Isaac Carly (variously Carly) was a marine private on the Resolution on the third voyage. He joined on 09 July 1776 from 42 Company in the Plymouth Division. During the voyage, he was punished on 02 November 1777 for neglect of duty. There is no record of his place or date of birth. He died in 1786 while serving on HMS Revenge. No family member is mentioned in the will (though an Isaac Carley had married Hannah Mildred on 12 April 1760 at St. Thomas, Portsmouth), which was witnessed by two of the quartermasters from the Resolution, Whealan and Harding. His will was proven in 1786 (PROB 11/1143).

Temporary entry May 2007

William Carr joined Cook's second voyage on the Adventure on 02 July 1772 as an AB. He was appointed master-at-arms on 30 July 1772.

Temporary entry May 2007

John Cave joined the Scorpion on 25 September 1771. He then Cook's second voyage on the Resolution on 17 December 1771 as quartermaster's mate. He then rejoined the Resolution for the third voyage on 10 February 1776 as an AB. He deserted at Macao near the end of the voyage on 13 January 1780. Thomas Edgar wrote:

While James King wrote:

Cave was born in Durham about 1747. He may have died in 1784 with a will PROB 11/1113.

Temporary entry May 2007

William Chapman joined Cook's second voyage on the Adventure on 10 December 1771 as an AB. He was probably placed on the supernumerary list as he was re-entered on 01 July 1772 as an AB from the supernumerary list. He transferred to the Adventure on 29 July 1773 from Resolution as cook. Chapman was born in Gravesend, Kent about 1733 and may have died in 1800 (will PROB 11/1350.

Temporary entry May 2007

John Charlton served with James Cook as master's servant on the Grenville in 1765, 1766 and 1767. He joined the Endeavour in 1768 but for some unkown reason Charlton did not appear on the muster until 01 May 1770 when the expedition was off the Australian coast. He took over from William Howson as the captain's servant.

Charlton was born in London about 1753.

William Charlton, who sailed on Cook's third voyage on the Resolution, was listed as having been born in London about 1758. Before the voyage, Charlton attended the Naval Academy at Portsmouth from 1772 until 1775 where his companions included James Ward and James Trevenen, who accompanied him with Cook. Interestingly, Charlton did not list his time at the Academy on his service record when applying for his lieutenant's certificate in 1781.

Charlton joined the Resolution on 10 February 1776 as an AB. He became a midshipman on 02 November 1776. During the voyage, he kept a journal (Adm 51/4557/191-3 10 February 1776 to 28 November 1779) in which, among other things, he made the most complete record pf all the punishments carried out.

Before becoming a lieutenant on 11 May 1782 Charlton served 15 months on the Crocodile. He was in command of the Helena, 14 guns, in Jamaica from 1793 until 1795. From 1799, he commanded the gun brig Hasty and was in command when he wrote his will in 1800. He was made a commander on 22 January 1806 and a captain on 15 June 1810.

At the time of his death on 07 August 1810 Charlton was captain of HMS Garland. He left a will (PROB 11/1518). In that will Charlton left everything to his wife, Mary. There is no mention made of children.

Temporary entry May 2007

Joseph Childs joined the Endeavour on 17 June 1768 as an AB. He was appointed cook on 01 February 1771, taking over from John Thompson. He remained on the Endeavour at the completion of the first voyage but was discharged on 02 September 1771 to the Surprize. He was born in Dublin in 1739.

Temporary entry May 2007

Daniel Clark joined Cook's second voyage on the Resolution on 10 February 1772 as corporal. He was also appointed master-at-arms on 01 July 1772. He was born in Essex about 1740 and may have died in 1782 (will PROB 11/1091).

Daniel Clark assisted in copying documents. John Elliott described him as "Capts Clerk, clever but liking Grog" and Bowles Mitchell called him "Writer".

Charles Clerke, who sailed on all three voyages with Cook, was baptised in Wethersfield near Braintree in Essex on 22 August 1741. He was the third son and one of twelve children of Joseph and Ann (née White) Clerke. The family had been gentlemen farmers resident in Wethersfield for 150 years. Charles Clerke was distantly related to John Clerke, a famous physician during the early to middle seventeenth century.

Clerke's oldest brother, John, also entered the navy and was knighted in 1772. Joseph, the second son, became a lawyer in Ipswich while Hannah the oldest daughter, married Paul Henry Maty, son of the secretary of the Royal Society.

In 1754, Charles Clerke went to Portsmouth to enrol at the Royal Naval Academy, where he remained until 1758. In February of that year, he joined the Dorsetshire under Captain Peter Denis as captain's servant and was soon taking part in the blockade of Brest in Brittany. He and all the ship's company transferred to the Bellona in February 1761. Clerke was now a midshipman and was on board when the Bellona captured the Courageux on 13 August 1761. Clerke was in the mizen-top when it was shot away and fell with it into the sea but saved himself by climbing up the fore chains. The Bellona continued on blockade duty until December 1762 and Clerke was paid off in January 1763.

The peace treaty to end the Seven Years War was signed in 1763 and the Royal Navy reduced the number of ships and men it maintained. Clerke had several months as home before securing, in 1764, a position as an AB (later midshipman) under John Byron in the Dolphin during that ship's voyage round the world. The Dolphin left Britain on 03 July and sailed south to the Falklands and the Straits of Magellan (the visits coincided with Bougainville's attempts to create a settlement on the Falklands and the two parties saw each other). The British met Patagonians in the Straits and Clerke later wrote to Matthew Maty, secretary of the Royal Society with his observations on the height of the Patagonian people. His letter was read to the society on 12 February 1767, and published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1767 (1768. vol. 57, pp.75-9).

