Ships, the Sea and Me - Learning About My Family History
I’ve been learning about my family history and just discovered I was wrong. I hate it when that happens.
In a recent post about why the British crime drama Shetland appeals to me, I said that sailing was probably not a part of either my DNA or a past life. But I just found out I am blood-related to a British sailing captain named George Lamberton. His ship, which mysteriously vanished, is the subject of a famous poem called The Phantom Ship by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
So, sailing is in my blood after all.
IN THE BLOOD — I am related to the captain of the ship spoken of here in a poem called The Phantom Ship by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (Image courtesy scrapbookyourfamilytree.com)
Thanks to My Cousin Sharon
My cousin Sharon Peters Davis has been researching one branch of my family tree for many years. She is a huge source of information that I should have taken advantage of years ago. Why didn’t I?
As I get older (and slower and fatter), I think more and more about what I can “leave” for my kids. Information about their family history is something I really want on the list. I sure wish my parents had left me that information.
FAMILY HISTORY — I would like to leave my kids a lot more information on their family history than my parents left me. My kids include my eldest son Sam and my daughter Kelly, whose hands are shown here. Photo by Carla Antico.
Called to the Sea
My cousin Sharon is a Facebook friend. She responded to a post about my recent blog on Shetland, and that promoted a bunch of private messages full of amazing information. What peeked my immediate attention was this Captain George Lamberton guy and his “ghost ship.”
I have always had the feeling that I know about the sea, despite the fact I’ve been on it only once. I’ve seen it just a few times. But for some bizarre reason, I think I know what it feels like to be tossed and turned on the open ocean. I know what it smells like. I know how the spray feels.
Isn’t that weird?
ONLY ONCE - I have only be “at sea” once in my life, on a trip to Aruba. We went deep-sea fishing. I have never been on a sailing vessel of any kind.
Supposing I am not crazy, where does this sense of knowing about the sea come from? It could simply be too much Pirates of the Caribbean or Deadliest Catch.
But I watch way more Vikings and Last Kingdom than sea shows, and I don’t think I used to be a Viking.
Ghosts
George Lamberton and his ship vanished at sea in early 1646. It was reportedly seen, as a mirage, floating above the New Haven, Connecticut harbor many months after it vanished. It is just one of many tales about ghost ships to be found in naval lore.
(Image courtesy Disney Pictures/Carla Antico)
George Lamberton’s Great Shippe
The Great Shippe, captained by George Lamberton, set sail from New Haven, Connecticut, around the middle of January 1646. It was loaded with a cargo of wheat, peas, hides, beaver and peltry and was headed across the Atlantic, for Britain. It never arrived. There was no news of the ship for many months. It was reported that a mirage of the ship appeared over the New Haven harbor - thus becoming known as the “phantom ship.” All aboard, including my ancestor George, were reported lost at sea.
While the whole mirage thing certainly drew attention at the time, the incident only became famous after William Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem The Phantom Ship. Born in 1807, Longfellow was a celebrated poet and educator. He was one of New England’s “fireside poets.”
The Phantom Ship
This image shows a portion of the “Vision of the Phantom Ship,” painted by Jesse Talbot in 1850.
Lines from Longfellow’s famous poem:
“A ship sailed from New Haven,
And the keen and frosty airs,
That filled her sails at parting,
Were heavy with good men’s prayers.
“O Lord! if it be thy pleasure”–
Thus prayed the old divine–
“To bury our friends in the ocean,
Take them, for they are thine!”
But Master Lamberton muttered,
And under his breath said he,
“This ship is so crank and walty
I fear our grave she will be!”
Learning About My Family History
Clearly, the story of Lamberton and his phantom ship is something I find seriously interesting. But there is more where that came from. My family history is full of cool stuff. Want a list?
WWII: My father, John Antico, served in World War II, landed at Anzio and was one of only four of his company to survive the landing. He was taken prisoner and spent two years in a German prison camp. He eventually escaped.
Evil Eye: My father was 100% Italian (can over on the boat in his mother’s tummy). While his father was from southern Italy, his mother was from the north - a town called Malocchio. Malocchio means “evil eye” in Italian.
Voyageur: My mother’s father, my maternal grandfather, was French-Canadian. My cousin Sharon has traced that line all the back to a voyageur from a small village in northern Quebec.
“King’s Daughter”: That same line can be traced back to one of the "Filles du Roi” - translated as “King’s daughter’s.” Marie Barbant was one of some 768 women who arrived in the colony of New France (Canada) between 1663 and 1673, under the financial sponsorship of King Louis XIV of France.
Civil War: My mother’s mother, my maternal grandmother, comes from a line with a relatively long history of living here in America. One relative was reported to have served in the Civil War and was a prisoner of war in the infamous Confederate prison known as Andersonville.
Lumberjacks: My maternal great-grandfather was a Michigan lumberjack. I have the coolest pictures of him and his family in Northern Michigan lumber camps.
To be continued …
I hope to do more research into my family history in the future. Imagine all the great stories I could find. I have already started an account on FamilySearch - an excellent website offering genealogical records, education and software. It’s actually a non-profit operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
