George Cannon arrived back in
Liverpool from his voyage on the Eliza on September 2, 1793, after almost 3 ½
years at sea.[1] When
George left Liverpool he was 23 years of age and when he returned he was 27.
Brother, John, on the King Pepple
George’s
younger brother, John, who also attended the Peel Mathematical School, went
aboard his first slaving ship about the same time. Like George, his
mathematical training had allowed him to advance in rank and he was 5th
(likely a second mate) out of a crew of 37 on the ship King Pepple.[2]
The ship left Liverpool on May 1, 1790, Thomas Briscoe as captain, headed for
Bonny for slaves. The King Pepple went first to Dominica and then to Montego
Bay, Jamaica, where it delivered 444 slaves on December 29, 1790.[3]
John Cannon was discharged at Montego Bay on December 31, 1790 and the King
Pepple returned to Liverpool, arriving on March 20, 1791. Five crew died on the
voyage.[4]
Loan by George to his Parents
Four months after returning from
his voyage on the Eliza, George made a loan to his parents, Hugh and Eleanor
Cannon. A transcription of the note follows:
Know all men by these presents
that I Hugh Cannon sen[io]r of Peeltown by and with the consent of my wife
Ellinor Cannon al[ia]s Addy of Peeltown Doth hereby acknowledge our selves to
be jointly Indebted unto our son George Cannon of said Town in the just and
full sum of Twenty Pounds good and Lawful currency of this Isle Which said sum
we promise to pay unto him the said George Cannon his Heirs or assigns with the
Interest of one shilling out of the pound yearly and Every year During what
soever time it will Remain in my hand unpaid To Which payment well and Truly to
be made I bind me and my Heirs Ex[ecu]t[o]rs admi[nis]tr[ator]s and assigns And
for the further and Better security of the just payment of the afore said
consideration money with the Interest of aforesaid Interest we Do hereby
passover in Pledge and security thereof all our concerns of Houses Backside and
Garden and also the basement on the south side of the street together with all
ways water courses Easements and Liberties to the same Belonging or in any wise
appertaining in the Nature of a Bill of mortgage to all intents and purposes
and as are prescribed and Directed in the act of settlement in such and the
Likneses of mortgage and to hold the same untill the said sum of Twenty Pounds
Interest cost and charges be justly paid and satisfied and to these End we Bind
us and our Heirs Extrs admtrs and assigns in and under the penalty of Twenty
Pounds ___ to be Levyd and paid according to Law In Witness whereof we have
here unto subscribed our names this the 21st Janry 1794 Hugh
Canan
Elenor
Canan her
mark
x
Witnesses Present
William Quirk
Thomas Cowin
___ April 1794
Thomas Cowin and Hugh Walker two
of the Subscribing Witnesses made _____ written Bond and Security was properly
signed and Executed in their presence by Hugh Cannon & Eleanor Cannon &
that the Consideration money therein mentioned was fully paid and Satisfyed.
Before
me
Geo.
Savage
__________
At a Court Baron
or Abby Court holden at the Court house near Ballasalley the 30th
day of May 1794
The beforewritten Bond &
Security being acknowledged before the High Bailiff and now openly published in
Court and no Objection offered ag[ains]t. them, The same are therefore allowed
of and ordered to be Recorded for the Benefit of all persons concerned.
John
________ Charles ________
Marriage to Leonora Callister
Five months
after returning home, and 13 days after making the loan to his parents, on
February 3, 1794, George married Leonora Callister in Kirk Patrick, Isle of
Man. Leonora was 19, eight years younger than George, and must have realized
that she was marrying a man she would rarely see.[5]
The Parish Register of Patrick for 1793 [the first entry is 1793 and the next
two entries are 1794] is as follows:
“George Cannon and Leonora
Callister both of the Parish of K.K. German were married in this church by
Special Licence this third Day February One thousand Seven Hundred and
Ninety-four. By me. Ev. Christian. Vicar. This marriage was Solemnized between
us
In the presence of George Cannon and
Hugh Walker Leonora
Cannon, late
John Radcliffe Callister my x [unintelligible, but similar on other
entries]”
John Radcliffe is a witness on
two other marriages on the same page of the register, one on December 14, 1793,
and the other on January 18, 1794. Therefore, it appears he may be a court
employee. The groom in the other two entries has an “x” and George Cannon’s
does not appear to be an “x”, which likely means that he could sign his name,
unlike the others.