John Gore was also on board and Clerke and he began a close friendship with Gore going to stay with the Clerkes in Essex. The Dolphin continued across the Pacific reaching Batavia (Jakarta) on 27 November 1765 without incident or encountering any island of interest. Byron headed home and reached Kent on 03 May 1766. Clerke appears to have had no further active service during 1766 but in February 1767 had secured a berth on HMS Romney. The Romney, with Clerke on board as an AB, crossed the Atlantic to be based at Halifax. Clerke left the ship at Portsmouth on 11 February 1768.

Clerke joined the Endeavour as master's mate on 17 June 1768. After Zachary Hicks's death in May 1771, Clerke was promoted to third lieutenant. Cook described him as:

Clerke must have developed an ability in astronomy during the voyage as he took over the duties after Charles Green, the astronomer, died crossing the Indian Ocean. He was confirmed as lieutenant on 31 July 1771 after the Endeavour's return to Britain. Clerke kept a journal during the voyage (Adm 51/4548/143-4; two volumes: 26 August 1768 to 31 October 1769; 01 November 1769 to 08 June 1770).

Joseph Banks, the young naturalist who had sailed on the Endeavour became a good friend but that friendship was placed in jeopardy when Banks demanded changes to the Resolution before the second voyage. Clerke had been appointed second lieutenant under Cook on the Resolution on 28 November 1771 and joined the ship on 23 December. He wrote to Banks as the fiasco caused by Banks continued in early 1772:

John Elliott, one of the midshipmen, described Clerke as:

Clerke kept a log (Adm 55/103; 28 November 1771 to 21 March 1775). Beaglehole, who was disappointed at both the content and style of Clerke's Endeavour log, was far more prepared to praise this work. It is more of a journal containing descriptions of wildlife as well as naval information.

The Resolution anchored at Spithead at the end of the voyage on 30 July 1775. Clerke was promoted to commander 26 August 1775 and immediately given his own first command, that of HMS Favourite, a sloop of 14 guns and 313 tons. It appears that Clerke spent little time on or involved with the Favourite as, in the September, rumours were already circulating that Clerke would have charge of returning Mai, who had come to Britain on the Adventure, back to the Pacific. However, it was not to be as James Cook was persuaded to undertake a third voyage for that purpose and also to search for a Northwest Passage. Clerke was pleased to be given command of HMS Discovery, the companion vessel and was commissioned on 10 February 1776. Before the Discovery could sail with Cook, Charles Clerke was arrested in late 1775 and detained in the King's Bench Prison for debtors in Southwark. His oldest brother, Sir John Clerke, had sailed for India and the East Indies without discharging his debts of £4,000 and Charles had stood guarantor for those debts. The time in prison seriously affected his health and when he eventually sailed in August 1776 he already had the beginnings of the tuberculosis that would kill him a few years later.

Clerke's imprisonment meant the Discovery sailed from Britain about one month after the Resolution but Cook waited at Cape Town so that Clerke was able to catch up with him there in the October. The two ships then sailed together for the rest of the voyage. When James Cook was killed on 14 February 1779, Clerke assumed command of the expedition and his first action was to prevent reprisals being taken against the Hawaiians so that when the ships left a few days later a semblance of peace had been restored.

Clerke recognised that the principal aim of the voyage, finding the Northwest Passage, had not yet been achieved. After a quick survey of the Hawaiian Islands, he took the ships north back through the Bering Strait only for ice to block their path once again. They returned south and as the ships approached Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, Charles Clerke died on 22 August 1779 of tuberculosis.

Charles Clerke was buried at Petropalovsk and there is still a memorial to him there. Clerke wrote two wills. The first (PROB 11/1067) was written quickly before the third voyage and the second was written as he was dying in the Bering Sea (PROB 11/1070).

Clerke kept various logs and proceedings until his death (Adm 55/22-23; Captain's log and proceedings on Discovery 10 February 1776 to 17 May 1778; 18 May 1778 to 12 February 1779. Adm 51/4561/217 Captain's log and observations on Resolution 14 February 1779 to 24 May 1779. Adm 55/124 Captain's log on Resolution 14 February to 26 July 1779). It is interesting to note that no charts, coastal views or drawings survive by Clerke.

J.R. Forster wrote after accompanying Clerke on the second voyage:

Various features around the world bear his name:
Australia. Clerke Island, Queensland - 11° 58'S 143° 17'E.
Canada. Clerke Peninsula, Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia - 49° 45'N 126° 30'W.
Canada. Clerke Point, Cook Peninsula, Vancouver Island, British Columbia - 50° 05'N 127° 48'W.
Chile. Port Clerke, Christmas Sound, Tierra del Fuego - 55° 20'S 69° 30'W.
New Zealand. Mount Clerke, Dusky Sound, Te Wai Pounamu - 20° 31'S 164° 42'E.
South Georgia. Clerke's Rocks - 55° 00'S 35° 00'W.

There is a biography of Clerke, In the wake of Captain Cook: the life and times of Captain Charles Clerke, R.N., 1741-79. by G. Cowley and L. Deacon.

Essay on Charles Clerke's family.

The family history of Charles Clerke, who sailed with Cook on all three voyages, is somewhat confused. It is not helped in that the name Clerke appears with several spellings - Clerke, Clerk and Clarke and even Yongman alias Clark. In the following essay, I use the spelling Clerke except when it was Yongman alias Clark. The family also repeated several first names leading to further confusion and I have tried to differentiate them by adding a suffix number, ie Joseph Clerke (II), John Clerke (III).

