To the Memory of Citizens of New Castle Lost at Sea
There is a memorial in the seacoast town of New Castle, New Hampshire, erected in the memory of their fishermen who have been lost at sea. It once stood on the grounds of the Congregational Church in the 1850's, was later moved to what became Riverside Cemetery, and now stands on New Castle's Great Island Common.
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The inscription "To the memory of citizens of New Castle lost at sea" has been re-carved into the stone, though the biblical verse fading away below it was left out. It once read: "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God - and the sea gave up the dead, which were in it. - Rev. 20: 12,13"
 | Ebenezer Yeaton, aged 52 yrs Edward Martin, aged 51 yrs William Amazeen, aged 49 yrs John H. Gerrish, aged 33 yrs James P. Baker, aged 30 yrs Robert Martin, aged 21 yrs Samuel Hall, aged 15 yrs Lost with the Inez, near the Isle of Sable, April 1847 John Yeaton, aged 30 yrs Lost from the Nebraska on Georges Bank, Feb 15, 1861 John Tarlton, aged 34 yrs Lost from the Helen Eliza off the coast of Nova Scotia,May 4, 1863 |
| Benjamin Trefethen, aged 34 yrs Benjamin Hunt, aged 33 yrs William Amazeen, aged 24 yrs Nathaniel B Davis, aged 20 yrs Perished on the Balerma, near Prince Edward's Island, in the storm of Oct 3d, 1851 Charles Smith, aged 20 yrs lost from the Mexico, from Boston for West Port, N.S., Oct 1851 Calvin D. White, aged 21 yrs lost from the Eliza, from Boston for Baltinore, Nov. 17th, 1854 |  |
 | Samuel Batson, aged 46 yrs Gilman Hilliard, aged 34 yrs Henry Yeaton, aged 27 yrs Richard Thompson, aged 24 yrs John Meloon, aged 20 yrs Elias J. Hubley, aged 20 yrs Meshach Cousins, aged 17 yrs Lost with the Nile off the coast of Nova Scotia April 15, 1860 ---------------- Horton O. Card, aged 26 yrs Lost with the Portsmouth from ( ) October 1865 |
Notes:
1. In Brewster's Rambles About Portsmouth (pages 84-85), published in 1857, it mentions the monument (which bears an 1856 date on its base) being in the church yard. John Frost's cemetery transcription of 1955 lists the monument's inscribed names under the "New Castle" (now Riverside) Cemetery, so it seems the monument had been moved there by the 1950's. During the numerous times I have walked that cemetery, I had just assumed I had missed the memorial (until April 2018, when I went looking specifically for it, and lastly tried the Commons while heading back out of town).
2. The Inez sailed from Portsmouth, NH on 13 April 1847, and was likely lost in a gale near Sable Island [NH Gazette, 8 Feb 1848 issue] around the 29th of same month. Robert Martin was the master, his father Edward was also on board. Besides the 7 listed on the monument, also lost was Ira Matthews, aged 20 yrs, from Rye, NH.
3. John Yeaton, a fisherman like his father, was my 3rd Great-Uncle. He was born 20 Sept 1830 in New Castle, the son of John and Dorothy (Amazeen) Yeaton.
4. John Tarlton was the son of John and Ann (Yeaton) Tarlton, born 29 Sept 1828 (per town recs). His mother Ann was the dau of Barnabus Yeaton, and was my 4th Great-Aunt (John being my 1st cousin, 4x removed).
5. The Balerma was one of hundreds of fishing vessels off of Prince Edward Island when a gale struck on Oct. the 3rd, 1851, destroying dozens of ships and grounding many more. The New Hampshire Gazette, 10/28/1851, reported that Newburyport alone had lost 19, with 2 missing, and some 32 were lost from other ports. The sunken Balerma was in 7 fathoms of water, but another vessel was able to drag her ashore onto Fisherman's Isle. The bodies of Capt Trefethen and four of his crew were still inside the ship, and were buried in the church cemetery at Malpeque. The Portsmouth Journal, issue 11/01/51, listed nine members of the crew (an earlier account said there were 10 on board). Of the 4 listed on the memorial, Benjamin Hunt was the only one not a New Castle native; he was born in Digby, N.S., but was residing in town. The others lost on the Balerma were George Staples and John Hanson of Portsmouth, NH, George Shapley of Rye, NH, Martin Gates of Liverpool, N.S., and A. McKensie of Gut of Canso.
