York Herald, 2 May 1868: news from Middlesbrough and Redcar

York Herald, 2 May 1868

Middlesbro'

FATAL ACCIDENT - Yesterday week, an inquest was held at Middlesbro', on the body of Thomas Thompson, aged twenty-four, a painter, who, on the previous night, fell from a scaffold thirty-six feet in height, at the United Methodist Free Church, now being erected in Newport-road, Middlesbro', thereby fracturing his skull, from which injury he died.  A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.  Deceased has left a wife and two children. 

CHORAL SOCIETY - The first concert of this newly-formed society was given before a large and fashionable audience in the Odd Fellows' Hall, yesterday evening week.  The band and chorus comprised 100 performers, under the conductorship of Mr Groenings, and the leadership of Mr John Wood.  The pieces selected were principally from the great masters, Beethoven, Handel, Gounod, and old English composers, and were ably executed.  The Hallelujah Chorus was given with great force and precision.  A violin solo by Mr Wood was rapturously encored.  The tenor solos were sung by Mr John Hart. 

THE IRISH CHURCH - A lecture on this subject was given before a tolerably large audience in the Odd Fellows' Hall, on Monday evening, by the Rev V H Moyle, curate of North Ormesby.  The Mayor occupied the chair.  The lecture was in substance the same as that given at North Ormesby and noticed in the Herald last week.  The lecturer encountered some little opposition from the Liberals present.  A vote of thanks to the lecturer concluded the proceedings. 

PETTY SESSIONS - On Monday, before the Mayor and H Thompson and J Harris, Esqrs., a number of sailors belonging to the Fatfold of Sunderland, were brought up on a charge of smuggling about five pounds of tobacco on board that vessel.  Thomas Bell, officer of Customs, proved the discovery of the tobacco, which all the men refused to acknowledge.  Ultimately, however, Henry Fish, fireman, owned to having smuggled the tobacco, and the other men were released from custody.  Fish was ordered to pay a fine of £3 18s, including costs. 

James Conway was summoned under the new Masters and Servants Act, for refusing to work as requested by his master, John Rushford, builder, on the 24th ult.  The case was proved against the defendant, who was ordered to pay a fine of 20s., or undergo fourteen days' imprisonment. 

Patrick Hickey, puddler, was summoned for assaulting his wife, on the 25th ult.  The latter proved that she had been subjected to gross ill-usage from her husband, who was committed to two months' hard labour. 

John Hallman, labourer, was charged with stealing a bag of potatoes, the property of John Pickersgill, on the 25th ult.  The case was fully made out and the prisoner sentenced to one month's imprisonment. 

Mary Wade was charged with stealing a quantity of coals from the works of Hopkins, Gilkes, and Company, on the 26th ult.  The bench were of opinion that the parents of the prisoner, who was only twelve years of age, were more to blame than their child, whom they accordingly discharged.

York Herald, 2 May 1868

Redcar

New Schools at Coatham 

On Saturday, Mr Arthur Henry Turner Newcoman [sic] laid the foundation stone of the Turner Free School at Coatham.  For many years, the Turner Schools at Kirkleatham Hall have been in an undesirable condition; in fact, they have fallen into a state of desuetude. Recently, the trustees of Sir Wm Turner obtained land at Coatham for new schools, and conveyed the old buildings at Kirleatham Hall to the present resident, Mr Newcomen.   

A large number of persons assembled on Saturday to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone.  Immediately on leaving the Redcar Railway Station, persons were attracted to the site for the schools by flags flying in a field to the west.  At twelve o'clock, the proceedings were commenced by the Rev Robt Lay Page, incumbent of Coatham, offering up prayer.  A psalm was then sung by the church choir, after which a short service was intoned.  Mr Joseph Dodds, of Stockton, then presented Mr A H T Newcomen, Kirkleatham Hall, lord of the manor, and chairman of the trustees of the school, with a beautiful silver trowel, bearing an appropriate inscription. 

Mr Newcomen then formally laid the stone, after which he said he trusted that the building they had commenced so successfully would be completed in safety, and that, as an institution, it would long flourish.  The intentions of the founder, he trusted, would be carried out in their entirety.  A psalm was then sung, and the proceedings terminated.   