Books such as In the wake of Captain Cook: the life and times of Captain Charles Clerke, R.N., 1741-79, by Gordon Cowley and Les Deacon, have suggested that Charles Clerke was a direct descendant of the early seventeenth century physician, John Clerke (I). However, I believe that John Clerke (I) was in fact the half-brother of the man who was Charles Clerke's great-great-great-grandfather. That man may have been called Thomas Clerke.

Going back one further generation, we find a Clement Clerke, who was probably the common ancestor. He lived at Wethersfield in Essex in the late sixteenth century and owned property in the district, including Brook Farm. It is probable that Clement Clerke married more than once and had several children. One of his wives was Elizabeth Elys (Ellis), whom he married in 1567. Together they had at least one son, John Clerke (I) (1582?-1653). Clement Clerke died in 1583, shortly after John Clerke's (I) birth and John Clerke (I) inherited most of the Essex property.

John Clerke (I) attended Cambridge University from 1600 and graduated with a BA in 1605, MA in 1608 and MD in 1615. He soon began practising medicine in Essex and married Rebecca Lagden about 1612. Rebecca's sister, Sarah Lagden had married Samuel Collins, the puritan vicar of nearby Braintree. Rebecca Lagden was born about 1588 in Wethersfield in Essex, a daughter of John and Anne Lagden.

In 1616 Clerke moved to London and was elected to the London College of Physicians in 1617, becoming a fellow in 1622. In 1634, he became a physician at St Bartholomew's Hospital. John (I) and Rebecca Clerke had three sons and three daughters:

John Clerke (I) died in his house on Creed Lane, London on 30 April 1653 and was buried at St Martin Ludgate. His second son, Joseph Clerke (I) (1616-1682), a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn, inherited his estate, including Wethersfield.

Clerke's other two sons followed him as physicians. John Clerke (II) (1614-1643), who took an MD from Leiden in 1639, qualified for the College of Physicians in 1641 but died in 1643 before his father. The youngest son, Benjamin (1630-1684), also became a physician.

Of Clerke's daughters, Anne Clerke (1623-1690) married one of her father's assistant physicians, John Micklethwaite (~1613-1682), on 30 June 1641 at St Nicholas Cole Abbey, London. John Micklethwaite became an eminent physician and was knighted. The Micklethwaites had six daughters and one son.

Elizabeth Clerke (1627-?) married Denis Gauden (1626-1688) in 1653 in Clapham, Surrey. Denis, later Sir Denis, was victualler for the Royal Navy from 1660 to 1676. He was an alderman of the City of London for Dowgate from 1667 until 1676. He was a Sherriff of the City of London from 1667 to 1668. He was knighted on 23 October 1667. The Gaudens, who had three sons, lived at Clapham where there is still a Gauden Road. Denis Gauden's brother was John Gauden, who later became Bishop of Worcester. Early in his career he was Dean of Bocking, next to Braintree.

The youngest daughter, Abigail Clerke (1633-1702), married Nathaniel Pheasant on 03 September 1655 at St Stephan Coleman Street, London.

None of the Clerke sons married. John (II), Joseph (I) and Benjamin all died leaving no issue to whom they could bequeath anything, which partly explains why the property and estates then passed to their cousins.

Lincoln's Inn lawyer Joseph Clerke's (I) will is reproduced below. Proven in 1682, his main beneficiary was his younger brother, Doctor [Benjamin] Clerke. He left other property to cousins, John Clerke (III) (of Tilbury) and Thomas Clerke (of Bocking) should Benjamin die without issue. Both Tilbury and Bocking are very close to Wethersfield, which was to go to John.

The Will of Joseph Clerke proven on 04 May 1682 (PROB 11/371).
Joseph Clerke of Lincolns Inn in the county of Middlesex Esqr do make and ____ ____ last will and testament in manner and form following and do hereby following:

Imprimis: I give to my brother Doctor Clerke the Manor of Wethersfield and Codham and all other my lands and tenements in Braintree and Bocking and Bardfield for and during the term of his natural life and after his decease to his first son and the heirs males of the body of such first sone and for default of such issue to the second son and the heirs males of the body of such second sone to the third and fourth sone and the heirs males of his body and for default of such issue then I give the Manor of Codham to Joseph Clerke of Tilbury with all the lands and tenements thereto belonging for and during his natural life and after his decease to his first born son and his heirs makes of his body and for default os such issue to his second born son and the heirs males of his body and so to the third and fourth son and the heirs males of their bodies and for default of such issue I do devise the same land and Lordship unto my cousin Thomas Clerk of Bocking for and during his life and after his death to his first sone and the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten and for default of such issue to his second sone and the heirs males of his body and for default of such issue to his third sone and the heirs males of his body and for default of such issue to my right heirs forever

And as for the Manor of Wethersfield and my farm called the Brooke I give to John Clerke of Tilbury after the death of my brother Doctor Clerke without issue as aforesaid for and knowing that born of his natural life after his decease to his first sone and the heirs natural of his body and for default of such issue to his second sone and the heirs males of his body and so to the third and fourth son and the heirs males of their bodies aforesaid and for default of such issue then to my cousin Thomas Clerk of Bocking for and during his life and after his death to his first sone and the heirs males of his body and for default of such issue to his second sone and the heirs males of his body and then to the third and fourth son and the heirs males of their bodies and for default of such issue to my right heir forever

