Nelson (140 page)

26
. Pigott and Randall to Stephens, 30/8/1776, ADM 1/2303;
Dolphin
muster, ADM 36/7583;
Dolphin
pay book, ADM 33/635;
D&L
, 1, pp. 3–4. Pigott was a lieutenant in 1771, a post-captain in 1776 and a full admiral in 1810. He died in 1822.

27
. Correspondence in ADM 1/2490;
Gentleman’s Magazine
(1819), ii, p. 570. Nelson’s connections put him on fast-track promotion, and he soon overtook Surridge in rank. Indeed, in 1780 Nelson and Surridge almost shared a ship again, the former as captain and the latter as lieutenant. Surridge was appointed third lieutenant of the
Janus
frigate, then on the Jamaica station, on 24 October 1779. Unfortunately he went down with an ‘obstinate intermittent [fever] and dysenteric complaints’ and was hospitalised at Port Royal before being discharged from the ship on 17 January so that he could recover at home (
Janus
muster, ADM 36/8720; certificate by Deans, Macnamara and Collingwood, 12/1/1780, enclosed in Parker to Stephens, 7/4/1780, ADM 1/242). A few months later Nelson was appointed captain of the
Janus
, but he too was invalided to England. It would have been an outstanding partnership. Surridge remained an admirer of Nelson, and attended his funeral in 1806. He left a widow, Mary, who died aged 89 at Ashling House, near Hambledon, Hampshire, on 15 March 1841:
Nautical Magazine
, 10 (1841), p. 287.

28
. Logs of the
Dolphin
, ADM 51/259 and ADM 52/1701[2]; O. Pryce-Lewis, ‘Horatio Nelson and Simon’s Bay’;
ND
, 2 (1985), pp. 35–7.

29
. Pigott return, 30/8/1776, enclosed in Pigott to Stephens, 30/8/1776, ADM 1/2303.

30
. Clarke and McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, p. 23. The story was told by R. W. Spencer.

31
. Suckling to Sandwich, 28/1/1777, NMM: SAN/F/10; John E. Talbott,
Pen and Ink Sailor
, p. 25.

32
. For the comptroller and his influence see Daniel A. Baugh,
British Naval Administration
, pp. 32–48; J. H. Broomfield, ‘Lord Sandwich at the Admiralty Board’; and R. J. B. Knight, ‘Sandwich, Middleton, and Dockyard Appointments’.

33
. NMM: SAN/3, pp. 39, 53; J. M. Collinge,
Navy Board Officials
, p. 125.

34
.
Dolphin
pay book, ADM 33/635.

35
.
D&L
, 1, p. 4.

VI Lieutenant Nelson (pp. 107–32)

1
. Suckling to Stephens, 2/9/1771, ADM 1/2481.

2
.
D&L
, 1, p. 4; muster of the
Worcester
, ADM 36/8677.

3
.
D&L
, 1, p. 4.

4
. Nelson to Fanny Nelson, 18/1/1794, Monmouth MSS, E806.

5
. Robinson to Stephens, 24/10/1776, 7 and 12/12/1776, 2/4/1777, ADM 1/2390;
Worcester
logs, ADM 51/1085 and ADM 52/2095.

6
. Nelson to William, 20/2/1777, Add. MSS 34988.

7
. Porten to Stephens, 3/4/1777, WO 1/683.

8
. Brian Lavery,
Nelson’s Navy
, p. 93.

9
. James S. Clarke and John McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, p. 25.

10
. Nelson’s passing certificate, 9/4/1777, ADM 107/6.

11
. Patronage book, NMM: SAN/3, p. 39;
D&L
, 1, p. 4; Nelson to Stephens, 11/4/1777, ADM 1/2222.

12
. Nelson to William, 14/4/1777, Add. MSS 34988.

13
. Thomas Foley,
Nelson Centenary
, p. 16; will of Maurice Suckling, 3/8/1774, PRO: PROB 11/1044, no. 302.

14
. Edmund Nelson mentioned the apprenticeship in his account of the family without actually identifying it: Ron C. Fiske,
Notices of Nelson
, p. 7. I was unable to find any references to Ann in the city of London freedom papers in the Corporation Record Office or the records of livery companies at the Guildhall Library, probably because she did not complete her apprenticeship. Her placement was finally traced through the apprentice lists in PRO: IR 1/28, and Apprentice Book 8, p. 268, Goldsmiths’ Company, London. See two articles by John Sugden, ‘Tragic or Tainted? The Mystery of Ann Nelson’ and ‘New Light on Ann Nelson’. Thanks are due to David Beasley of the Goldsmiths’ Company.

15
. Apprentice Books 7 and 8, Goldsmiths’ Company. Alice Lilly served her apprenticeship with Ann Jacquin in 1746–54. Alice’s premises were identified from London trades directories, 1769–76, especially
Kent’s Directory
, 1769, p. 110, and 1776, p. 112, though the proprietors are listed as A. and M. Lilly. The latter was probably Mary Lilly, a niece or cousin apprenticed to Alice in 1757. Information on London trades and Ludgate Street comes from R. Campbell,
London Tradesman
, and Peter Jackson, ed.,
John Tallis’s London Street Views
, pp. 52, 293–4.