The schools will be erected in the Gothic style, and will be 103 feet 6 inches long, 52 feet wide, and four stories high.  There will be ample accommodation for a number of boarders.  The main front of the building will face Coatham Road, and at the gable end there will be a lofty tower.  A large dining hall and a covered play shed will be on the ground floor, immediately over which will be the school-room, with open timber roof, and class-rooms in the rear to the south.  There will also be a commodious residence for the master.  The entire cost of the building will be under £4,000.

Jane Atkinson of Kirkleatham, wife of Captain Thomas Galilee (1744-97)

This page was revised, rewritten & reposted on 4 March 2022

The two letters quoted below were among the small collection of letters referred to in the post of 4 March 2022 about Jane's brother, the Revd William Atkinson.  I have made some alterations to spelling and punctuation for readability's sake.

Jane was born in 1751, the daughter of Thomas Atkinson of Scaling Dam (a hamlet on the Whitby to Guisborough road) and his wife Elizabeth Featherstone.  She grew up at Kirkleatham where her father was Master of the Blue Coat Boys at Sir William Turner's Hospital.  Her younger brother Thomas Atkinson was a surgeon who wrote a journal of a whaling voyage to the Davis Straits in 1774

Jane married Thomas Galilee on 4 June 1775.

The Newcastle Courant of Saturday 17 June 1775 records: 

Last week at St Mary’s Church, Rotherhithe, London, Capt Thomas Galilee of Whitby, to Miss Atkinson of Kirkleatham 

St Mary's Rotherhithe by Rob Kam

Jane and Thomas spent many years in Rotherhithe, where their daughters were born and baptised, living in a house that Thomas owned in Princes Street.  They were living there in 1788 when he wrote to his wife from Narva in Estonia on 21 May.  At the time, the main trade with the Baltic was in timber and Thomas was taking on a load of sawn boards ("deals").  

Narva, May 21st 1788

My Dear Jane, 

I have now the pleasure to acquaint you that I am all Loaded except one pram of deals which I hope to get on board to night.  We have had a very troublesome time of it in the Bay and very cold weather that several of my people is laid up.  I hope in God this will find you in good health and all my dear children as bless God I am at present and I hope soon to have a happy meeting.  I have no news to tell you as this is the first time I have been in town since I arrived – it seems to be a poor place and every thing is very dear so that I have not bought you anything.  Please to acquaint Mr. Richardson of my being loaded and not to forget the Insurance 

I hope soon to have the pleasure to see you, pray give my love to my children &c, I am your ever affectionate and

Loving Husband

Thomas Galilee

It seems he had two passengers with him – perhaps they were there for the experience – but they hadn't enjoyed the trip much.  He ends his letter

My Two young Gentlemen is very well but I fancy this Voyage will make them sick of the sea.

It seems very likely that, when the Ship News in the Kentish Gazette on 20 June 1788 reported that the "Amphion, Gallilee, from Narva" had passed Gravesend on 16 June, it was Captain Thomas Galilee returning home. 

The following year, the French Revolution began and in 1792 Britain and France were at war.  The days of peaceful sailing to the coasts of Europe were over and life must have become considerably more complicated for master mariners.  By the summer of 1795, Thomas and Jane had moved across the river to Number 168 Wapping High Street where Jane was now trading as a China and Slop-Seller, with help in the business from the older girls.  Because of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain's Navy and merchant marine were of great size and enormous importance, so there must have been plenty of possibilities in selling slops – that is, clothing for sailors.  In 1797 Jane was left a widow with 6 daughters aged between 10 and 19 – I can't find out whether Thomas died on land or at sea. 

A letter written by Jane to her daughter Elizabeth on 18 March 1808 gives us a glimpse of her character and her situation.  Elizabeth was 28 years old and at home in Wapping.  She would soon be married to William Williamson, a master mariner.

Jane wrote from Stapleford near Cambridge where she had been looking after her brother William

My dear Girl 

I recd: your affection letter by the Fly [a light type of coach], accompanied by Margaret's, with both of which I was very well pleased.  I have since then had little to communicate and writing time is attended with great difficulty, as your Uncle now gets up as early as I do, he is very much amended since I wrote last, he eats very well and all his complaints diminish gradually, except his deafness, and that continues very much the same, he has walked in his Close almost every day but now that must be all over for a time as it is snowing very fast

She expected to be back in Wapping before long as she wasn't really needed in Stapleford any more. 

