Person:Henry Hodgson (5)

The origin of our Henry Hodgson has yet to be proven, yet, there are a number of citations which state the he hailed from England--most likely born 1791, as he is noted to be 33 years-old in an April 1824 ship manifest.

From what I have be able to find, my consideration is that he may have hailed from Lancashire, although most people tend to think of Hodgsons being from Yorkshire...not really that far away when seen on a map. The biggest problem in finding a man named "Henry Hodgson" is that the moniker is much like "John Smith" across the pond. Although I have extracted a few possibilities, the closest in age I have found thus far is: HENRY ELLIS HODGSON - 28 JUN 1793 Gender: Male Christening: 12 AUG 1793 Saint Peter, Liverpool, Lancashire, England parents: ELLIS SECKONBY HODGSON & ANNA BELLA.

An 1821 manifest for the brig "Parker & Son" from Belfast to New Orleans, lists "Henry Hudson" as master, although most of the future manifests that have been found list him as Hodgson. In July 1824 we find him as "Hy Hodgson." One more note: in that same manifest from July of 1823, ship's master Henry has onboard a tvelve year-old young man by the name of Hy Hodgson, Jr. This seems to indicate that our Henry was married by 1811, age 20. His wife has to have died before this 1824 passage, as we will see shortly. In Lancashire records, there a a few possible matches for this marriage, yet, I have yet to find a record of death of the same wife's name.

If we were to consider the possibility that Henry had emigrated to America, the earliest record that I can find for a British born Henry Hodgson is the following:

Hodgsn, Henry Place: Delaware Year: 1813 Age: 21 Primary immigrant: Hodgsn, Henry Permanent entry number: 1891042 Source publication code: 8195 Source publication page number: 255

Source publication: SCOTT, KENNETH, compiler. British Aliens in the United States during the War of 1812. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979. 420p

This Henry appears to be one of the four brothers found in Delaware, which I have tracked through census records. One stays in Delaware. Two seem to move on Clinton, Ohio, if I am remembering this correctly, and, Henry simply vanishes.

While he is most likely NOT our Henry, until I can discount this, the record remains a viable lead.

From the Louisiana Historical Society - 1926 - we read of a voyage which will prove to be one of many adventures: a pirate attack: "Sometimes there was smart fighting between the merchantman and her would-be captors. "Captain Hodgson, of the brig 'Parker & Sons,'" we read in the Courier for October 18, 1822, "arrived in town yesterday, having sailed from Havre about August 5th. He reports having had an engagement with a Spanish Pirate off Porto rico mounting one long 18-pounder and manned with a crew of 63 men; the pirate after some firing on both sides, succeeded in boarding the brig--and robbed Captain H.of all his clothes, watch, chronometer, and the greater part of his provisions and water. Previous to being boarded the "Parker & Sons" had three men wounded--the pirate acknowledged one man killed and several wounded. "Apparently, no special resentment was felt because the captain had defended himself, but of course, in the other event, when resistance had roused the pirates' blood, and the ship was scuttled and the crew slain, we would have no ..." ...While that is all i have able to retrieve so far from that account, I have found another blurb on the matter: "Excerpt from "The Marine List," [from Lloyd's] for 1822, which I could only preview, without copying: "The Parker & Sons, Hodgson, from Harve to New Orleans, was _____ at Balize, after being plundered by Pirates, and obliged to cut away her masts during a hurricane." Double whammy, that? I think I may get my own measure of luck--both the romantic and ill-fated--from Henry.

On July 2, 1823, the Parker & Son again arrives in New Orleans, this time from Belfast. Our picture of Henry now unfolds in quite another fashion. On the short manifest of nine passangers will be found a "Mrs. Howard" of Natchez, traveling with two of her daughters: Louisa, age 2, and, "Miss Howard" age 15. It is Miss Howard that our fine Captain will wed the following summer in Louisville. Although I cannot be 100% certain that my romanticized angle is spot on, it appears that as the young Jane Josephine Howard is then returning from her educational pursuits in Dublin, it seems very plausible that the Captain became quite smitten with the finely educated 15 year-old Jane during her long homeward bound voyage.

The 1873 bio of Jane and Henry's son W. Irving states: "She was very popular in Washington and Philadelphia society, along from 1825 to 1830, and was noted far and wide for her beauty and accomplishments, speaking fluently five or six languages, and numbered among her particular friends the families of Washington Irving, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and others."

