THE LUXBOROUGH GALLEY

The maritime history of our family goes back to 1300 at least, mostly relating to
trade, with Europe and the Americas. There have been some interesting stories during
that time, some of which can horrify. Among them, is that of the Luxborough Galley.

Slavery today in any form fills us with horror and disgust, but 250-300 years ago it
was accepted as a way of life, for some.

The Luxborough Galley was a ship, which while trading officially to Spanish America,
more particularly the British West Indies, also carried slaves for the South Seas
Company, one of two prominent English trading companies in the 18th century. The
other, the East India Company survived longer, became powerful, with heavily armed
ships for long voyages to the east, and eventually formed the Indian Navy.Family
members served with both.

The Luxborough, commanded by a William Kellaway, left England in October 1725 for Cabinda in West Africa, one leg of a triangular trade route.
The ship seems to have remained at Cabinda for some time, and while there Captain Kellaway was attacked as a result of an affront to the
African King by a white man. The cargo of Indian cottons and other goods was however exchanged for 600 slaves. The number suggesting the
Luxborough was a relatively large ship.
(Slaving in Africa was common among African tribes. Encouraged initially by the Portugese before 1500, it was handled largely by East African
Arab Slavetraders.)

Crossing the Atlantic on the second leg, 8 crew and 203 Africans died of smallpox, but the surviving Africans were delivered to Jamaica in
October 1726, a year after the ship left England.

The Luxborough was loaded at Jamaica with 90 hogsheads of sugar and rum, and 80 tons of other goods, and sailed on the final leg home in May
1727.

Off the coast of Newfoundland however, on 25 June 1727, it appears “two black boys”, who were sent for rum, spilled some, when checking
the contents with candles. The flame ignited the rum and the ship was quickly engulfed, was burnt out and sank.

Only the overloaded, unprovisioned, ship′s yawl got away with 23 survivors. The other 14 crew died in the fire.

By the fifth day, the weather was stormy, and it was proposed to throw the two black boys overboard, to lighten the load. The boys
naturally objected, and although the captain disagreed, the crew agreed to cast lots instead.
However before anyone was killed, one of the boys and another man died, presumably as a result of exposure. With no water or food, others died
and the blood and some flesh of those who died, was, of necessity consumed.

Two weeks later, the surviving 7 were rescued by fishermen and taken to St Johns Newfoundland. The Captain died the next day.

The story aroused a lot of interest at the time, and there was a series of paintings produced by John Cleveley the elder (held today at the
National Maritime Museum www.nmm.co.uk).

There were three Kellaways on board, William, the chief mate Ralph, and the ships boy, Robert. Ralph died in the fire, and William the day after
reaching shore. Robert survived, later became mate of the EIC ship Essex, and died on the trade route to India.

From their wills, William and Ralph Kellaway were brothers, and Robert a nephew. They were members of the Dorset family prominent at Upwey
and Broadwey in the 17-1800s, and probably a branch of the Piddlehinton family, and the earlier Forston/Charminster family.
Ralph, and probably William, were the sons of Henry Kellaway senior of Broadwey, but apparently left no descendants. It is not clear about
Robert.

In 1733, Ralph′s brother Brewer Henry Kellaway junior had a Negro servant George Pugarron christened. Aged 18, George would have been 12
in 1727, and had presumably been “acquired” a year or so earlier.

There was also a “Farmer” William Kellaway living at Upwey in 1736. The “Farmer” title presumably being used to differentiate
him from “Commander” William. It is now evident he was a cousin of the other William, and not the brother of Thomas Kellaway jun. of
Bexington nearby, who was buried at Portesham in 1776.

Apart from the horror of the slave trade, and the subsequent ship burning and the cannibalism, it is interesting that the seamen even considered
the lives of the boys. Possibly it was because not all Africans were considered as of the lowest social level or that they were only boys.
Africans had lived in England for many years, and their lives were not those of the slaves in the plantations. It was of course also fairly
common to transport English “miscreants” to work in plantations in America and the Indies, including some of our own kin.

Englishmen would not have known much of the slave trade first hand, unless they had been to the colonies because it was the second leg of a trading
voyage, but by 1800 new humanitarian attitudes stopped the sea trade, and forced abolition in Britain and her colonies.

Warwick Kellaway 20 Oct 05

Two Newspaper accounts of the events can be found here.