Give my kind love to Mr: W[illiamson]: I am much obliged to him for his kind attention to me, and I shall always make it my study to make every thing as agreeable to you both as I possibly can, it is my constant wish that you should remain with me until Michaelmas at least, and in all that time we shall be able to make a more prudent arrangement, than we possibly could in this short time

I'm not sure if that means that she wants Elizabeth to delay getting married or that she would like the newly-weds to live with her till September.  At any event, Elizabeth married Mr Williamson twelve days later in Wapping.  One of the witnesses was her married sister Mary Richmond and another was either her mother Jane, or her sister Jane.

Jane was now planning her own future.  Elizabeth's younger sister Harriet was at Stapleford as her uncle William's housekeeper and Jane Galilee intended to move there herself.  Her plans had taken a little careful management of her brother

I never mentioned the cottage to your uncle before yesterday, he said he never meant to let it until I could think of taking it, though it is a matter I often wished.  I was very doubtful whether to take it or not when it came within my reach, I explained to him all my motives for taking it, without reserve and how I wished to live there, and I could find, that his wishes and views were widely different to mine.  This was what I always expected, however I am quite decided to stick to my original plan, and he seemed very much pleased upon the whole, and I believe Harriet is the same.

Harriet's situation was clearly an important consideration for Jane 

I hope it should be a great relief to her, she is very much confined, and the rest of the people she does see can neither afford her much advantage or amusement, but we can talk all this over when we must, and I should [not] have mentioned [it] now, if I had not got this immense sheet of paper.

A little maternal advice was now in order:

It is gratifying to me to find that my dear Elizabeth is perfectly satisfied with the protection I have been able to afford her, and I will be equally candid in telling her, that I am thoroughly satisfied with the return she has made, I am proud to recollect some instances which placed her in a very amiable light, however I will not affect to misunderstand what you allude to, as I think it almost your only fault, to be rather hasty in your temper.  It is therefore my duty to advise you to correct it.  Your good sense will however point this out to you, as it sometimes happens that a few acrimonious words will disturb the harmony of my years.    

My dear Girl, if I thought you would be seriously hurt at what I have written I would blot it out, and I should not have so, if I did not think you alluded to it yourself, as it is a matter that never gave me any lasting pain, knowing as I did how good you were in essentials.

She then goes on to give the news.  They hadn't had so many visitors in the last two or three days.  A Mr Pagett had gone to London, a Mr B. to Norfolk.  The doctor hadn't come for a week and the judge was in Cambridge.  Elizabeth's sister Harriet 

has had several Fits this last week, I am much concerned for her

but that must have been something that Elizabeth knew all about, so Jane moved swiftly on to bonnets

I do not suppose I can do any thing for you or your Sister?  Harriet called at Mrs Rawlings with Mrs Martindale, but there was not a single Bonnet to be seen.  Mrs [illeg] says the straw is very cheap now, I had a mind to bring some home and get a Bonnet made in London.

I've made some guesses at some of last lines of the letter, which ends warm and affectionately:

I shall now conclude this unconnected Epistle, by desiring my dear Girl [should have] no scruple in expressing any wish that I can be ---ciable [?] in, as she may be assured that I will, now and ever, be proud and happy to do everything promote her comfort, and happiness

and Jane ends with her prayer for Elizabeth's married life

that both parties may mutually concur in deserving, and enjoying, that happiness, which the good and virtuous can only know, shall be ever the prayer of your Affectionate Mother  

Jane Galilee

My kindest Love to your Sisters

Jane spent her last years in the cottage in Stapleford where she died on 19 December 1817 aged 66.  She was buried at Whaddon, a few miles from Stapleford, because it was there that the graves of her parents and brother Isaac were to be found.   

Thomas Galilee and Jane Atkinson had 6 daughters who survived infancy:

• Mary Galilee (1778-1857)
• she was baptised at St Mary's, Rotherhithe on 26 August 1778
• she married Sunderland-born George Richmond (1790-1862), master mariner and shipowner on 29 January 1807 at Wapping parish church.  
• by the time of the 1851 Census, she and husband and their daughter Jane were living in the Trinity Almshouse at Greenwich 
• Mary died in 1857 and George in 1862
• Mary and George had two children:
• Jane Richmond (1812-1904) remained unmarried.  The censuses find her living with one or more of her unmarried nieces in various parts of London
• George Richmond (1817-85) was a journalist and editor of the Sussex Express and Surrey Standard.

