing direct
up would much resemble the blowing of a whale. There is
also a great many porpoises sporting about the ship.
sometimes they leap 2 feet above the water so that we
can see them quite distinctly. They are ugly brutes.
They have a snout like a pig which gives them their name
of Sea pigs.
8. Off the Bay of Biscay. have been on watch all night.
The passengers taking it by rotation. a child died last
night being the first death on board. I fear there will
be many such deaths before we get to Australia. There
is such a number of children on board. O God – thank
and praise thee that we are all still in health and free
from sickness and able to attend to our duties and to
our children. six PM. Spoke a French vessel bound for
England who will report us.
9. at 7 AM. The funeral ceremony of the child Who died
yesterday took place. A little weight being put into
the box along with the corpse it still floated on the
water untill it dissappeared in the distance which
caused great dissatisfaction amongst the Passengers.
Light Northerly breezes.
10. Off Cape St Vincent about 1200 miles sail from
Liverpool.
The Journal of this voyage with Captain “Bully” Forbes continued until July 25th and then ceased. His son William died of measles on September 2nd. Measles and Influenza led to the deaths of 51 children and 2 adults on this voyage .
Glaud and Grace went on to have six more chldren in Australia.
This photo taken lin Apollo Bay c1908,after his wife Grace had died, shows five generations of his family, Glaud in the centre, daughter Mary Ann Telford to the right, her son Walter Telford at the back, Walter’s daughter Julia Fricke to the left with her son Charles Fricke at her knee.
And for more examples of “Starting something new” check out the links on Sepia Saturday
Glaud sounds like an intelligent, literate and interesting man,
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You are so lucky to have an ancestor who kept a journal and pass it down through the generations!
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I should have said that it’s another of Glaud’s descendant’s who has the journal but many years ago she kindly let me take some photocopies and make a transcript.
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Very young children to undertake such a journey.
Hardly surprising he lost the youngest one.
Interesting diary. Good that you make copy of it.
To emigrate, even in the best condition, is a bold [and brave] move.
Tough to imagine what it was like like for them,
except when one has an ancestor who actually bothered to write about it.
Good for you!!
🙂
HUGZ
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Journals tell us the real story, compared with the relatively sanitised newspaper reports etc. I imagine all our emigrant ancestors had similar experinces which they largely survived, otherwise of course we would not be here. Glaud is an unusual name.
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Glaud with a G has only cropped up a couple of times in C19th family. Most of the time it has been Claud with a C. I don’t know how it started.
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