16
. Will of Maurice Suckling, 3/8/1774, PRO: PROB 11/1044, no. 302. I have not identified the second legacy Ann received, but it was
not
from John Norris, who left £500 to Ann’s sister, Susanna (Norris will, 26/1/1770, PRO: PROB/11/1031: no. 229).

The story that the noted antiquary Dr William Robinson (1777–1848) was the illegitimate son of Ann Nelson and William Robinson of Tottenham (1737–1811) appears to have originated in the twentieth century with his daughter, Agnes Laetitia FitzPatrick (1820–1912), and first published in 1904. See Jessie Nelson Ward to FitzPatrick, 11/2/1902 and 3/11/1903, Madden papers, City Museum and Records Office, Portsmouth; ‘J.W.B.’, ‘Nelson’s Sister Anne’,
Notes and Queries
, 10th series, 1 (1904), p. 170;
Notes and Queries
, 9th series, 12 (1903), p. 428. The claim has no dependable
foundation. Though Dr Robinson was illegitimate, and his belated baptismal entry of 10 November 1789 describes his parents as William Robinson ‘and Anne’, the mother’s surname is omitted (registers of St Luke’s Old Street, Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London). Moreover, neither the older nor younger William Robinson appears to have ever claimed a relationship with Ann Nelson (will of William Robinson, 3/8/1808, PRO: PROB 11/1518: no. 39;
Gentleman’s Magazine
, 1848, ii, p. 211; Aleck Abrahams and John Ardagh,
William Robinson
; and documents in Alfred Morrison,
Hamilton and Nelson Papers
, 2, pp. 312, 332, 335, 336). Mrs FitzPatrick had a portrait that she says John Opie had painted of Ann Nelson: not only does the painting apparently fail to identify its subject as Ann or anybody else, but she was not in London at the same time as Opie. Opie arrived in London from his native Cornwall in 1783, three or four years after Ann had left. For a full discussion see Sugden, ‘Tragic or Tainted? The Mystery of Ann Nelson’, pp. 50–4.

17
. Richard Walker,
Nelson Portraits
, p. 194; Nelson to Locker, 15 and 21/2/1781,
D&L
, 1, pp. 38, 39.

18
.
Lowestoffe
muster, ADM 36/10047; Locker to Stephens, 2, 28 and 29/4/1777, ADM 1/2054; Nelson to Locker, 27/9/1786,
D&L
, 1, p. 197; Joseph Bromwich, passing certificate, 7/8/1783, ADM 107/9; and Clarke and McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, p. 25.

19
. Admiralty orders to Locker, 10/5/1777, ADM 2/102.

20
.
Lowestoffe
log, ADM 51/4247; Locker to Stephens, 5/7/1777, ADM 1/2054; Gayton to Stephens, 24/7/1777, ADM 1/240, pt 3. Nelson’s log is filed with that of the other lieutenant in NMM: ADM/L/L220. It covers the period 10 April 1777 to 1 July 1778, but was copied from the master’s log.

21
. Richard Vesey Hamilton, ed.,
Sir Thomas Byam Martin
, 1, pp. 124–5; Nelson to Locker, 24/9/1784, 16/3/1785,
D&L
, 1, pp. 110, 127.

22
. John Charnock,
Biographical Memoirs
, p. 27; Patricia Richardson, ‘Captain William Locker’; and Victor Sharman, ‘Nelson’s “Sea-Daddy”’. Charnock knew Locker personally.

23
. Nelson to Locker, 9/2/1799,
D&L
, 3, p. 260.

24
. Brian Tunstall and Nicholas Tracy,
Naval Warfare
, pp. 98–9, 105, 115–16; Nicholas Tracy,
Nelson’s Battles
, pp. 66–70. Locker’s admiration for Hawke led him to name his third son for the admiral.

25
. Nelson to Locker, 12/8/1777,
D&L
, 1, p. 23.

26
. In addition to the captain’s log see the list of prizes, 1775 to 26/2/1778, ADM 1/240, pt 3.

27
. Sources for the capture of the privateer are the ship’s log for 20–21/11/1777; list of prizes up to 26/2/1778, ADM 1/240, pt 3;
D&L
, 1, p. 5; and Bromwich’s account in Clarke and McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, pp. 27–8.

28
. Nelson to Locker, 9/2/1778,
D&L
, 1, p. 24, names the prize taken early in February as the
Abigail
, but the official list of captures (ADM 1/240, pt 3) credits the
Lowestoffe
with only six in the period up to 26 February: the four already mentioned, the
Phoenix
of South Carolina, laden with rice, and an unnamed Boston sloop with a cargo of molasses and dry goods. I have assumed the latter must have been Nelson’s
Abigail
. For the
Swan
see list of prizes, 3/3/1778 to 21/6/1778, ADM 1/241.