George lived in Lewes, Sussex for many years until his death.  He and his wife Maria had 5 daughters and 3 sons. The report of his funeral in the Hastings and St Leonards Observer of 23 May 1885 said he was "the oldest Tory journalist in Sussex, and was the Editor of the Sussex Express before some of those writers who now call themselves middle-aged were born.  He was known as a very consistent man, and one who always upheld the policy of Conservatism"

• Elizabeth Galilee (1780-1867) 
• she was baptised on 22 March 1780 at Rotherhithe
• she married William Williamson (1790-1832), master mariner, on 30 March 1808 in Rotherhithe
• they had 3 children
• William Williamson (c1810-99)
• Emma Williamson (1817-1901)
• Harriet Williamson (1820-1903)

The story of the Williamsons is told in The Revd William Atkinson of Kirkleatham & Cambridge (1755-1830)

• Harriet Galilee (1782-1862) 
• she was baptised 31 July 1782
• she lived in Stapleford near Cambridge as her uncle William's housekeeper and afterwards with her unmarried sisters in Stapleford
• she died on 22 May 1862 aged 80 and was buried at Whaddon with her mother, uncles and grandparents

• Jane Galilee (1784-1856) 
• she was baptised 4 April 1784
• she was the second wife of George Langborne (1773-1832), master mariner, ship owner and ship builder of Whitby.  They married on 3 October 1811 at Wapping and lived in Whitby
• she and George had 7 daughters and 1 son:
• Jane Langborne (1812-58), b 15 Aug 1812, d 1 Feb 1858                          
• Nathaniel Langborne (1814-43)                  
• Ann Langborne (1817-49), wife of John Buchannan (1810-91), solicitor.  
• Mary Eleanor Langborne (1819-84)                                   
• Harriet Langborne (1821-89)                     
• Margaret Langborne (1825-1910)            
• Eliza Langborne (1826-66)                    
• Georgiana Langborne (1829-1903) 

For more on the Langborne family and Jane Galilee and the lives of her children see The family of Nathaniel Langborne (1739-1807), son of Michael & Eleanor Langborne 

• Margaret Galilee (c1785-1880)
• she was born c1785 (but I can't find her baptism)
• she never married.  She lived with her sisters Harriet & Henrietta in Stapleford and outlived them both, dying at the age of 94 on 17 August 1880.  I think, from her grant of Probate, that her niece Jane Richmond lived with her in her last days.  She is buried at Stapleford.

• Henrietta Galilee 1787-1872)
• she was baptised 1 August 1787
• she lived at Stapleford with her sisters until her death aged 84 on 17 February 1872 1872.  She is buried at Stapleford

St Andrew's Stapleford, Cambs. CC BY-SA 2.0 by John Salmon

Thomas King of Kirkleatham, brewer & smuggler

Was Captain Thomas King of Wapping related to Thomas King of Kirkleatham?

No link has been found, but later descendants of the Jacksons of Lackenby certainly speculated about a possible connection.

Thomas King of Kirkleatham was the partner of John Andrew, the famous smuggler of Saltburn.

Smuggling was from 1700 to 1850 an enormous illegal industry:

Leeds Intelligencer, Tuesday 26 December 1769 

Accounts from Redcar, Saltburn, and several other places on the Yorkshire coast, mention that the smuggling trade never was carried to so great a height as at present.  The great number of country people that daily attend the coast, (and who seem to have no other employ but to convey off the goods) is almost incredible. – The revenue officers are very active, and have made several considerable seizures; yet notwithstanding their vigilance, it does not appear possible to suppress this pernicious trade, which is highly detrimental to the revenue and fair trader unless the Honourable Commssioners of his Majesty’s customs please to order a sufficient number of cutters with experienced commanders to be stationed upon the coast at proper distances:  This would certainly have the desired effect, and also prevent wool and sheep being exported, which there is great reason to believe that those delinquents are frequently guilty of. –  That our woollen manufactories have for several years past been upon the declension, is an alarming truth; and certain it is, that the French, thro’ the cheapness of labour, and (it’s to be feared) by getting materials from England, have been enabled to undersell us in foreign markets

