These past few days have been quite intense reading Brassard & Milsom’s book on Gaimard and his diary of the 1819 Uranie French Expedition.
I have several other publications I have collected (some free, others I paid for) regarding the Urainie and her visit to Guam so I am bouncing back and forth between those publications and re-reading them to try and weave all those perspectives into one. And then all of sudden, I digress some and make a note of something related to the greater genealogy objective. lol.
Part of it stems from someone asking me if their ancestor was part of the Uranie crew. Unfortunately for that person, he (John Roberts/Roberto) was not from this ship. But that question continued to remain in the back of my mind as I continued my research. The crew list in Gamaird’s diary is not complete. However, in one of Jacques Arago’s publications (written in his French language), he has a more comprehensive list of the crew that includes their name, grade, place of birth, and movement (miscellaneous note).
I can’t remember where I initially read it but one publication indicated that John Anderson and some other crew members deserted the Uraine on Guam in 1819. I wondered who were the other crew members and if any of them had made the Marianas their home and started families like John Anderson.
Well, here are two lists below of Uraine crew members that deserted her while visiting Guam. I used Google Translate (verbatim). At least Eight (8) Uraine crew members deserted her on Guam. From the list, it seems to demonstrate that it was not uncommon for crew members to desert their ship once at a port.
Nominal list of the people who made up the Staff and Crew of the King’s Corvette Uranie, at the time of its departure from Toulon, September 17, 1817.
|
Name |
Grade |
Place of Birth |
Movement |
|
Audier |
2nd Class Sailor |
Toulon |
Deserted to Guam June 1, 1819 |
|
Doumet |
Seaman |
Toulon |
Deserted to Guam June 1, 1819 |
Names of the men who embarked in the various departures on board the Uranie, as well as on the Physiscienne, armed at Montevideo, replacing the first, on May 8, 1820.
|
Name |
Grade |
Place of Birth |
Movement |
|
Anderson* |
Second Master Gunner |
Edinbourg |
To the Isle of France [aka Mauritius] May 5, 1818. Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
|
Retreau |
1st Class Sailor |
Libourne |
To the Isle of France (Mauritius) May 5, 1818. Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
|
Querneau |
1st Class Sailor |
Beautiful island at sea.** |
To the Isle of France (Mauritius) July 16, 1818. Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
|
Destandeau |
1st Class Sailor |
Bordeaux |
In Bourbon, July 20, 1818. Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
|
Delacroux (likely Dela Cruz) |
3rd Class Sailor |
Manila |
In Dili, Timor, on November 18, 1818. Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
|
Dehaye |
Domestic |
Saint Paul |
Deserted to Guam on June 1, 1819. |
*My great-great-great grandfather John Anderson who married Josefa de la Cruz.
**I don’t know if there was actually an island name Belle or if Arago did not know the name and just described it that way. lol
