| | SUMMARY of the SERVICE TIME of MICHAEL SPINKS, as aBOATSWAIN | | | | | | | |
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| | on board the EAST INDIA COMPANY'S 'REGULAR' LARGE SHIPS ("INDIAMEN"), 1821-34. | | | |
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| | | "SEA" TIME | "RIVER" TIME * | * time served fitting ship at Blackwall/Gravesend | | Small levies from each man's pay were ususally
made for Poplar Seamen's Hospital (i.e. the East India Company's Alms Houses), and Purserage (for new clothes etc.). |
| VOYAGE # |
SHIP'S NAME | YRS | Months | Days | Months | Days | Ship's
Journal Begins | (Pay) Ledger Commences * | Michael Discharged |
Total Earnings (Credit) | Amount Payable on discharge^ |
Nett balance' (after usual deductions) | Date Wages Paid | Ship's
Journal Ends | SEA TIME | | | EXTRA NOTES. |
| 1 | HYTHE |
1 | 0 |
18 | 1 | 17 | 28 Feb 1821 | 17 Apr 1821 | 4 May 1822 | £40 19s [0d] | £27 11s 10d | ? | 9 May 1822 | 1 June 1822 | 12 mos 18 days in ledger. | A note on Michael's entry in Ledger, appears to read: £11.10 to be deducted from his Wages for the Owners." |
| 2 | HYTHE | 1 | 3 |
20 | 2 | 5 | 13 Dec 1822 | 18 Feb 1823 | 7 June 1824 | £50 18s 4d | £37 9s 4d | £35 9s 7d ? | 9 June 1824 | 6 June 1824 | 15 mos 20 days. | | A scribbled note on Michael's entry in Ledger, appears to read: "to Stop £1 p[er] Mo[nth] from his
Wages, in all £12.10." |
| 3 | REPULSE | 1 | 2 | 24 |
1 | 22 | 23 Nov 1824 | 14 Jan 1825 | 8 Apr 1826 | £48
2s [0d] | £34 3s 8d | £33 1s 8d | 13
Apr 1826 | 5 Apr 1826 * | 14 mos 24 days in ledger. | Note in ledger states: "Stop £14 for the Owners." I have no explanation as to this. |
| 4 | ROSE | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 22 March 1826 | 16 May 1826 | 25
June 1827 | £43 4s 6d | £29 17s 7d |
£29 6s 9d | 11 July 1827 | 27 July 1827 | 13 mos 9 days in ledger. | None. No Purserage. |
| 5 | ABERCROMBIE ROBINSON | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 03 Jan 1828 | 16 Feb 1828 | 20 Apr 1829 | £45 18s 8d | £32 10s 11d | £31 11s 5d | 1 May 1829 | 19 May 1829 | 14 mos 4 days in ledger. | "Overpaid Gratuity £13." - in Ledger. [I have no idea why this is! Clearly, take home pay is considerably less than total earnings
due to amounts (£3 5s) being paid in advance, and to his "attorney" (presumably wife) £6 10s, while he is away.] |
| 6 | DUNIRA |
1 | 3 |
3 | 1 | 14 | 18 Nov 1829 | 1 Jan 1830 | 4 Apr 1831 | £49 1s 6d | £35 13s 11d | £35 1s 8d | 5 April 1831 | 20 Apr 1831 | 15 mos 3 days. | | None. No Purserage. |
| 7 | THOMAS GRENVILLE | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 14 | 19 Apr 1831 | 3 June 1831 | 27 June 1832 | £41 14s 2d | £30 13s [0d] | £29 15s 1d | 28 June 1832 | 27 June 1832 | 12 mos 25 days. | | A scribbled note on Michael's entry in Ledger, appears to read: "Half of Sick [Quarters], per Captn." - I cannot verify this
in any way. Also, this is the only voyage where £6 10s was not claimed by his "attorney" - due to the ship not being away
for more than 12 months, only £3 5s was claimed. |
| 8 | THOMAS GRENVILLE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 18
March 1833 | 30 Apr 1833 | 31 May 1834 | £42
7s 2d | £28 19s 11d | £28 1s 10d | 2nd June 1834 | 31 May 1834 | 13 mos 1 day in ledger. | none. A small amount was taken from his pay for the newly-formed "Dreadnought" Seamen's hospital (n addition to Poplar Hospital). |
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SUB TOTALS | 8 |
12 | 104 |
9 | 105 | | * this is usually the date after 'advance pay' is paid, and the ship sails from Gravesend. | | £366 GRAND TOTAL (rounded to nearest £) |
^ Some of his earnings would have been transmitted to his wife or family while he was away. | | | | | | |
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| | | YRS | Months | Days | Months |
Days | | | | | | | | * Repulse's journal ends abrubtly once the ship reaches the Docks at Blackwall; the majority of her crew were dischrarged on 8 April 1826. |
| | CARRIED [SEA TIME] | 9 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | CARRIED [RIVER TIME] | 1 |
0 | 15 | | | |
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| | GRAND TOTAL | 10 |
3 | 29 |
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| | NOTES: |
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| | "River Time" is reckoned from the date the ship was put into 'commission', i.e. the day on which its Journal
starts, up to the date when "advance pay" is paid, immediately before "Sea Pay" commences (according to the Ledger). | | | | | | |
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A month is fixed at thirty days. | | | | | | | | | |
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| | The monthly wage of a Boatswain in
the East India Company's (Commercial) Maritime Service, throughout this period was 65 shillings (£3 5s.) | | | | | | | |
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With the "Rose", I've gone from the day immediately after he left the "Repulse" (9 April 1826 - since he cannot have been serving on both simultaneously) to start his "River" time. |
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| | The sum-total of Michael's "Sea time" is recorded EXACTLY, as the
original pay ledgers record it. "River time" is less easy to accurately calculate, since we do not KNOW exact dates Michael joined each ship, though I guess it was usually the day the log began! | | | |
| | A previous method of recording Service length
of EIC personnel had been worked out by the Clerk of the Committee of Shipping to assess eligibily of applicants for pensions on the Poplar Fund. This method of calculating career length was not however used when the 'Compensation'
scheme was drawn up; instead a much more basic calculaton - the dates of individual's first entry and discharge from the Service, i.e. a minimum span of 10 (ten) years was required within the individual's qualifying Rank to award the (petty) officer a life
pension (annuity). |