6. Charles Smith is not seen in the 1850 New Castle census, and it is not known who he was at this time. He was NOT the Charles H, age 22, who was stationed at Fort Constitution in that census, as that man was still serving in the army in 1855.
7. Seaman Calvin White was lost overboard near Hogg Island (location not mentioned), per the Boston Courier, 11/30/1854. He was the son of Thomas B. and Julia (Staples) White, born 30 Sept 1833 [New Castle records]
8. Eight men were lost from the Nile, the one not on the monument was a Portsmouth man, Thomas Powell (previously from Nova Scotia). On 11 Nov. 1860, a funeral sermon was read in New Castle, commemorating those townspeople lost from this ship. The Congregational Journal (Concord, NH) newspaper, on 20 Dec 1860, printed an extract, with write-ups on each man lost. Capt Samuel Batson had left a widow and 8 orphaned children, while a widow and 3 youngsters were left to mourn Henry Yeaton [my 3rd Great-Uncle, his brother John would be lost at sea the following year]. The other men were single: Elias Hubley, born in Nova Scotia, came here with his family in 1851 (an older brother was lost at sea in 1855), while Richard Thompson had moved to town in 1857, from Kennebunkport, Maine. Gilman Hilliard left a widowed mother, Meshach B Cousins leaving behind a twice widowed mother and several siblings. John M Meloon was the adopted son of my 3rd Great-Grandfather, Alfred Meloon. Many of these men can be seen in the 1860 New Castle census - though taken in July of that year, the ship had yet to be considered lost, so the families seemed hopeful that their vessel would return.
9. Horton Oliver Card [b. 9/25/1839, son of John and Deborah (Kinney) Card] was chief mate of the ship Portsmouth, which had sailed for Queenstown, New Zealand in mid-October 1865 (the departure place is unreadable, perhaps "Nevassa"). It may have been lost in the area of Cuba and the Banks about Oct. 21st, when there was a gale in that vicinity [per the Boston Daily Advertiser, 2/07/1866]. Three Portsmouth men were also lost: Capt Robert Boardman, Thomas Yeaton (son of Moses) and Charles A. Weeks (s/o Charles P.)
1. In Brewster's Rambles About Portsmouth (pages 84-85), published in 1857, it mentions the monument (which bears an 1856 date on its base) being in the church yard. John Frost's cemetery transcription of 1955 lists the monument's inscribed names under the "New Castle" (now Riverside) Cemetery, so it seems the monument had been moved there by the 1950's. During the numerous times I have walked that cemetery, I had just assumed I had missed the memorial (until April 2018, when I went looking specifically for it, and lastly tried the Commons while heading back out of town).
2. The Inez sailed from Portsmouth, NH on 13 April 1847, and was likely lost in a gale near Sable Island [NH Gazette, 8 Feb 1848 issue] around the 29th of same month. Robert Martin was the master, his father Edward was also on board. Besides the 7 listed on the monument, also lost was Ira Matthews, aged 20 yrs, from Rye, NH.
3. John Yeaton, a fisherman like his father, was my 3rd Great-Uncle. He was born 20 Sept 1830 in New Castle, the son of John and Dorothy (Amazeen) Yeaton.
4. John Tarlton was the son of John and Ann (Yeaton) Tarlton, born 29 Sept 1828 (per town recs). His mother Ann was the dau of Barnabus Yeaton, and was my 4th Great-Aunt (John being my 1st cousin, 4x removed).
