Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree—Charles Edward Lincoln and the Strange and Inexplicable Affai

 Heroes and Rebels in the Family Tree—Charles Edward Lincoln and the Strange, Inexplicable Affair

The following report is taken from the newspapers of the time.  This article was circulated by the media worldwide and was published in newspapers around the world, including New York, London, Scotland and Wales.  Nearly every major newspaper in England printed a copy or some version of it during the week of May 20, 1895.

A remarkable affair has been reported at Lowestoft by the fishing smack “Vanduara”, which arrived in the port on Saturday, May 18, [1895], with two men missing.  The captain states that on the previous Thursday afternoon he sighted a large barque [a sailing ship, typically with three masts, in which the foremast and mainmast are square-rigged and the mizzenmast is rigged fore-and-aft.], name unknown, but evidently a Norwegian, showing signals of distress, about fifty miles from Lowestoft.  The wind was blowing a gale at the time, and there was a heavy sea on, but the smack’s boat was launched and sent to the ship’s assistance, in charge of Charles Lincoln (mate) and Thomas Bowling (third man).  The crew of the stranger shouted that their ship was making water and sinking, the pumps being choked, and, as she was going fast to leeward by the force of the gale, their endeavours to get a rope to the smack proved fruitless.  The Vanduara luffed-to [to steer a yacht nearer the wind] all night, two or three times sailing round the barque, which the skipper says he never lost sight of.  He heard no shouts during the night and saw no lights, and at dawn was astonished to find his small boat had disappeared, and not a sign of life on board the foreigner, even a dog which had been noticed having gone.  The strangest of all was that all the boats were in their places.  The captain and remainder of his crew hailed the barque, but there was no response, and having lost their only boat, the smack’s master could not investigate the affair.  Accordingly sail was set for Lowestoft, where the account of what had happened caused a profound sensation, which considerably deepened later when the bodies of the missing men, with those of two foreigners, were brought in by two smacks.  Later on another smack arrived reporting having seen a smack’s boat stove in, but still floating, which they had been unable to secure.  The belief is that during the night the crew of the barque were seized with sudden panic, believing their ship was sinking, that a rush was made for the smack’s boat, and that in the scramble the boat was stove in [to be broken or crushed inward], and her occupants thrown into the water.  The mate had a nasty gash on the forehead, and one of the foreigners wore formidable knuckle-dusters. [brass knuckles]  The vessel was subsequently discovered to be the German barque Joachim Christian, of Rostock.  The Lowestoft trawler “James and Martha” sighted her on Friday morning, and read her name and the port from which she hailed.  Nobody was on board, and before the trawler could bear down upon her she foundered.  She was 457 tons, and at the time of the accident was proceeding from London in ballast.

Another story from The Downham Market Gazette, on 25 May 1895 reported as follows:

. . . The smack at once bore down on the vessel, which was pitching and rolling heavily, and received information that the pumps were choked, and that the barque was making water fast.  Thereupon the small boat was lowered, and into this go the mate, Charles Lincoln, of Pakefield, and the third hand, Charles [Thomas] Bowling, of Lowestoft.  The two boarded the vessel, which was rapidly scudding [to move or run swiftly; to run before a gale] before the wind, and several attempts were made by those on board the “Vanduara” to make a rope fast, but to no avail, and at length the mate shouted to the skipper of the smack to run to leeward, and luff the vessel to till daylight.  This was done, and the skipper says he never lost sight of the vessel during the night, but just before daylight he was absolutely staggered to discover that, while the barque was there, the smack’s boat was missing.  . . .  the barque’s boats were all on board, but no living person.  . . .  He was short-handed, and had no boats, and under the circumstances it was impossible for him to attempt to get to the barque, which rapidly drifted leeward.

On Saturday night the smack “Flora Bell” arrived in port, having on board the bodies of the mate and of two foreigners, which had been picked up.  Early on Sunday morning the smack “Renovation” came in, bringing the body of the third hand, Charles Bowling.  All the bodies had on lifebelts.  They were conveyed to the mortuary by the police, and there carefully searched.  On the two foreigners were found a watch, some small Dutch money, a couple of English six pences and two English pennies, a pipe, purses, cigar tubes, and a formidable knuckle-duster, but there were no papers to give a clue as to the ship or her port.

The “Renovation” also brought in the missing smack’s boat, which was found floating keel upwards, near the body of the third hand.  The boat is intact, but from its appearance it is evident that the men had clung to it after it was turned over; the fact of the rope fender having been frayed and the marks on the planking leading to this conclusion.

The finding of this knuckle-duster has aroused the gravest suspicions of foul play, and the most sinister theories have been circulated. The general opinion is that the foreigners, frightened at the condition of their ship, got into the smack’s boat, after a desperate struggle with the two smacksmen, who would evidently try to prevent the crazy act, knowing that the boat would have as much as she could do to carry the whole lot of them.  This of course is mere conjecture, and it is probable that the real circumstances which led to the ship being abandoned in such a way will never be known.