It goes on to say that she was the great grand neice of "Robert Elliott, who so successfully commanded the defences of the "Gibralta," during the seven years seige, by all the combined forces of Europe, and for which His Royal Master knighted him "Lord Elliot Heathfield." This part of the bio is in error, for it was Robert's brother George Augustus who defended Gibraltar. I have yet to discover which Elliot is the true ancestor, since the Eliot line focuses mostly on George, then fades. It seems plausible that Jane's mother was indeed surnamed Elliot/Eliot, yet, Robert's line is not well documented. There is more on Jane's line, though. It further states that her (unnamed) paternal "grandfather was an officer in the U.S. Army during the English war of 1812...gallantly leading his troops at the Battle of Bladonsburg, in defense of Washington City." Well, while there are prominent Howard's in that battle, locating our Howard has proven to be a conundrum. There is a record naming Jane's father as George W. Howard, yet, I cannot place him as a member of THE noteable Baltimore Howards of that Battle and period. If the 'maternal grandfather' was the father of Jane's father--well, the correct surname has yet to surface. If anyone out there knows this info, please contact me @ [email protected]

Back to Henry Hodgson. Before Jane and Henry wed the following year, in 1824, our Captain's days are about to get a bit nasty once again. From "Shipwrecks of Florida: A Comprehensive Listing‎" - Page 221: "Parker & Sons — British merchantman, Captain Hodgson, from New Orleans bound for Clyde. Reported October 1823 to have struck on Honda Rock in the Gulf of Florida. Was gotten off and run ashore to prevent her sinking." Hmmm. As Henry was exiting the most dangerous waters of the Gulf, heading to the Atlantic, could it be that our smitten Captain--perhaps having just spent the past three months on land purposefully courting his future wife--was still a bit in heartache mode, without his sea-legs yet firmly rooted on the bridge? Was he looking back, in agony or despair? Ah! In any case, the brig Parker & Son had to be repaired; it next appears in Lloyd's 1825 "Register of Shipping" as rated "E1"--which meant that it was a 'seconnd class' vessel in perfect repair with no defects, 'completely calculated to carry a dry cargo with safety, whose materials are found to be 'well.' For those of you who might be enthusiasts, I will add a description of the vessel, according to the list of abbreviations used: the Parker & Sons was a "Brig"[Bg] that was sheathed in copper[sC]. It had a 'single deck with beams [SDB] made of "Black Birch, Oak [B.BO &] 'Pine' which has been repaired [Pdrp]. Built at Nova Scotia [ N.Scot] in 1811. The 'Managing Owner' was "Pattinson [whose only other vessel in the register was one of 75 other vessels named 'Industry,' this one mastered by a Capt. Pattinson, which was another single decked brig built in 1750 sailing from Liverpool to Waterford.] It had a 'draught' of 13 feet deep when loaded. It now sailed from Liverpool to New Orleans [LiN.Orls]. Prior manifests show that it carried less than a dozen people, sometimes just a handful.

In January of 1826, we find in the "Inventory of the Louisiana Historical Association Collection: on deposit in the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana" the following: Notice of a dinner for Captain Henry Hodgson in Natchez at Mr. Purnell's by George W. Smyth, Henry C. Walsh, Thomas Gamble, John Bailey, Francis Blackwell, Jr., Thomas Munce,, and, William W. Robinson." A search for his hosts came up with little benefit. Yet, that blurb helps us put together a more complete picture of our Henry, who is starting to become very real for us. He was worthy of invitational dinners from groups of people. Just as we can start piecing together a picture of our early Homes and Craighead lines through passages found in Samuel Sewall's diary, or, that of our illustrious uncle Benjamin Franklin, the 26 documents that I have so far managed to find on Henry truly helps bring him to life.

FYI: There are a number of records that I have come across that lead me to believe that Henry & Jane had at least one more male son, if not two. Married in June 1824, Henry born June 1827, Antonia born 1829?, W. Irving born Novenber 1833--noted to be the youngest male son. There are some gaps, which may mean nothing.

By 1830, it appears that Henry--now a husband with at least three young children--is working out of the Port of New Orleans, where he is now mastering the steamer Atlas.

By 1832, he has patented a new form of flat-boat, suitable for navigating the more shallow shoreline and inland waters around New Orleans, as read in this account from the "New Orleans Bee": "A company of merchants, partly of New Orleans and partly of Mexico, have lately obtained exclusive permission to navigate the Rio Grande del Norte, for years to come. Owing to obstructions at the mouth of the river...We learn that Capt. H. Hodgson, of New Orleans, has lately constructeda suitable steamboat and lighters for this business, of which he is to take the management, he having been the projector of the plan, and architect of the vessels. If capacity, experience, and industry, united in one individual, can ensure success to the enterprise, the company's stock will ere rank A, No.1, in the money market." All searches on this endevor have yet to garner additional info.

Well, there you have it. Henry was a crafty man--pun intended. Years ago I actually had a copy of the patent, yet, it was either in an older computer, or, I've simply misplaced it; now I'm having trouble locating it in patent archives.

Perhaps it was endevors such as this that led the Hodgsons to the Homes! Maybe young Luther was already settled in New Orleans, poised to make a name for himself, assisting in the fashioning of Henry's new boat. Luther's life was something else all together! The story that is resurfacing after all these years is almost worthy of a movie, but, his stories will have to wait 'til I get to his page here.

