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Bastards and Hurricanes
Sep. 22nd, 2011 11:32 pmMore news about Robert Bastard James, good and bad. The good news is that the inimitable ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nodbear has discovered that James survived the wreck of the packet brig Spey on Racoon Key in November 1840. The bad news is that he and his sailing master Mr Barratt were courtmartialed for the loss of the ship in February 1841. Both were severely reprimanded and ordered to be placed at the bottom of the lieutenants' and masters' lists respectively. The rest of the officers and crew were acquitted and the gunner and master's assistant were amongst those who gave evidence. Poor James :(
azdak also asked about James's striking middle name: "Was the House of James sufficiently eminent to keep track of its illegitimate offspring? Or did his mother have a grievance?" We haven't been able to prove this, but nodbear and I strongly suspect that James was linked to the influential Bastard family of Devon. I'll let nodbear take up the tale...
One last fascinating snippet from Robert B. James himself. From the log of the Spey and his own private journal James has left an extraordinarily vivid account of two hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in 1837.
( ...the hurricane burst on us in all its dreadful fury... )
nodbear has discovered that James survived the wreck of the packet brig Spey on Racoon Key in November 1840. The bad news is that he and his sailing master Mr Barratt were courtmartialed for the loss of the ship in February 1841. Both were severely reprimanded and ordered to be placed at the bottom of the lieutenants' and masters' lists respectively. The rest of the officers and crew were acquitted and the gunner and master's assistant were amongst those who gave evidence. Poor James :(  John Pollexfen Bastard and Edmund Bastard |
azdak also asked about James's striking middle name: "Was the House of James sufficiently eminent to keep track of its illegitimate offspring? Or did his mother have a grievance?" We haven't been able to prove this, but nodbear and I strongly suspect that James was linked to the influential Bastard family of Devon. I'll let nodbear take up the tale...I have still to find precisely where he fits in but he is called Bastard because it is a family surname of a notable Devon/Cornwall family of that era of whom the most well known are two brothers; John Pollexfen Bastard and Edmund Pollexfen Bastard, both of whom were MPs for Devonshire constituencies and who had numerous connections with the Royal Navy. Edmund married Jane Pownall, only child of Philemon Pownall, Edward Pellew's captain and mentor and the same connection is seen in Pellew's eldest son being named Pownall Bastard Pellew. In neither case was it a comment on the parentage of the son in question - ironically the opposite, more a claiming than a denial. Edmund and Jane had several children, at least one of whom became a RN captain. But somewhere in the clan I am fairly certain Robert James belongs.
One last fascinating snippet from Robert B. James himself. From the log of the Spey and his own private journal James has left an extraordinarily vivid account of two hurricanes that hit the Caribbean in 1837.
( ...the hurricane burst on us in all its dreadful fury... )