The mate Charles Lincoln, was a married man, and leaves three children.  Bowling was a single man, of about 22.

The name of the barque could not be obtained, but the crew of the “Vanduara” supposed she was a Norwegian vessel (one of them having caught a sight of the name of “Christian” on her bows).  Information as to the identity of the stranger was, however, on Monday brought to Lowestoft by the skipper of the trawler “James and Martha”, who stated that on Friday morning, when about 36 miles east by south of Lowestoft, he saw the barque, which he found to be a German, the “Joachim Christian” of Rostock, on her beam ends.  He made out the name of the vessel and port to which she belonged, and saw there were two or three boats on deck.  After describing how he recovered one body, the skipper said that he hailed the stranger, but obtained no response, and no living creature could be seen on board.  An iron cable was hanging over the fore rail, the main lower topsail and the lee part of the fore lower topsail were set, her fore hatch was off, and a ladder stood down the hatchway, and one hatch against the mainmast was gone.  His boat lay by the barque for about half an hour and bore up to run down to her, but before this could be done the vessel foundered.  The “Joachim Christian”, which was of 457 tons register, unloaded in Surrey Commercial Docks on the 10^th inst., bound from Skutazar, and at the time of the disaster she was proceeding to the north in ballast [not carrying any cargo, but with

containers filled with sea water to add weight].  A later telegram from Lowestoft stated that two of the three bodies landed there, which were presumed to be members of the crew of the “Joachim Christian”, had marks upon their clothing serving to identify them.  The handkerchief of one was marked “A. P. While”, and several letters found on him were addressed to Albert Pfretzechner.  The clothing of another was marked “A. T.”. 

An inquest was opened on Monday morning at Lowestoft on the bodies of the two smacksmen and the two foreign sailors.  The Coroner [Mr. C W Chaston, the County Coroner] merely took some formal evidence and adjourned.  The Lowestoft trawler “Jane”, on Monday, brought in the body of another sailor, apparently a foreigner, with a lifebelt upon him.  Nothing was found in the pockets.  He is believed to have belonged to the barque “Joachim Christian”.

 

Indeed, Charles Edward Lincoln was a married man with three children. But, his wife was pregnant at the time of his death and his fourth child, Charles William Emmett Lincoln was born in Pakefield on September 21, 1895.

Charles Edward Lincoln was the eldest of 15 children born to Charles Lincoln (1847-1916) and Emmeline Hall (1848-1922).  He was born in April 1867 and was baptized in the Parish Church in Pakefield on August 17, 1873 along with his sister Elizabeth Sarah Lincoln and brother Robert Percival Lincoln.  In January 1889, Charles Edward married Sarah Elizabeth Tovell.  In 1891, they were living with Sarah’s widowed father at 3 School Cottages on Pakefield Street, Pakefield, Suffolk, England along with their first two children, Harriet Elizabeth and Mabel Sarah.  Daughter Elizabeth was born in 1893.

On March 18, 1895, Sarah received the terrible news about the death of her husband.  Charles Edward Lincoln was buried in the Pakefield Church Cemetery at the young age of 28.  Later that year, Charles William Emmet Lincoln was born in Pakefield on September 21, 1895.  Their children were:

1.      Harriet Elizabeth Lincoln (1889-1973) married in July 1910, William Edwar Chamberlain (1889-1968).

2.      Mabel Sarah Lincoln (1890-1976).

3.      Elizabeth Verena Lincoln (1893-1988) married in October 1915, Alfred George Linder (1894-1979).

4.      Charles William Emmett Lincoln (1895-1969) married on October 16, 1918, Hilda Susanna Manning (1901-1982).

Footnote:  Charles William Emmett Lincoln may have been inspired by his father’s selfless act of courage and at the age of 19, he enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve from April 20, 1915 until March 21, 1919.  He achieved the rating of Temporary Skipper upon his discharge from military service.

Genealogy:  Charles Edward Lincoln (1867-1895) was the son of Charles Lincoln 1847-1916 and his father was Robert Lincoln 1813-1869 and his daughter was Elizabeth Lincoln 1839-1931 and her husband was George Freston Catchpole 1837-1916 and his father was Henry Catchpole 1803-1879 and his daughter was Maria Catchpole 1860-1957 and her husband was William Thomas Tripp, MBE 1861-1928 and his father was Ritson Tripp 1835-1862 and his mother was Elizabeth Whincop 1808-1893 and her mother was Elizabeth Baldry 1781-1858 and her father was Philip Baldry 1748-  and his father was Farrer Baldry 1709-1774 and his father was Henry Boldero/Baldry 1670-1743 and his son was John Baldry 1700-1758 and his son was John Baldry 1755-1833 and his daughter was Susanna Baldry 1774-1858 and her daughter was Phoebe Mayes 1804-1873 and her son was Thomas Forster 1837-1888 and his daughter was Caroline Forster 1864-1906.