In his five
voyages to Jamaica, George had been gone more than 5 ½ years. However, they
lived in a seafaring culture and their situation must not have been too
uncommon.
First Mate on the Good Intent
Four months after his marriage to Leonora, George was back
out to sea on the Good Intent as first mate to Captain John Brine. The muster
roll is as follows:
Muster Roll
29 July 1795
Ship Good Intent John
Brine from Africa & Grenada
Brine Master 9th July 1794 12 July 1795 discharged 12m
3d
Cannon 1st
Mate “ “ “
- Surgeon “ “ “
2nd
Mate “ 24 Nov 1794 drowned 4m
15d
- 2nd
Mate “ 12 July 12m
3d
3rd
Mate “ 14 Nov 1794 4m
5d
- 2nd
3rd Mate “ 12 July 12m 3d
Boatswain “ 11
April 9m 2d
Carpinter “ 12
July 12m
3d
Gunner “ 17 Nov 4m 8d
Cooper “ 1 Feb 6m 23d
Cook “ 23
Jan 6m 14d
Steward “ 9 Nov 4m -
Seaman “ 19
April 9m 10d
“ “ 1 Feb 6m 29d
“ “ 20 Oct 3m 20d
“ “ 12 July 12m
3d
“ “ 3 April 9m 21d
“ “ 23 Jan 6m 14d
Landman “ 12m
3d
“ “ 1 Feb 6m 23d
“ “ 1 Feb 6m 23d
Boy “ 4 May 9m 25d
Cook 17 Mar 1795 12 July 3m 25d
Seaman “ 3m 25d
2nd
Mate 11 May 12 July
2m 1d Seaman “ “
2m 1d
“ “ “ 2m
1d
“ “ “ 2m
1d
“ “ 21 May
10d
Boy “ 18 May 7d
“ “ 12 July 2m 1d
The
Good Intent was 135 tons, was built in Dublin in 1783, and was owned by George
Case, John B. Aspinall, James Aspinall, John Gregson and James Gregson. Captain
Hugh Crow noted getting command of his first ship, the Will, owned by “Mr. W.
Aspinall, one of the most generous merchants in Liverpool…The instructions I
received were most liberal, and… as master of a ship, I could not but be highly
gratified by the friendly and confidential language in which they were
conveyed.”[6]
Crow noted returning home from this voyage “under convoy” and “on our
arrival…my owner and his brothers paid me the compliment of coming out to meet
me. To add to my satisfaction Mr. Aspinall appointed a fine ship, the Lord
Stanley, to sail with me on the next voyage. To Mr. Kirby, my mate, was given
the command of that vessel, and she was placed in every respect entirely under
my orders.”[7]
The Good Intent left Liverpool
July 9, 1794 with 23 crew, including the captain (or master), one first mate, a
surgeon, two second mates, two third mates, a boatswain, a carpenter, a gunner,
a cooper, a cook, a steward, 6 seamen, 3 landmen and a boy.
Angola
Sailed to Angola and picked up 229 slaves.
Seaman
died on 10/20/94
Steward
died on 11/9/74
Third
mate – can’t read what happened, but not discharged, on 11/14/94
Gunner
died 11/17/94
Second mate drowned 11/24/74
Appears
four died in Angola and something happened to a fifth.
Birth of George Cannon – 1st
child
On December 3, 1794, while George was at
sea, somewhere between Angola and Grenada, Leonora gave birth to their first
child and named him George. The parish register of Kirk German records that
“George Son of George Cannon & Leonora Callister” was baptized on December
5, 1794.
Middle Passage
Sailed to Grenada with 18 in
crew.
[Appears that 2 slaves and no
crew died on the middle passage]
Seaman
discharge on 1/23/95
Cook
----? On 1/23/95 [Stop on island before Grenada?]