Item I give unto my brother in law Sir John Micklethwaite six hundred pounds to be distributed among such of his children as he shall have thought deserving
Item I give also to him and my Lady two hundred pounds for all their kindness shown unto me.
Item I give to my sister Gauden one hundred pounds
Item I give to my brother Doctor Clerke one hundred pounds
Item I give to the parish of Braintree twenty pounds
To the parish of Whethersfield twenty pounds
And to the parish of Childerditch Ten pounds
And I give all the servants that shall be living in my brother Gaudens house at the time of my death and the servants that shall be living at Sir John Micklethwaites at the time of my death and the servants that shall live at Mrs Reeves at the time of my death the sum of ten shillings a peace.
And I give to my servant or servants that shall live with me at the time of my death five pounds apiece but to him that waits upon my person I give fifteen pounds
Item I give to Mr Will Caden sometimes of Lindolns Inn five pounds
I give to Thomas Barrett of Blackmore ten pounds
I give to Mrs Reeve of Childerditch upon the payment of the debts that owes me fourty pounds
Item I give to my cousin Rebecah Burton ten pounds

End of Joseph Clerke's will.

Benjamin Clerke only survived his brother Joseph (I) by two years, dying in 1684. He made various bequests to nephews and nieces but the Wethersfield estates now transferred to another branch of the Clerke family. Various documents in the Essex Archives allow us to follow the progress of this branch of the family and the Wethersfield property.

In December 1709, Hannah Clerke (II) (widow of Joseph Clerke (II), who had died in 1707) and her son John Clerke (VI) signed a conveyance of land to her bother-in-law, another John Clerke (III) of Tilbury-juxta-Clare. (Essex Archives. D/DU 423/8; 23, 24 December 1709). The document records that the land had belonged to the dead Joseph Clerke (II) having been left to him in his father, John Clerke's (III) will. That John Clerke (III), who had been married to an Anne, died in 1682.

Working back, we find that the earliest John Clerke (III) mentioned immediately above was born about 1610 in Wethersfield. His name is often represented as John Yongman alias Clark. John Clerke (III) was a cleric, serving in several parishes in Essex close to Wethersfield. He was rector of Little Leighs from 1632 to 1646 when he moved to Tilbury-juxta-Clare. He remained there until 1653. He married an Anne and they had at least three daughters and two sons.

That John Clerke (III) died and was buried on 02 February 1682 at Tilbury-juxta-Clare, just north of Wethersfield. However, his will was not proven until 1685. In his will, he mentions three daughters and two sons. The sons were John (IV) and Joseph (II); the daughters were Rebecca, Sarah (?) and a third, name unknown. The will, written in 1677, also refers to his cousin, Joseph Clerke (I), the Lincoln's Inn lawyer.

One daughter, Rebecca, was apparently not married when the will was written in 1677. A second daughter was married to a man called Plume. Robert Plume was a neighbouring landowner with several sons so the husband was probably a member of that family. The third daughter was married to a man called Elliston. The Ellistons were other local landowners and a Sarah Clarke married an Edward Elliston at Acton, just across the Suffolk border, on 27 September 1677.

Sarah and Edward Elliston had a son, Edward Elliston, born in 1680, who became a captain for the East India Company. Edward Elliston married Catherine Gibbon, the aunt of Edward Gibbon, who wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. There has never been an apparent reason for Charles Clerke and his brother going to sea before now; their uncle being a sea captain may have provided the spark.

The will of John Yongman alias Clark (John Clerke (III)) proven on 28 May 1685 (PROB 11/42).

Daughter Rebecca - one hundred pounds
Daughter Plum - twenty shillings
Daughter Elliston - twenty shillings
Lands in Tilbury near Clare and Ridgwell I give to my loving wife during her natural life

his wife is to pay 10 pounds apiece yearly to son John and son Joseph
After her death I give to my son John Yongman alias Clark and his heirs the land which he bought from Thomas Jackson Clark both freehold and copyhold and a piece called Scots containing three acres more or less and also another piece called highfield containing one acre more or less in Tilbury and Redgwell and after the decease of my said wife I give unto my son Joseph Youngman alias Clerk and his heirs all that my house and land which I lately perchased of John Wade except those pieces of land called Scots and highfield before son John

Item I give and bequeath unto my said son John my little house and tenement called Edens now or late in the occupation of one Gardner to have and to hold the said house and the croft of land thereunto belonging after the death of my said wife ato him and his heirs

And if the goods and chattells that I shall have at the time of my death shall not be sufficient to pay my debts and satisfy the legacies by me given then my mind and will is that my executrix hereafter named shall sell that land called Scots and Highfield before given to my son John for the payment and satisfying of my said debt and legacies above expressed at the descretion of my said excutrix And I do make my loving wife Anne the excutrix of this my last will and testament and I do desire my cousin Joseph Yongman alias Clark of Lincolns Inn to be the overseer of this my last will and testament.

Will made 25 October 1677. Joseph Bulhis, Samuel Milles.

The John Yongman alias Clark, who received the land mentioned above, died on 04 May 1722 in Tilbury-juxta-Clare in Essex. He was born on 02 May 1648 and baptised on 14 May 1648 in Tilbury-juxta-Clare. His will mentions a son, Joseph (III), who would later be the father of Charles Clerke. Two daughters, Anne and Hannah (III), and a son, John (V), were also left bequests and his wife, Hannah (I), was named exectrix.