The work of the Revenue men was both unpopular and dangerous:

Leeds Intelligencer, Tuesday 20 April 1773 

Last week a smuggling cutter appeared off Witby [Whitby]: She is about 200 tons burthen, carries 14 carriage guns, besides swivels, &c. and about 50 stout men, several of whom were on shore near Saltburn, where they landed a great quantity of spirits, &c. and appear to be a very daring and desperate gang. – An officer belonging to the Customs near that place, endeavouring to seize some goods they had landed, very narrowly escaped with his life. – One of the King’s cutters gave chace to the smugglers, but finding the danger of such an attempt, thought it prudent to depart in peace. –  It is now evident that there is no way to put a stop to this illicit practice, but by repelling force to force.

Occasionally the forces of law were successful.  In the following case, the riding officers (mounted men charged with the duty of patrolling the coast) seized a fine cargo of gin and tea:

Leeds Intelligencer, Tuesday 31 January 1775 

Thursday se’ennight Mr William Fenwick, of Marsk, and Mr Macdonald, of Skiningrave [Skinningrove], riding officers, attacked a smuggler’s long boat, full mann’d, near Saltburn, and seized 58 casks of geneva, and four large bags of fine tea, which they brought off in defiance of the whole crew, and lodged it in the Custom-House warehouse.

For a lively account of the life of a riding officer, have a look at The Worst Jobs in History: Two Thousand Years of Miserable Employment by Tony Robinson (of Time Team and Blackadder) and David Willock!

The Day Book of Thomas Jackson (1775-1834)

Thomas Jackson (1775-1834), son of George Jackson and Elizabeth King, farmed at Lackenby all his life.  Over a period of years, he kept a Day Book, which was continued after his death by his son John (1808-94).

It is a book of notes and jottings (which may explain the spelling and punctuation) and covers a wide variety of subjects, including records of important family events, household accounts, details of court cases, and notes on farming matters.

There are many miscellaneous farming notes.  He jots down the recipe given him by Robert Thompson for a horse “bad in is wind”:

Robt Thompson Reseat [receipt]
        A Medison for a Horse Bad in is wind take 4 ounces of Garlic 4 ounces of Tax 4 ounces of Flour of Brimstone shread the Garlic small and mix it together into Balls size of a small nutmeg and give it every other Morning The Horse may work as usual

In 1806, he recorded the cost of a threshing machine:

1806  Feb 10    The following is an account of the expense of the Threshin Mushin that I Thos Jackson erected below Lackenby ………..£103. 3. 7

Tom Brown of Kirkleatham & Yarm, hero of Dettingen

William Hutton, in his A Trip to Coatham, gives a wonderfully vivid account of the story of Tom Brown, the hero of the battle of Dettingen 1743. 

While he was at Kirkleatham in 1809, Hutton went to find the site of Tom Brown’s birthplace and to visit the hero’s nephew (see p 166 of the scanned book):

It never occurred to my thoughts, when Tom’s exploit blazed over the world, that, sixty-six years after, I should see his portrait, handle his sword and record the fact.

Tom Brown was born in Kirkleatham, apprenticed to a shoemaker at Yarm, and enlisted in the Inniskillen Dragoons. 

He was five feet eleven, and well made, rather bony.  At the battle he was twenty-eight years old.

He served with outstanding valour at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 in the War of the Austrian Succession - the last battle when British forces were led into action by their King.

Tom was terribly wounded – as can be seen from his portrait (to be found in this full account of the battle)

As William Hutton observed, the portrait

exhibits two wounds in the face; one is a cut, seemingly with the point of a sword from the top of the forehead to the corner of the left eye.  The other, across the upper part of the nose, which obliged him to wear a plate of silver; now lost.

He retired to Yarm with a pension of £30 a year from the King, and died there in 1746.

His grave is marked by a memorial erected by the Queen's Own Hussars in 1968. 

Do see Bob Scotney’s account, with details of the painted sign that used to be attached to Tom Brown’s house in Yarm – and a transciption of the Song of the Silver Nose.

Kirkleatham in 1809

Kirkleatham, as described by William Hutton in his A Trip to Coatham 1809:

Three thousand five hundred acres, the property of Sir Charles Turner.  I am now in the centre of this most delightful valley.  Sir Charles, it is said, wishes to part with this estate, which proves that even beauty itself cannot always please; were it mine, it would cost a tear at parting.  The eye dwells upon the view, but cannot be satisfied.

The village is a groupe of Palaces, fit for the reception of Royalty.  The church is neat, and what a church ought always to be, not tawdry.  The organ is rather too strong for so small a place. 

There is an hospital which brought to mind an expression of King William’s, when he saw Greenwich, “There are, in England, Cottages for Princes, and Palaces for Peasants.”

This superb building was erected and endowed by the Turner family, with lands, said to be worth £1500 a year, for the support of ten old men, ten old women, ten boys and ten girls, with proper officers.  In the centre is a most elegant chapel, in which is a transparent painting, of great value, representing the first founder, who was Lord Mayor of London ...

Hutton continues his account (on p165 of the scanned book), marvelling at the “collection of rarities” in the “shew-room” and the library:

I cannot think its value less than seven or eight thousand pounds.  I saw many books worth twenty or thirty guineas each …

More about Thomas Atkinson, surgeon, of Kirkleatham

This was revised and rewritten 30 January 2022 with many thanks to Stella Sterry for her information

Thomas Atkinson, the writer of the Whaling Journal of Thomas Atkinson of Kirkleatham, 1774, was a young man of 21 when he made the voyage to Davis Straits.

He was born in the spring of 1753 in Kirkleatham, a North Yorkshire village a couple of miles from the mouth of the River Tees. 

His father Thomas was Master at the Hospital founded in Kirkleatham in 1676 by Sir William Turner for the relief of ten "poor aged" men and women and the relief and upbringing of "ten poor boys and ten poor girls". 

The "poor boys" and "poor girls" usually entered the Hospital at the age of eight and left at sixteen.  At this time most of the boys came from the North Riding, from Scarborough to Askrigg, but some came from much further afield – from Ticknall in Derbyshire, Bristol and Hertfordshire.  They included the sons of a local clergyman, a Darlington bookseller and a Northallerton attorney, which must indicate that, in addition to the poor children, the school was taking paying scholars.  This was usual in schools that began as charitable foundations. 

Thomas Atkinson's mother was Elizabeth Featherstone (c1720-1805).  His parents were married in Westerdale in 1749, so Elizabeth may have been the Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Fetherstone, who was baptised in 1720 at Danby in Cleveland.

It seems very likely that Thomas Atkinson's sons were taught alongside the boys of the Hospital.  Wherever they went to school, he and his brothers clearly received a good education; Thomas's second son William was to become a Doctor of Divinity and Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. 

The career chosen for young Thomas may have been influenced by the surgeon employed at the Hospital (at a salary of £50, compared to the £45 paid to the Master), but the Hospital was also in contact with the York Infirmary whose surgeons pronounced one boy's "scrofulous disorder" as incurable in 1773.  

In his mid-teens Thomas's parents sent him to Ripon to be apprenticed for 6 years to William Chambers of Ripon, described by Thomas's father in the family Bible as "an eminent Surgeon and Apothecary".  

Then on 27 February 1774 at the age of 21, he went to sea as a surgeon on the Hope of Whitby, on a whaling voyage to the Davies Straits.

We don't know why he decided to make the trip.  Perhaps it was a hankering for adventure; perhaps he wanted to find out how he would cope in harsh conditions.  We don't know how he came to choose the Hope, but it's interesting to see that at this time one of the boys at the school was Thomas Peacock, son of the Revd John Peacock, curate of Stainton in Cleveland.  Perhaps they had a family connection to Captain Robert Peacock of the Hope.

It is clear from young Thomas Atkinson's journal that it wasn't the sea that took his interest, but the strange new lands he encountered and, above all, the Inuit. 

So it isn't surprising to find that, the following year, his curiosity and love of adventure led him to work for the Hudson's Bay Company.

At the beginning of June 1775 he took up his post as a surgeon at Moose Fort (now Moose Factory), the Company's oldest settlement in Ontario, established in 1673 about 11 miles from the mouth of the Moose River on the shore of James Bay.