5. The Balerma was one of hundreds of fishing vessels off of Prince Edward Island when a gale struck on Oct. the 3rd, 1851, destroying dozens of ships and grounding many more. The New Hampshire Gazette, 10/28/1851, reported that Newburyport alone had lost 19, with 2 missing, and some 32 were lost from other ports. The sunken Balerma was in 7 fathoms of water, but another vessel was able to drag her ashore onto Fisherman's Isle. The bodies of Capt Trefethen and four of his crew were still inside the ship, and were buried in the church cemetery at Malpeque. The Portsmouth Journal, issue 11/01/51, listed nine members of the crew (an earlier account said there were 10 on board). Of the 4 listed on the memorial, Benjamin Hunt was the only one not a New Castle native; he was born in Digby, N.S., but was residing in town. The others lost on the Balerma were George Staples and John Hanson of Portsmouth, NH, George Shapley of Rye, NH, Martin Gates of Liverpool, N.S., and A. McKensie of Gut of Canso.
6. Charles Smith is not seen in the 1850 New Castle census, and it is not known who he was at this time. He was NOT the Charles H, age 22, who was stationed at Fort Constitution in that census, as that man was still serving in the army in 1855.
7. Seaman Calvin White was lost overboard near Hogg Island (location not mentioned), per the Boston Courier, 11/30/1854. He was the son of Thomas B. and Julia (Staples) White, born 30 Sept 1833 [New Castle records]
8. Eight men were lost from the Nile, the one not on the monument was a Portsmouth man, Thomas Powell (previously from Nova Scotia). On 11 Nov. 1860, a funeral sermon was read in New Castle, commemorating those townspeople lost from this ship. The Congregational Journal (Concord, NH) newspaper, on 20 Dec 1860, printed an extract, with write-ups on each man lost. Capt Samuel Batson had left a widow and 8 orphaned children, while a widow and 3 youngsters were left to mourn Henry Yeaton [my 3rd Great-Uncle, his brother John would be lost at sea the following year]. The other men were single: Elias Hubley, born in Nova Scotia, came here with his family in 1851 (an older brother was lost at sea in 1855), while Richard Thompson had moved to town in 1857, from Kennebunkport, Maine. Gilman Hilliard left a widowed mother, Meshach B Cousins leaving behind a twice widowed mother and several siblings. John M Meloon was the adopted son of my 3rd Great-Grandfather, Alfred Meloon. Many of these men can be seen in the 1860 New Castle census - though taken in July of that year, the ship had yet to be considered lost, so the families seemed hopeful that their vessel would return.
9. Horton Oliver Card [b. 9/25/1839, son of John and Deborah (Kinney) Card] was chief mate of the ship Portsmouth, which had sailed for Queenstown, New Zealand in mid-October 1865 (the departure place is unreadable, perhaps "Nevassa"). It may have been lost in the area of Cuba and the Banks about Oct. 21st, when there was a gale in that vicinity [per the Boston Daily Advertiser, 2/07/1866]. Three Portsmouth men were also lost: Capt Robert Boardman, Thomas Yeaton (son of Moses) and Charles A. Weeks (s/o Charles P.)
There were many more citizens of New Castle who never returned from their sea voyages, yet their names did not make the monument. I will amend the following list as other names are found:
Philip Yeaton, lost at sea before 15 Jan 1802 [my 4th Great-Grandfather]
William Neal, lost at sea 16 Jan. 1817, aged 31 yrs [s/o Richard and Abigail Neal]
William Amazeen, drowned 15 Oct 1826
Ephraim Amazeen, lost at sea, Jan 1831
Benjamin B Curtis, lost in the Pacific Ocean, Dec. 26, 1851, aged 31 yrs [s/o Thomas, wife Martha A Lear]
Herbert L. Brown, lost at sea near Montauk Point, Oct. 10, 1874, aged 26 yrs
Philip Yeaton, lost at sea before 15 Jan 1802 [my 4th Great-Grandfather]
William Neal, lost at sea 16 Jan. 1817, aged 31 yrs [s/o Richard and Abigail Neal]
William Amazeen, drowned 15 Oct 1826
Ephraim Amazeen, lost at sea, Jan 1831
Benjamin B Curtis, lost in the Pacific Ocean, Dec. 26, 1851, aged 31 yrs [s/o Thomas, wife Martha A Lear]
Herbert L. Brown, lost at sea near Montauk Point, Oct. 10, 1874, aged 26 yrs
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