The will of John Clerke (IV) of Tilbury proven on 28 February 1722 (PROB 11/589).

I give and devise unto my wife Hannah during the term of her nautural life all that my Capital messuage wherein I now dwell that I purchased of my nephew John Clerke all which are in my own occupation
I also give to my said wife all that my farm and lands called fields in the occuation of John Bryant
Item I give unto my eldest son Joseph Clerk all that my Manor of Wethersfield and all that my messuage farm lands called the in the occupation of Daniel Root and William Pasfield & Edward Stammers Brook farm in Wethersfield
Item I give and devise unto my son Joseph Clerke and to his heirs all that my Manor of Codham and my farm and lands called Tredsells in the occupation of Robert Pickett in the parish of Wethersfield and Hedingham

Item I give and devise unto my son John Clerke and his heirs after the death of my wife all that my capital messuage wherein I now dwell with all the lands which I purchased of my nephew John Clerke and also the farm and lands called Fields in the occupation of John Bryant and that my farm which I purchased of Phillip Howard being in Tilbury, Ridgwell and Yeldham. I give unto my son John Clerk all that my capital messuage farm and lands called Saint Anns in the parish of Lees
I give unto my eldest daughter Anne Clerke the sum of six hundred pounds
I give to my daughter Hannah Clerke the sum of six hundred pounds which shall be paid them at 21 years or at the time of marriage
I appoint unto Hannah my loving wife to be my executrix
Will made 8 April 1722. George Low, Sarah Harmon, Henry Chaplin.

Charles Clerke's uncle, John Clerke (V), died in 1732. In his will (Essex Archives. D/DU 423/14 09 October 1732), he is listed as living at Stoke Newington in London. He left bequests to his sister Hannah (III), to the second son of his brother Joseph (III) and to his mother Hannah (I), who was also executrix. The will was proven in the Court of Peculiar of St. Pauls, 06 November 1732.

Hannah Clerke (I), also of Stoke Newington died in 1736. In her will (Essex Archives. D/DU 423/15 14 May 1736), she left property to her surviving son, Joseph (III). She also left bequest to her daughters Hannah (III) and Ann. Ann had already married Henry Morley and there was a grandson, John Morley. The will was proven on 03 March 1738.

Joseph Clerke (III) was born about 1710 in Wethersfield. He married Ann White (1712-1746) about 1730. They had the following children:

Ann Clerke died giving birth to a child on 12 February 1747.

Charles Clerke, the subject of this entry, was the som born in 1741.

John Clerke (VII), the oldest brother of Charles Clerke was born in 1734. He joined the Royal Navy and was made commander on 09 March 1759 and captain on 26 May 1761. Clerke was in command of HMS Melampe in 1762 and took the ship to Barbados in the Caribbean and to West Africa. In May 1763, at the onset of peace, he went on half pay. John Clerke resumed active service in command of the Prudent in December 1771. In July 1774, he assumed command of the Dolphin on which his brother had sailed round the world.

On 19 April 1762, Clerke married Lydia Hamond at Alverstoke near Portsmouth. Clerke was knighted in 1772. In early 1775, Clerke and HMS Dolphin were at the River Ganges in Bengal. He died while still in Indian waters in September or October 1776. His brother, Charles, had just been released from Debtor's Prison on account of debts owed by Sir John. Clerke had spent time in 1768 in France avoiding his creditors.

Lydia Clerke was a close friend of and corresponded with Charlotte Lennox, the writer. Lydia remarried on 26 March 1790 at Bath to the Reverend Joseph Townshend.

Hannah Clerke (IV) married Paul Henry Maty in Wethersfield on 18 September 1775. Maty was a librarian at the British Museum. Paul Henry Maty, the son of Matthew and Elizabeth Maty, was born on 18 December 1744 and baptised on 18 January 1744 at St. Anne Soho, Westminster, London. Paul Maty died in 1787 leaving Hannah and their son in poor circumstances. Charles Burney helped pay for the boy's education but he died while still at school. Hannah Maty went to live in Ely.

Ann Clerke had a relationship with Thomas Bridge from nearby Great Dunmow but it is unclear whether they married. Joseph Clerke (III) died in 1790 and his will still refers to Ann Clerke. A conveyance (Essex Archives. D/DU 423/22 01, 02 April 1791) dated a year later in 1791 mentions Anne Clerke of Wethersfield, spinster (one of the three daughter and co-heirs of Joseph Clerke) and Thomas Bridge of Great Dunmow, gentleman. Hannah Maty of Ely (widow of Rev. Paul Henry Maty) and Sarah Clerke of Wethersfield, spinster (the other daughter of Joseph Clerke) are also mentioned.

Commentary on Clerke's will by Cliff Thornton.

1. The will was made on 29 July 1776, on the day that Clerke managed to extricate himself from the debtors prison in London into which he had been taken as guarantor for his brother's debt (Sir John Clerke). By this date Cook was at sea and approaching the Bay of Biscay whilst the Discovery lay at Plymouth awaiting its Captain.
   
2. The will reads as a very hasty and basic document lacking many of the usual legal niceties, e.g. it lacks the usual direction on what to do with the testator's body at the time of his death, and lacks any instructions to pay off any outstanding debts before his estate is apportioned out.
   
3. One wonders what strife existed between the brothers of the Clerke family? He left ten Guineas to his "dear Brother" John, despite him being the cause of Charles' incarceration. In contrast, his other brother Joseph, a lawyer who may have been expected to assist Charles during his imprisonment, received a nominal one Guinea.
   
