The Freedom of Mevagissey .. the Schooner

  The   Ship        The Freedom of Mevagissey / Fowey Official number 13032 Built in Aug 1832 in a Mevagissey ship yard by Nicholas Lelean. One deck and 2                 masts.   Counter stern schooner, carvel built with standing bowsprit and a woman bust figurehead.    Registered in near by  port  of  Fowey  as 106 tones Length 64.9 Ft. Breadth 19.6 ft    Depth 11.8   Ft. Schooner.   Re-measured - to 89t 54, 64.3 x 19.2 x 11.2ft.    Trade -        Leghorn , Med,  Smyrna  38,  Ancona  43,  Copenhagen  43, Coastal    Owners -    Pearce & Co.  38, 40,43,   Ley & Co. 48,51,55,63,  Ley T 66,75, 78    Masters-   Cox J 38,  Brough H 4...

The Owners and Masters              Mediterranean   Pass  annexed to cert of registry (this was government pass issued to Med traders which gave them govt protection against the North African pirates) Initial owners included William Cox, Gorran fish curer.  John Pearce younger, Mevagissey  merchant John Cox, Gorran mariner.  Master John Cox, succeeded by Thomas Ley. 1 st  February 1847 Thomas Ley buys up a large portion of the shares and becomes the main owner. He is described as Mevagissey Master Mariner. Other shares are owned by the Lelean family. From this time it looks as if there are other masters used on the ship as Thomas possibly retires to shore to run the business of the ship he owns. RE funding. Some money undoubtedly came from smuggling in the early 19th cent which everyone in Mevagissey was employed in up to 1805. An article of mine on this is appearing in Maritime Life and Tradit...

The Builder Lelean The Builder   Nicholas Lelean There were 2 Leleans, Father and son, who were well known and respected ship Mevagissey    builders. It is most likely the son built the Freedom. The Lelean Shipyard is still partially in tack in the Mevagissey harbor and how houses the museum. I am now in contact with a relative of Lelean who’s name is Maureen Musson. Maureen lives in Essex . Her grandfather moved to  Essex  when ship building declined in Mevagissey. The information below is from her. Nicholas LELEAN  was born on 12 th  July 1769 and baptised on 13 th  August 1769 in Mevagissey, the third issue and second son of  William LALEAN and SARAH (nee BARON),  and he married at the age of 23 years on 14 th  August, 1792 in Mevagissey to Catherine BASSETT, (Addendum 3) who was baptised on 1 st  June 1767 in Mevagissey.  Nicholas and Catherine had six issues baptised in Mevagissey, four sons and t...

Published by Christol Gilbert Campbell River  Genealogy Society A newsletter from… The Treehouse March 2007, Volume 20, Number 1 ISSN 1492-7365 Heritage Week in BC & The Museum at Campbell River Stories. . Freedom of Mevagissey… …  Tom Hall THE FREEDOM OF MEVAGISSEY Pt. 1 By Tom Hall and Edited by Christol Gilbert Your club should have a warning sign over the door, “Highly Addictive nut so group of people”. I came to a couple of meetings when Candi-lea was speaking and got the gist of how to get started in genealogy. She is definitely addictive, fell in love with her right away…and then went to the church and met Judy, Laurel, and Norm. After listening to a presentation that Laurel Lahay gave on  Scotland  (she even baked Shortbread), I WAS HOOKED. My obsession began with the painting (shown left)signed by Michele FUNNO, an Italian, active c1837– 1865 in Naples Italy. The caption at the bottom reads  Freedom of Mevagissey Thomas Ley 1848 . My mother, Marjor...