Grenada
The Good Intent
arrived in Grenada on February 5, 1795 with 227 slaves, including 3 boys, 5
girls, 133 men and 86 women.[8] A
House of Commons report indicates that the Good Intent, if it is the same
voyage, was the only British ship to deliver slaves to Grenada in 1796 and that
57 of the 225 slaves were exported elsewhere.[9] On
May 11, 1795 the Good Intent left Grenada, after more than three months in
port. Eight members of the crew, out of 23, died on the voyage. We do not know
when or where they died, or the cause of death. However, they lost at most, two
slaves to death during the middle passage.
2 added 17 March 1795 (cook and seaman)
7 added 11 May 1795 (2nd
mate, 4 seaman and 2 boys)
Arrived in Grenada on February 5, 1795 with 227 slaves.
Cooper,
seaman and 2 landsman discharged on 2/1/95
Added a
cook and seaman on 3/17/95
Seaman
died on 4/3/95
Boatswain
died on 4/11/95 in Grenada
Seaman
died on 4/19/95
Boy died
on May 4, 1795
Added a
second mate, four seamen and two boys on 5/11/95
[4
discharged in Grenada, 4 died in Grenada and 9 added in Grenada, so sailed for
Liverpool with
17 crew]
Left Grenada on May 11, 1795 (after more than three months
in port).
Boy died on 5/18/95
Liverpool
The Good Intent arrived in
Liverpool on July 12, 1795 with 16 crew members, more than a year from the time
it left.[10] Shortly
thereafter, Captain George got to see his son, by then seven months old.
[1] Behrendt Letter (PRO, BT 98/54,
No. 159, Liverpool muster roll 1794; Family History Library, Film 870307);
House of Lords Records Office, MP, HL, undated (1794), no. 96, 1800.07.28;
Royal Gazette (Kingston) September 15 to 22, 1792 and May 4 to 11, 1793;
Cornwall Chronicle (Montego Bay), May 18, 1793; Lloyd’s List, July 2, 1793 [I
still need this one – this likely shows the Eliza in New York].
[2] The King Pepple was built in
Liverpool in 1785, was 342 tons and was owned by William Boats, Thomas Seaman
and James Percival.
[3] Lloyd’s List, dated February 1,
1791, states that “K. Pepple, Brisoe” arrived in Dominica from Africa. Lloyd’s
List, dated February 18, 1791, states that the “King Pepple, Briscoe” arrived
in Jamaica from Africa.
[4] Behrendt Letter (PRO, BT 98/51,
No. 127, Liverpool muster roll 1791; Family History Library, Film 870304);
Lloyd’s Register 1791, Lloyd’s List February 1, 1791 and February 18, 1791;
Cornwall Chronicle (Montego Bay), January 1, 1791, January 29, 1791 and
February 5, 1791; Colonial Office 137/91, 60; House of Lords Records Office,
MP, HL, 94.03.22; Parliamentary Papers 1792 (768), XXXV, (766-7), XXXV;
Treasury 64/286, 21; and craig, 80.
[5] Leonora was born on November 12, 1775
in Kirk German. www.familysearch.org.
[6] Crow Memoirs, p. 66.
[7] Crow Memoirs, p. 73.
[8] Lloyd’s List, dated April 3, 1795,
indicates the Good Intent, with Captain Brine, arrived in Grenada from Africa
and “sells there”. A report to the House of Commons indicates the Good Intent
arrived in Grenada on February 5, 1796 with 225 slaves. It was not known where
in Africa the slaves were obtained from. (House of Commons 1802, p. 25)
[9] House of Commons 1802, p. 50.
[Could this be a voyage a year later?]
[10] Slave Trade CD; Behrendt Letter
(PRO, BT 98/55, 29 July 1795, Liverpool muster roll 1795; Family History
Library, Film 870308; Lloyd’s Register of Shipping 1795; Treasury 70/1574 and
64/286, 39; Parliamentary Papers 1795-6 (849), XLII, 1801-2 (88), IV, no. 2; Lloyd’s
List, dated July 14, 1795, indicates the Good Intent arrived in Liverpool from
Grenada.
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