4. At first sight, the legacies left to members of his family appear meagre when compared with the amounts left to his "good friends". However, in Clerke's final will, the amounts which he left to Sir Robert Ainslie and Dr Maty were supplemented with interest, suggesting that these legacies were actually repayments of loans which Clerke had received from the two gentlemen.
   
5. It is easy to explain Clerke's links with Dr Maty as the latter was principal librarian at the British Museum and Secretary of the Royal Society. He was partly responsible for publishing in 1774 the translation of an important map detailing recent Russian discoveries in the Seas of Kamtschatka and Anadir. Clerke also had a family link with Dr Maty, as Clerke's sister Hannah had married the doctor's son, Paul Maty, in September 1775. Paul Maty was also employed by the British Museum, as a librarian.
   
6. It is more difficult to explain Clerke's connection with Sir Robert Ainslie, although is it mere coincidence that this is the same ambassador at Constantinople that knew James Magra (Matra) and employed him as his secretary from 1778 to 1780?
   
7. Clerke also left twenty pounds to his good friend Gawler Rickman. One wonders if this legatee was related to John Rickman who served under Clerke on the Discovery as second lieutenant.

Temporary entry May 2007

James Cleveley joined the Resolution for Cook's third voyage on 10 February 1776 as carpenter. Cleveley made drawings, which were later developed into paintings by his brother John. He died in 1821 (will PROB 11/1644).

John Coghlan joined the Resolution as a midshipman on 21 June 1772. The muster described him as 15 years old and from Glamorgan. John Elliott, in his memoirs, described Coghlan as "Wild & drinking" and 16 years old.

He was punished twice. On 01 February 1773 he was sent before the mast for quarrelling with the captain's servant. Two days later he was restored as a midshipman. On 18 March 1775, he was confined in irons after threatening violence to the ship's cook with a knife. He was relased on 20 March after promising to behave in future.

He was otherwise not mentioned in the voyage's narratives. He never became a lieutenant so probably left the navy shortly after Cook's voyage.

A Donkin Coghlan, who became a lieutenant in 1790 (and died in 1797 PROB 11/1296) may have been a relation. A John Coghland was a master in the Royal Navy in 1795. A John Coghlan, of Fareham Hampshire, died leaving a will in 1828 PROB 11/1736.

Temporary entry May 2007

The Collett family of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire provided three brothers who sailed with Cook to the Pacific. William Collett sailed on all three voyages, Richard sailed on two, while Joseph only sailed on one, the third. They obviously impressed Cook as, on the third voyage, two of them being used as master-at-arms, the naval policemen on board the ships.

William sailed on the Endaevour voyage and the second voyage on the Resolution, both times as an AB. However, on the third voyage on the Resolution, he became the master-at-arms. During this voyage he was assaulted on the island of 'Eua in Tonga on 16 July 1777. William was born in 1749 and may have died in 1815, leaving a will (PROB 11/1575).

The youngest of the bothers, Richard, sailed on the second voyage on the Resolution as an AB. but, like his brother, became a master-at-arms on the Discovery for the third voyage. He was born in 1753. Joseph, the oldest Collett, only sailed on the third voyage on Resolution as the gunroom servant. He was born in High Wycombe in 1748 and may have died in 1811?, leaving a will (PROB 11/1525).

William Collett joined the first voyage on 11 June 1768.

William and Richard Collett both joined the second voyage on 17 December 1771.

William Collett joined the third voyage on 10 February 1776.He transferred to the Discovery on 16 February 1779 and rejoined the Resolution on 24 August 1779. Richard Collett joined the third voyage on 10 February 1776. He transferred to the Resolution on 17 February 1779 and transferred back to the Discovery on 23 August 1779. Joseph Collett joined the third voyage on 10 February 1776.

James Colnett, who sailed on James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific on the Resolution as a midshipman, was baptised on 18 October 1753 at Stoke Damerel, Plymouth. His parents were James and Sarah (née Lang) Colnett, who had married on 09 January 1748 at St. Thomas, Portsmouth. There were two older sisters, Sarah and Martha, and a younger brother, Richard. While James was born at Plymouth, the Colnett family was originally from the Stepney district of East London. James Colnett senior was in the Royal Navy and this took him and the family to Plymouth and Portsmouth. He died in 1760, his will describing him as master of HMS Salisbury. Sarah was left to bring up the four children alone.

Colnett went to sea on 28 June 1770 as an able seaman in the Hazard, a small sloop. On 04 September 1771, he joined HMS Scorpion to which James Cook had been appointed after returning to Britain in the Endeavour. Midshipman Colnett was one of several men who followed Cook on 17 December 1771 to the Resolution in preparation for a second voyage to the Pacific.

Colnett served as midshipman throughout Cook's second voyage from 1772 until 1775. One of his midshipman colleagues, John Elliott, described him later as "Clever and Sober". Colnett does not feature in the record of the voyage until September 1774 when he was the first person to sight New Caledonia. A headland and the mountain behind it were named Colnett after him in recognition and still bear the name.

After Cook's voyage, Colnett was appointed to the Juno, a 5th rate, as gunner on 01 January 1776. He was then appointed master of the Adventure during the War of American Independence before passing for lieutenant on 04 February 1779. Ten days later he was appointed third lieutenant of the Bienfaisant, a 3rd rate, remaining on that ship until 1783. However, the war had come to an end and, Colnett was placed on half pay. Colnett next secured a position as first lieutenant on the Pégase, another 3rd rate and he was able to have his nephew, James Poate, on board as his servant. After three years of carrying out harbour duties at Portsmouth, he left the ship on 17 August 1786.

