On Sunday 12 December 1841 in a house in Church street, Modbury, Jemima Rogers, aged 21, gave birth to an illegitimate son. His name was recorded as Richard Henry Shepherd Rogers.
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| Church Street, Modbury |
Richard's father was an 18 year old tailor, named Richard Shepherd, but instead of marrying Jemima, he married her older sister, Mary. The three of them, together with their son, moved to Chelsea in London, where young boy went by the name of Richard Henry Shepherd. In 1851 they were living in Park Terrace, now Park road (see Street View). Richard had two younger step sisters, Fanny and Jessie.
In the 50 years before the Shepherds arrived in London, its population had doubled to two million. Life must have been a shock to the family from the small town Devon. Where they were used to the smell of livestock and the countryside, now the stink from the the river Thames, an open sewer in those days, must have been unbearable.
Disease was rife and in January 1854 Jemima caught consumption or tuberculosis and died a year later. every week over 150 Londoners died of this one disease alone. She died at number 11 Park Terrace and on the certificate she was described as a 'live in woman's domestic servant'. This makes one wonder if it is possible that Richard never knew that Jemima was his mother and that he was brought up as though Jemima's sister, Mary was his mother.
In the 50 years before the Shepherds arrived in London, its population had doubled to two million. Life must have been a shock to the family from the small town Devon. Where they were used to the smell of livestock and the countryside, now the stink from the the river Thames, an open sewer in those days, must have been unbearable.
Smell was a potent characteristic of London life. In the 1850s London experienced the Great Stink when the River Thames became a giant sewer overflowing not only with human waste but also dead animals, rotting food and toxic raw materials from the riverside factories. - Beverley Cook Curator of Social History, Museum of London.[1]
Disease was rife and in January 1854 Jemima caught consumption or tuberculosis and died a year later. every week over 150 Londoners died of this one disease alone. She died at number 11 Park Terrace and on the certificate she was described as a 'live in woman's domestic servant'. This makes one wonder if it is possible that Richard never knew that Jemima was his mother and that he was brought up as though Jemima's sister, Mary was his mother.
Ten years in the Navy
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| HMS Curacoa in Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand |
In 1865 the ship sailed around the South Sea Islands. On board was the Gentleman explorer and naturalist, Julius Brenchley, who wrote an account of his time on board , Jottings during the cruise of the Coracoa Among the South Sea Islands in 1865.
Here's an extract:
On September 10, early in the morning, we left Ysabel Island, having the schooner 'Southern Cross' in tow, which we subsequently bore away from after mutual adieus, and bent our course towards Eramanga... read more
The ship returned to Portsmouth the following year, presumably with Richard aboard.
Promotion to Sailmaker
When Richard's ten years were up in 1869 he signed up for a further ten. With a dacade already completed, and a good record, he could apply for promotion. Perhaps it was because he already had experience with cloth and thread, his father being a tailor, he chose to became a sailmaker.
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| For the second half of his life at sea, Richard was sailmaker, a skilled crew member, a "day-man" who had a chance of getting an uninterrupted night's sleep |
All large foreign-going ships at this time had a sailmaker, responsible for the storage and maintenance of the ship's sails who would design and cut out new sails when required. They would be stitched by members of the crew. The design had to be precise because the sail had to be attached to its yard at exactly the right points. The sailmaker was a skilled crew member, a "day-man", which meant that he did not have to keep a watch and had a chance of getting an uninterrupted night's sleep, as long as "all hands" were not called. Like the other day men, the Bosun, carpenter, Cook, and steward, he usually berthed apart from the rest of the crew. A sailmaker received about £4.10s a month, 50% more than an able seaman.
In 1873 Richard was aboard HMS Asia in Portsmouth but soon sailed to Australia again, aboard HMS Pearl, which had just returned from a world cruise. There, the ship was taken over by Captain James Graham Goodenough, who was well known and respected in the Navy for his enlightened approach with his crew. He was one of the first to set up a canteen aboard ship, more like a shop, where sailors could buy goods and food.
So how was it that Richard's Captain was murdered? ... read Part Two
[Information for this post has been gathered from a number of sources; Census returns (1841 -1881), Birth, marriage and death records and Richard Henry Shepherd's naval records. The rest has been gleaned from sources on the internet.]
