Need information on ship lost on N.J. coast

[ballbuster]

I have been lurking on this site for some time and find it most interesting. I'll try and be as brief as possible and still include the details of my inquiry.

I am in possession of a letter from Charles Macauley dated Feb. 4, 1907. This letter is in response to an inquiry by my Great Grandmother regarding a wrecked ship that she believed her imported china my have been on as cargo.
She assumed the ship was the Faithful Steward and was lost on the shoals near Atlantic City N.J. Mr. Mcauley was satisfied the ship in question was not the Faithful Steward but the ship Ellis. He claims he Ellis was lost on Absecon shoals in 1767. This date appears to be wrong (more like 1867 maybe?)

My question , does anyone have any knowledge of either ship? Has there ever been any attempts to salvage either of these two ships? Wouldn't it be great to recover a piece of that CHINA!!

The Jersey coast has a special interest to me. My Great Grandfather was a Keeper at the Brigatine Life Saving Station up to 1895. The records of these stations are a good source of information.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jim

 

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[FISHEYE]

theres lots of wrecks off the nj coast.

 

[buscadero]

BB: The Faithful Steward was bound from Londonderry, Ireland to Philadelphia, Pa. She ran aground on a shoal near Indian River Inlet, Del.

on 9/1/1785. Cargo included 400 bbls of Half Pennies & Gold Rose Guineas. Since that time, Coins have been picked up on the so-called

Coin Beaches! one 1 mi. stretch of beach N. of Indian River Inlet has yielded many Coins!


Joe

 

[ballbuster]

Thanks Joe. There are several hundred ships wrecked on the shoals. There dosen't seem to be an active effort to dive these close in wrecks.

Jim

 

[old man]

Ballbuster,
The Ellis was in fact lost on Brigintine shoals ( NJ) in the late 1700's. So I don't think that is the ship you are looking for.

 

[Captain Dave]

My information has the Ellis coming ashore on the south end of Brigantine shoals just prior to the Revolutionary war, with a cargo of tea and silver plate, so your date could be right. She was bound from Liverpool to New York.

<<There are several hundred ships wrecked on the shoals. There dosen't seem to be an active effort to dive these close in wrecks.>>

I have personally been on several wreck sites off Brigantine and the shoal is litterally covered with possible wreck sites. Visibilty and bottom conditions make the diving there difficult at best. The actual shoals lie between 2 inlets and are blanketed with sediment on every out going tide. It can only be described as "chocolate whipped cream". Little if anything remains visible of any wrecks in that area and most of it is in State waters, so any major salvage would be complicated by government involvent.
Also bear in mind that there were very few residents in the area prior to the late 1800's, so geographical references are not going to be reliable. The area of "Brigantine Shoals" could be used to cover the area from Long Beach Island to Ocean City, including what would later become Atlantic City.

Hope some of this helps

 

[ballbuster]

Captian Dave,

Thanks for the reply. I haven't been able to scuba dive since 1994 due to health reasons. My interest turned to fishing. I live about 35 miles north of A.C. As stated before, my great grandfather was a keeper at the Brigatine Life Saving Station, thus my interest in wrecks along the Jersey coast. Doing research on him has bought a wealth of informaation about the shoals. Thanks again for the information.

Jim

 

[atedeschi]

Captain Dave,
If you brought me the site we can bring something up (just kidding). I see your wreck is still producing but save me some for when I am back up from Florida. Anyway shoot me an email when you get a chance and let me know how things are going.

Ant