A London merchant, Richard Cadman Etches, had formed the King George's Sound Company to send ships to the Northwest coast of North America to exploit the sea otter pelt trade. Two ships, the King George and the Queen Charlotte, had already been dispatched in 1785 under the command of Nathaniel Portlock and George Dixon and it was now proposed to send another two ships. Colnett had been in discussions with Etches and, having obtained permission from the Admiralty for extended leave of absence, he took command of the expedition and the Prince of Wales, the larger ship. Charles Duncan was appointed to command the Princess Royal consort vessel.

The ships left Britain in October 1786 and spent the summer of 1787 trading in the Queen Charlotte Islands and the adjacent mainland. After wintering in Hawai'i, Colnett traded alone in Prince William Sound before rejoining the Princess Royal in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The two ships then sailed in August 1788 for Hawai'i, and from there they went to Canton to sell their cargo of sea otter pelts. They reached Canton on 12 November 1788.

At Canton, Colnett met John Meares, another trader who had been trading illegally on the Northwest coast. They joined forces, forming a new company, known as the Associated Merchants Trading to the Northwest Coast. The Prince of Wales was sent back to Britain with a cargo of tea and a new vessel, the Argonaut, was purchased to replace her. Colnett and the Argonaut sailed from Canton on 26 April 1789. However, on his arrival in June at Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, Colnett discovered that the Spanish had asserted their control over the inlet and the region by establishing a post there.

Estéban José Martínez, the Spanish commander and Colnett soon clashed and Martínez had Colnett arrested and his ship siezed. Both men were at fault but the events led to the Nootka Sound Incident and nearly to war between Britain and Spain. Colnett was sent to the Spanish naval base of San Blas in Mexico. Eventually, he and the Argonaut were released on 08 July 1790 and compensation was made in salaries and provisions.

Colnett returned to Nootka and resumed fur trading until 03 March 1791 when he sailed for China. When he arrived at Macao on 30 May, he discovered that Chinese ports were closed to foreign fur traders, so he sailed instead to Japan where he sold some of his furs. He then returned to Britain on an East India Company vessel, the General Coote. In April 1792, he reached Britain, where he sold the remainder of his skins to the East India Company for £9760. He had been away for five and a half years during which time his mother had died in 1790. A codicil to her will was witnessed by Nathaniel Portlock, who had led the other Etches expedition to the Pacific.

Later in 1792, the Admiralty and the whaling firm of Samuel Enderby appointed Colnett to command the sloop Rattler for a voyage to the Southeast Pacific to discover suitable ports and anchorages that British whalers could use. The Rattler sailed on 03 January 1793 and returned to Britain on 02 November 1794. During the time away, Colnett visited harbours from Chile to Baja California. He also made detailed surveys of the Revillagigedo Islands, Cocos Island and the Galapagos Islands. Colnett's narrative of the voyage was published in 1798 together with a series of charts. Colnett's voyage opened up the South Pacific whale fishery.

Britain and France were once again at war so, a month after his return to Britain, Colnett rejoined the Royal Navy, was promoted commander on 19 December 1794 and was given command of the sloop Merlin. In March 1795, he transferred to another sloop, the Hawk and undertook an examination of the coastal defences of the east coast of England from the River Thames north to Lincolnshire.

On 04 October 1796, Colnett was appointed to command the sloop Hussar and was promoted captain the following day. In late December 1796, the Hussar was wrecked near Île Batz, off the coast of Brittany and Colnett was taken prisoner by the French. After six months, Colnett was released and on his return to Britain was court-martialled for the loss of his ship. He was acquitted but remained on half pay until 29 June 1802.

His next active command was the Glatton, a 4th rate being used as a naval transport. Colnett transported 400 convicts Port Jackson in Australia and returned to Britain with a cargo of timber for use in His Majesty's dockyards. This proved to be the end of Colnett's naval career as he went on half pay on 07 March 1805.

Colnett had not married but did have a partner, Catherine Aulte, with whom he had two daughters. His will, written in August 1806 refers to one daughter, Elizabeth Caroline, but another daughter, Ann Catherine (for whom there is a birth record as being born in 1796) had presumably already died. James Colnett died on 01 September 1806 at his lodgings in Great Ormond Street, London, and was buried on 06 September in St Dunstan's, Stepney.

Of Colnett's sisters, Sarah, who had married George Poate, a tallow chandler in Gosport, had been dead for some years. The Poates had two surviving children; Elizabeth had married a Jeremiah Sinderby while James Poate, who had accompanied Colnett to the Pacific would have a naval career. Colnett refers to his other sister in his will as Martha Colnett suggesting she had never married.

Colnett does not refer to his younger brother, Richard, in his will but Richard had also had a naval career. Richard became a lieutenant in the Royal Navy but left the navy and had a successful career captaining several East India Company vessels to India and China. According to the memoirist, William Hickey, Richard was only 1.55 metres tall but made up for it in spirit. He died in 1814, leaving a wife, Sarah, and two daughters.

Colnett's surviving daughter, Elizabeth Caroline Colnett married Edward Powell Spickett in 1819 and went to live in Glamorgan where she had at least eight children.

Alexander Colvill was the son of John Colvill, 6th Baron Colvill and his wife Elizabeth. He was born on 28 February 1717 in Dundee and joined the Royal Navy in 1733 on board HMS Line. He passed his lieutenant's examination in 1738 and is believed to have been made a lieutenant in 1739 serving in that capacity in the West Indies on the Alderney. In 1742, he transferred to the Mediterranean fleet.