29
. In addition to the captain’s log see Clarke and McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, p. 29.

30
. Anne Fremantle, ed.,
Wynne Diaries
(1935–40), 2, p. 91.

31
. Nelson to his father, 24/10/1778, Add. MSS 34988; Thomas Foley,
Nelson Centenary
, pp. 9, 18.

32
. Lady Parker to Nelson, 15/3/1797, 29/10/1798, Add. MSS 34905, and
D&L
, 3, p. 83; Nelson to Parker, 21/5/1801,
D&L
, 4, p. 377. Later in life the positions of Sir Peter Parker and Nelson were reversed, and the latter reciprocated the early favours he had
received. Acknowledging Nelson’s generosity, Sir Peter trusted that his son, Lieutenant Peter Parker, would ‘be ever mindful of your goodness to him and unparalleled friendship to me’ (Parker to Nelson, 4/2/1804, NMM: CRK/10).

33
.
Bristol
muster, ADM 36/8118. Joshua Doberry, Nelson’s servant on the
Lowestoffe
, followed him into the
Bristol
and
Badger
. Nelson’s certificate of service on the
Bristol
, issued by Caulfield on 20 December 1778, misdates his arrival on the flagship by a month: Nelson’s log, NMM: ADM/L/B175A.

34
. Cochrane to Chatham, 9/1/1795, ADM 1/1620; W. H. Smyth,
Captain Philip Beaver
.

35
. Nelson to Locker, 31/8/1778,
D&L
, 1, p. 24. Two masters, Abraham Rose and Thomas Harvey, served on the
Bristol
during Nelson’s occupancy, and the surgeon was Archibald Bruce.

36
.
Bristol
log, ADM 51/137; Parker to Deane, 2/9/1778, Parker to Stephens, 9 and 24/10/1778 and 19/11/1778, all in ADM 1/241; list of prizes, 1778, ADM 1/241; Nelson to his father, 24/10/1778, Add. MSS 34988. Nelson’s log differs slightly from his captain’s. He notes the ‘rebel [American] ship’ on 3 December 1778.

37
. Nelson to his father, 24/10/1778, Add. MSS 34988; appointment book, NMM: SAN/3, p. 33.

38
. Nelson to Locker, 31/8/1778,
D&L
, 1, p. 24.

39
. Suckling’s will, 3/8/1774, PRO: PROB 11/1044, no. 302, disproves William Nelson’s story in Clarke and McArthur,
Life and Services
, 1, p. 40.

40
. Clarke and McArthur,
Life of Admiral Lord Nelson
, 1, appendix 2, p. 366. The Suckling notes were deleted from the 1840 edition of this work.

41
. Nelson to William Suckling, 5/7/1786,
D&L
, 1, p. 186.

VII The First Commands (pp. 133–48)

1
. Parker to Stephens, 12/1/1779, ADM 1/241.

2
.
Badger
muster, ADM 36/9883; Nelson to Locker, 30/4/1779,
D&L
, 1, p. 25.

3
. The
Badger
muster records Lepee’s age as eighteen in 1779, but when he was enrolled on the
Boreas
in 1784 his age was given as twenty-one (
Boreas
muster, ADM 36/10525). See also the pay book of the
Lowestoffe
, ADM 34/137.

4
. For the voyages of the
Badger
see her logs, ADM 51/78 and ADM 52/1591. The lieutenants’ log (NMM: ADM/L/B5) was also signed by Nelson, though his post was that of commander.

5
. Nelson to Locker, 23/1/1780,
D&L
, 1, p. 32.

6
.
Public Characters
, p. 8. Contemporary descriptions of Nelson’s appearance are scanty and imprecise. An informed debate between Colin White and Lesley Edwards, drawing on examinations of surviving uniforms and locks of Nelson’s hair, can be found in
ND
, 4 (1992), pp. 93, 157, 197, and
ND
, 6 (1999), pp. 492–5. See also
ND
, 2 (1985), pp. 33–5;
ND
, 7 (2000), p. 130; Otto Erich Deutsch,
Admiral Nelson and Joseph Haydn
, pp. 70, 98; and Richard Walker,
Nelson Portraits
, p. 257.

7
. In addition to the logs and muster see
D&L
, 1, p. 6.

8
. For the young William Locker I have additionally consulted the
Badger
pay book (ADM 34/137) and am indebted to Victor Sharman, who informs me that the boy eventually opted for an army career and became a lieutenant in the 8th Regiment of Light Dragoons.

9
. Nelson to Locker, 30/4/1779,
D&L
, 1, p. 25; list of prizes taken on the Jamaica station, ADM 1/241; E. Arnot Robertson,
Spanish Town Papers
, pp. 41–3.

10
. Nelson to Locker, 3, 13/5/1779,
D&L
, 1, pp. 26, 27, seem to refer to this incident. Writing to his father on 28 May 1779 (Add. MSS 34988) Nelson also mentioned his failure to capture a privateer, but the logs also record a futile chase of 18 May and the letter may have been related to this later episode.