Through the early 1830s, notices of Henry will be found within the pages of the "New Orleans Bee," a number of them in French. In 1833 he is listed with the Steamer Carroll, hauling cotton from Natchez to New Orleans. The Louisiana Archives holds a court document for Henry Hodgson, pleading for a writ of Habeus Corpus, which I have yet to order.

Although Henry's last son is born 1833 Montgomery County, Kentucky, it is not known where Henry and Jane actually live during this period. Blurbs from periodicals seem to place them back east until about 1830, then in Montgomery Co, by the time he is born. Jane's family was from Natchez, Adams Co., Mississippi, an area once owned by the Spanish Government, with--I believe--tracts of land also awarded to men who fought in the War of 1812.

The George W. Howard family can be found in the 1820 Adams Co., Mississippi census, yet, not in 1830. In both 1820 and 1830 there is a George W. Howard family in Montgomery County, Kentucky; decades of early records that I have found for Adams County indicate that many of the people who had properties there also had properties in the cooler regions north of Mississippi. Baltimore, Natchez, the Howards of Mount Sterling, KY, and possibly the Hodgson's of Delaware remain in my line of sight, simply because certain found records seem too viable to discount. I've added this for other researchers who may be on similar tracks, or, need a new perspective. I'm open for emails, letters and phone calls.

From 1833 through 1852 I have nothing regarding Henry. As I have previously stated, the 1850 census for Jane and the three known children, place them in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana--without Henry. Jane dies in New Orleans in November of 1853. Henry has become illusive, and sadly, census recording was not yet an exact science for the purposes of extracting as much information as possible--something future generations will once again bemoan regarding our own era.

If I consider that Henry may have stayed close to his family until his children were grown and on their own, it then appears that Henry again took to the open seas...although it would be short lived:

Naval Journal, Volume 25 by American Seaman's Friend Society

DISASTERS p276

February 21, 1853

Ship Elsinore, Hodgson, hence for New-Orleans, went ashore 17th Feb., on Little Bahama Banks, and will be a total loss.

Nassau, N. P., March 3.

We now have to advise of the total loss of the Ship Elsinore, Hodgson, from New-York to New Orleans, near Memory Rock.

On December 12, 1852, a report in the New York Times, dateline Boston, gave notice that the Elsinore, with 150 emigrant passengers on board off Halifax from London, was found in distress, with loss of sails and being short of provisions. An agent from Lloyd's was dispatched. Some eight weeks later, the New York Time's Marine Intelligence report for Tuesday, February 1st, 1853, notes that the Elsinore has been cleared to sail from the Port of New York to New Orleans, Hodgson, master. A little more than two weeks later, the Elsinore is forever lost.

Most of what I have found through the years has been pieced together through Internet searches, based upon snippets of recalled family knowledge. When I interviewed my father Charlie some years ago, he really didn't have much more Hodgson info to give; his father, Harry Homes Hodgson (son of Harry Homes, grandson of Washington Irving, great-grandson of this Henry Hodgson) had died in 1929 when my dad was only four years-old. Yet, one curious thing that he had been told in his youth was that it may have been his great-grandfather who was the sole-survivor of a ship wreck, possibly near Barbuda, Bimini...he could not recall. Although it does not appear that the Elsinore quite fits the details of our family's tale, it certainly has some parallels.

Washington Irving Hodgson's 1873 bio states that Henry died in England during the Civil War. Taking a cue from the name of his daughter Charlotte Antonia (or, is it Antonia Charotte?) I have located a Henry Hodgson that lived with his brother Anthony in an 1860 British Census, something just to keep in mind for a future search.

As for Jane, finding records of Dublin births circa 1809 has been fruitless. Of course, I shall keep trying. If I am correct, there was a short story in a publication called The Lady's Garland circa 1835 entitled "The [something] Miss Howard" I believe. It tells the story of a lovely young woman named Jane Howard, who sails across the ocean on a vessel, having befriended the ship's master during the passage. A few years later, following a church service, the Preacher approaches her, admitting that he is, in fact, the very same man who carried her that time across the waters. He reveals that she had made such an impression on him, it changed his life forever. The two wind up at the altar, Since reading that essay, I have humored myself into thinking it an adapted version of Henry & Jane's romance.

The historical blurbs I have thus far been fortunate to uncover, have allowed a window into Henry and Jane's story open 'just enough' for us to see them a bit more clearly. Hopefully time will help us gain a wider view.

Now, guess how many actual photos and blurbs I have found of their son W. Irving? Oh, man....

All of the source materials quoted above remain the property of the mentioned sources. They have been used here as historical PROOF of the life events of my ancestors, for the benefit of other researchers looking for their own lost relations, or, as a means for us to find our lost connections. Without these sources, information regarding my own ancestors would have been lost in time, or, might be be considered by others as mere conjecture, to be dismissed or discounted. I have named the sources in good faith, and having come by them for my own personal use, to piece together the broken portions of our family history. Please do not abuse the use of this source material, or, our access to sources like this are bound to dry up in the future.