On 06 March 1744, he was promoted to captain and given command of the Dursley Gally. He then took charge of HMS Leopard on 21 September 1744. He distinguished himself over the next few years and returned to Britain with the Leopardin 1748 with £5,000 prize money. He left the ship on 19 December 1748.

For a month from 11 March 1749, Colvill had command of the Shoreham. He then transferred on 06 April to HMS Success and spent the next three years until 1752 in New England. On 10 January 1753, he was given command of the 70 gun HMS Northumberland, on which he sailed for the next nine years. Colvill took part in the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 and was present at the siege of Quebec in 1759. After the French surrender, Saunders appointed Colvill as commander-in-chief of the North America Station on 16 October 1759. A few days earlier, Saunders had transferred a new master, James Cook, to the Northumberland from the Pembroke.

Colvill took his ships back to Halifax in Nova Scotia but returned to Quebec in 1760. 1761 and most of 1762 were spent at Halifax, where he engaged in improving the dockyard facilities. News reached Colvill in July 1762 of the French capture of St. John's in Newfoundland so he sailed to Newfoundland to take part in the recapture. Colvill took the Northumberland back to Britain in late 1762 and his connection with Cook ended then when both left the ship. Colvill was made rear admiral on 21 October 1762.

Colvill was appointed port admiral at Plymouth in 1763 but later that year was persuaded reluctantly to take on again the North American command where he remained until 1766. He was never employed again after his return to Britain. He died on 21 May 1770 at Drumsheugh, near Edinburgh. He married Lady Elizabeth Erskine in 1768 but they had no children. However, he did have children with several women in North America.

He had given Cook the opportunity to prepare charts in Canada and Newfoundland and his commendations brought Cook to the attention of Thomas Graves, Governor of Newfoundland. Cook named a cape in New Zealand after Colvill. There is a short biography in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, v.3, pp.131-133.

Very little is known about Love Constable before he joined the Adventure on James Cook's second voyage. He had a brother, Richard, and a sister, Elizabeth, but his parents remain unknown as does Love Constable's place and date of birth. An earlier Love Constable, who married Elizabeth Ness (or Rees) on 05 September 1715 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London was probably his grandfather.

Constable joined Cook's expedition as a midshipman on 07 December 1771. He became an AB on 01 January 1773 and a midshipman again on 19 December 1773. During the voyage, he kept a journal (Adm 51/4520/7-8; 06 December 1771 to 14 March 1774).

After the voyage with Cook, Constable seved on the Hussar as an AB and master's mate for ten months before spending six months on the Conquestador. He became a lieutenant on 28 March 1781 and a commander on 28 October 1793. On 03 November 1793, Constable took command of the Swan sloop but relinquished that command in February 1794.

Constable was married to Elizabeth and they had a daughter, another Elizabeth, who was baptised in December 1794. Constable, himself, died the same month. He left a will (PROB 11/1254) proven on 12 January 1795, in which he left everything to his wife, Elizabeth. Constable named as his executor, a Benjamin Pidcock of Woolwich, who himself died in 1796, leaving a son, also called Benjamin Pidcock. The younger Benjamin, who worked at the Woolwich Dockyard, married Catherine Mary Constable, presumably related to Love Constable (probably another daughter), on 16 December 1812 at St. Mary's, Portsea. Catherine Mary Pidcock died in Woolwich in 1869.

Richard Constable died in 1821. His will describes him as Master Sailmaker at Portsmouth Dockyard. He mentioned his niece, Catherine Mary, married to Benjamin Pidcock of Woolwich Dockyard. Also mentioned was his sister, Elizabeth, married to Thomas Schofield, a malster, then living in North America.

Robert Palliser Cooper, who sailed on Cook's second voyage, was baptised in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Lincoln in 1743, the son of Robert and Alice (née Palliser) Cooper. Alice Palliser was the daughter of Walter Palliser and Elizabeth Sterne. Through his grandfather, Cooper was a second cousin to Hugh Palliser, Cook's captain on the Eagle and later Comptroller of the Navy while though his grandmother, he was a second cousin of Lawrence Sterne, the writer.

Cooper became a lieutenant on 01 December 1766 and joined HMS Niger as second lieutenant on the Newfoundland and West Indies stations. His second cousin, Hugh Palliser, who was Governor of Newfoundland at the time, made him a customs officer on the island in July 1767. Cooper was appointed to HMS Weazle in September 1770 but within three months had been transferred on as fourth lieutenant to HMS Resolution, a 74 gun 3rd rate launched in April 1770 at Deptford.

An Admiralty minute recorded Cooper's appointment to the Drake as first lieutenant under James Cook's captaincy and he joined the ship on 04 December 1771. The Drake was renamed the Resolution later that month. The Resolution was caught up in Joseph Banks's plans before the voyage and, in Cook's absence, Cooper was left in charge when the ship underwent seaworthy trials on the Thames. He immediately wrote to Cook to inform his captain how badly the ship had performed:

Cook immediatly forwarded the letter to the Admiralty, totally endorsing its contents.

Cooper kept a journal (Adm 55/104, 109. "A Journal of the Proceedings of His Majesty's Sloop Resolution, on a Voyage upon Discovery, Towards the South Pole. Commencing from her first fitting out at Deptford, to the 22 of April 1774 ... kept by Robt P. Cooper"). Beaglehole describes it: