Christopher (1809 ship)
# Christopher (1809 ship)

Christopher was launched in Lancaster in 1809. She sailed as a West Indiaman until 1816 when she sailed to India under a licence from the British East India Company. On her return she returned to the West Indies trade. Later she started trading between London and Quebec. She was wrecked at sea on 5 December 1836.

## Career

Christopher first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in the volume for 1810.

| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1810 | P.Jackson | Bradshaw & Co. | Lancaster–Martinique | LR |
| 1811 | P.Jackson LaCoque Smith | Bradshaw & Co. | Lancaster–Martinique | LR |
| 1813 | Smith | G.Dennison & Co. | Cork–St Croix | LR |
| 1814 | H.Smith | G.Dennison | Greenock–St Croix | LR |
| 1816 | H.Smith | G.Dennison | Greenock–Barbados London–India | |

In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.

On 3 January 1816 Christopher, Smith, master, sailed for India under a licence from the EIC.

| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1818 | H.Smith Snell | G.Dennison | London–India London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1822 | S.Snell J.Knight | G.Dennison | London–Jamaica London–Quebec | LR |
| 1830 | J.Knight | Captain & Co. | London–Quebec | LR |
| 1831 | J.Knight | Oliver & Co. | London | LR |
| 1832 | J.Knight | Oliver & Co. | London-Quebec | LR |

In December 1835 Christopher arrived off Portland having sustained damage.

| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1836 | G.Kay | Oliver | London–Quebec | LR; large repair 1836 |

## Fate

Christopher sailed from Quebec on 17 November 1836 bound for London with a cargo of timber. She was wrecked on 5 December 1836 in the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of all but one of her seventeen crew. The survivor, the carpenter, was rescued by George Gordon, Moorman, master. Four men were still alive when George Gordon arrived on the scene, but one man died in the rescue attempt and the seas prevented the rescue of the two other survivors.

On 23 December 1836 Christopher was found as a floating wreck in the Atlantic, after being abandoned.

Christopher's entry in the 1836 issue of LR carried the annotation "LOST".

## Citations

* 1 2 LR (1810), Supple. pages, Seq.No.C7.
* 1 2 LR (1836), Seq.No.C502.
* 1 2 Hackman (2001), p. 261.
* ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 247.
* ↑ LR (1816), "Licensed and Country Ships".
* ↑ "Ship News". The Morning Post. No. 20605. London. 23 December 1836.
* ↑ "Dreadful shipwreck - Sixteen lives lost". The Morning Post. No. 20610. London. 29 December 1836.
