Shipwreck of John Sackett's hoy, the Margate.
Caledonian Mercury, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 Feb 1802
"London—February 8
We are extremely distressed to learn, that an account has this morning been received of the loss of Sackett's Margate Corn Hoy, off Berchington, having on board nearly 20 passengers, all of whom, with the whole of the crew, unfortunately perished."
[FindMyPast, British Newspapers Collection. Digital image. Researched by Chris Sackett, Oct 2014.]
[Same story repeated in the Aberdeen Journal, Scotland, 17 Feb 1802 (FindMyPast, British Newspapers Collection. Digital image. Researched by Chris Sackett, Nov 2014.)]
The Times, London, 12 February 1802, p. 3.
"SHIPWRECK.—On Sunday morning last, between two and three o'clock, one of the Margate hoys belonging to Mr. SACKETT, heavily laden with corn, which was stowed both in the hold and on deck, and thirty passengers on board, besides the crew, consisting of the master and four seamen, was overtaken by the violent gusts of wind, between Birchington and Reculver: the first unshipped her rudder on the sands, when becoming unmanageable, she kept continually shipping the most heavy seas, and was carried by the violence of the surf towards the beach: at this period she kept rolling and pitching, and the crew, to preserve the lives of the passengers, particularly those of the women and children who were on board, barred down the hatchways; shortly after this, the vessel struck on the beach, and tilted, a tremendous sea breaking over her in all directions, which washed nearly the whole of those upon deck overboard: the crew, three in number, and one man, with extreme difficulty and danger reached the land by swimming; but the Captain (who would not quit the wreck till he had rendered every assistance in his power to the distracted people with him) together with twenty-five persons, consisting of men, women, and children, fell victims to the fury of the waves. In the course of Sunday the bodies of nine of the sufferers were thrown upon the shore, and fourteen bodies have been taken out of the cabin of the hoy: had it been day-light it is possible many more lives might have been saved, but the darkness of the night added to the calamity. Among the sufferers are Mr. John Goodhorn, the master, who is supposed to have received a blow on the temples from the boom: Mr. Thornton, carpenter, of Margate, with his wife and son; Mr. Bone, carpenter, of Margate; the wife of Mr. Jacob, of Broadstairs; the widow Crow, of Margate; Mrs Tatnal of Ramsgate; and a servant girl, with a child under her care, with whom she was returning to town. The few who were saved ascended the shrouds; among these was Mr. Knuckle of the library, at Broadstairs.—Nothing could present a more awful spectacle than the repeated arrival at Margate, on Sunday, of various carriages with the bodies of the sufferers from the wreck."
[Times Online (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/). Researched by Chris Sackett, Jul 2010.]
[The same or similar versions of the above story were repeated in the Morning Post, London, 12 Feb 1802; Morning Chronicle, London, 12 Feb 1802; Stamford Mercury, Lincolnshire, 12 Feb 1802; Oxford Journal, Oxfordshire, 13 Feb 1802; Ipswich Journal, Suffolk, 13 Feb 1802; Sussex Advertiser, Lewes, East Sussex, 15 Feb 1802; Hampshire Chronicle, Hampshire, 15 Feb 1802; Chester Courant, Cheshire, 16 Feb 1802; Exeter Flying Post, Devon, 18 Feb 1802; Lancaster Gazette, Lancashire, 20 Feb 1802 (all: FindMyPast, British Newspapers Collection. Digital image. Researched by Chris Sackett, Oct 2014.)]
The Times, 11 March 1802, p. 1.
"Margate, Feb. 26, 1802. At a Meeting of Inhabitants holden at the Town Hall this Day, to take into consideration the Circumstances of the Families of the several lamented Persons (23 in the whole) who lost their Lives in the late Wreck of Sackett's Corn Hoy, and the propriety of a Subscription for the Relief of such of those Families as may stand in need of Assistance … [examples cited of orphans, etc.] …. Resolved unanimously, That a Subscription be forthwith opened to raise a Fund for the alleviation of the Distresses of these several Families, and of such others as may have been affected by the same melancholy event, and those cases shall hereafter be made known …." [Amongst the subscribers: Mr. Sackett £10–10s].
[Repeated 23 March 1802, p. 2, with longer list of subscribers].
[Times Online (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/). Researched by Chris Sackett, Jul 2010.]
[Same story repeated in Morning Chronicle, London, 11 Mar 1802 (FindMyPast, British Newspapers Collection. Digital image. Researched by Chris Sackett, Oct 2014.)]