This was the home of the Cree and Anishinaabe peoples, but from the 17th century it was where the British and French fought over the fur trade.  

In 1776 the Company was planning to establish a post on Lake Superior.  So they sent out a party of 5 men – Thomas was one of them – with two Indian families and instructions to "Build a Halfway House".  They set out on 16 October 1776 from Moose Fort and travelled about 200 miles by canoe along the Moose River, and by sledge, until on 11 December they reached "Wapuscogamee" Creek.  

Thomas chose a site for the Company's post – it was half a mile or so from the mouth of the creek, on the west bank of the Missinaibi River, which flows into the Moose River.  On 14 December they began to build a log tent in which they were to spend the rest of the winter.

When the spring came, they laid the foundation for the post and by early August 1777 Wapiscogamy House was ready for occupation.  Thomas was in charge there until 31 May 1778.

I hope he was a good doctor, because he wasn't very good at choosing a place for a trading post, or at planning its building.  

A report to Edward Jarvis, chief at Moose Fort, in 1781 described a site vulnerable to attack with no way of seeing the attackers coming.  There was a large creek within 200 yards of the back of the house and a ridge of high land within 100 yards, and at one end of the small, inconvenient house (it measured 26 feet by 18 feet) there wasn't a window or a port hole.  

The foundations were laid direct on the ground, so it wasn't possible to dig a cellar without undermining either the chimney or the frame of the house.  They  couldn't find anywhere to keep the gunpowder except "directly under the fireplace" and the summer heat spoilt their "Salt Geese".   Edward Jarvis decided it would be better to build a new post somewhere else.

By this time, Thomas Atkinson had been moved on to Henley House, a transit post on the junction of the Albany and Kenogamy Rivers.  He was Master there for 3 months from September to December 1779.  Perhaps he was filling in for the arrival of another man because he dropped down to Assistant for the next few months.  From June 1780 he was Assistant at Albany, the company fort on the James Bay, and then he left for home on the Royal George on 21 September 1781.

On 21 September 1788, when his father repaired the family Bible and recorded the most recent details of his children's lives, he wrote proudly that his eldest son had been "sometime Governor" of one of the Company Forts and was now "Surgeon at the English Settlement in Honduras Bay".  

So Thomas, having experienced the extremes of heat and cold in Northern Ontario, had taken a post in Central America, where the British were cutting logwood and mahogany.  There had been a British settlement in Belize for over a hundred years.  

An undated entry in the family Bible records that it was there that Thomas died. 

The manuscript is a contemporary fair copy of Thomas Atkinson's original journal and may not be in Thomas's own hand.  It is possible that it was transcribed by a relative.  It bears a strong resemblance, particularly in the decoration and flourishes, to his father's graceful hand.

By the end of the 19th century the journal was in the possession of his sister's granddaughter, Miss Margaret Langborne of Whitby, who gave it to one of her great-nieces.

Further posts on Thomas Atkinson and his family:

Jane Atkinson of Kirkleatham, wife of Captain Thomas Galilee (1744-97)

Captain Thomas Galilee (1744-97) and his family

Sources

Parish Registers of Easington and Kirkleatham
Turner Hospital Records (Teesside Archives and NYCRO)
The Will of the Revd William Atkinson, TNA (PROB 11/1771)
The Will of Thomas Galilee, TNA (PROB 11/1296)
'Biographical Register Volume II 1666 – 1905', Christ's College
Venn Alumni cantabrigienses, Cambridge 1940
(with thanks to Suzan Griffiths, Librarian of St Catharine's College, and Ruth Waite, alumni officer of Christ's College, Cambridge)
Hudson's Bay Company Archives online at the Government of Manitoba's Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport website: Biographical Sheet for Thomas Atkinson

Tracing the History of Northern Ontario at the British Library by Shaelagh Cull 

Whaling Journal of Thomas Atkinson of Kirkleatham, 1774

In 1774, Thomas Atkinson was a young surgeon of twenty-one when he took ship in the Hope of Whitby, on a whaling voyage to the Davies Straits.  This is a fair copy of his journal, full of accounts of the fish, the wild cold weather, and his first encounter with the Inuit: