Let’s recap what we know from my last post. Two South Sea Company ships, both captained by someone named Cleland, set sail from Portsmouth (Spithead), England on November 25, 1730 headed to Porto-Bello.
The Prince William
One ship, the Prince William, reached St. Christopher’s on January 8th, 1731, stayed for 10 days, then set sail (January 18th or thereabouts) for Carthagena, but stayed less than a day. She finally arrived at Porto-Bello on January 31st. She stayed for 5 months and set sail again on July 1st. The Prince William finally returned to England (Dartmouth) on September 9, 1731, loaded with cargo. She may have continued to another port in England at that point, but for our purposes, her journey was complete. Indeed, some of the cargo was off-loaded at Darmouth, along with “some other Gentlemen, who immediately took Post for London.”
The itinerary was as follows:
November 25, 1730 – Set sail from Portsmouth (Spithead)
January 8th, 1731 – Arrived at St. Christopher’s
January 18th (or thereabouts) – Set sail for Carthagena (but stayed less than 24 hours); continued to Porto-Bello
January 31st – Arrived at Porto-Bello
Porto-Bello: January 31st – July 1st
July 1st – Left Porto-Bello
September 9th, 1731 – Arrived at Dartmouth
The St. Philip Snow
We know less about the St. Philip Snow. Here is its itinerary, thus far:
November 25, 1730 – Set sail from Portsmouth (Spithead)
Early 1731: Arrived in Jamaica
Feb 27th, 1731: Set sail for Porto Bello (with slaves aboard)
We still don’t know which ship Cullen was attached to, or anything else about the St. Philip Snow. So, back to the newspapers we go.
The London Evening Post for August 23-25, 1733 tells us that
Yesterday the South Sea company receiv’d Advice of the safe Arrival of the St. Philip Snow, at Portsmouth, in six Weeks from St. Jago de Cuba, Capt. Stephens, late Capt. Cleland.
This is key: it appears that Capt. Cleland of the St. Philip Snow died in 1733, while away from Great Britain. I could not find any reference in the London newspapers—which were usually quite detailed on the coming and goings of ships—of the St. Philip Snow returning before the date mentioned above. It’s possible it did and just went unnoticed. But even if that were the case, the death of Capt. Cleland in 1733 puts it beyond doubt that this is not the Capt. Cleland we are looking for. This is because Cullen went to stay, for two years, with Capt. Cleland in the parish of Shotts after returning from his voyage. Thomson (Life, v1, 6-7) tells us:
After returning from the West Indies, Dr Cullen remained for some time in London, and during his stay there attended the shop of Mr Murray, apothecary in Henrietta Street…Dr Cullen returned to Scotland in the end of the year 1731, or in the beginning of 1732…In these circumstances, he was invited by his friend Captain Cleland to reside with him at his family estate of Auchinlee, in the parish of Shotts, and to take [p.7] charge of the health of his son, who was affected with a lingering disorder. This situation was peculiarly convenient for Dr Cullen in commencing the practice of his profession. It was near to Hamilton, the place of his birth, and in the vicinity of the residences of many of the most considerable families in the county of Lanark. It was in the neighbourhood also of his patrimonial property, the lands of Saughs, and of another small farm which belonged to his family in the parish of Shotts. Whilst residing there, he seems to have combined with his medical practice the most unremitting application to his studies. Captain Cleland was often heard to say, that nothing could exceed his assiduity at this period; for when not engaged in visiting patients, or in preparing medicines for them, his time was wholly occupied with his books.
After having practiced medicine for nearly two years in the situation described, Dr Cullen, on succeeding to a small legacy by the death of a relation, resolved to devote his attention exclusively to his studies for a certain period, preparatively to fixing himself as a medical practitioner in the town of Hamilton.
So, the Capt. Cleland of the ship Cullen worked on was still alive in 1733, if Thomson’s dates are roughly accurate. Cullen appears to have stayed with Cleland at his family estate of Auchinlee for two years, perhaps from early 1732 to 1734, or thereabouts.
We can, therefore, with some confidence eliminate the St. Philip Snow as the ship on which Cullen practiced as a surgeon. But can we conclude that Cullen was a surgeon on Capt. Cleland’s ship, the Prince William?
I’m inclined to think so, but I would be more confident if we could obtain a crucial piece of information: is there evidence that confirms that the Capt. Cleland of the Prince William is also the Capt. Cleland of Auchinlee, who resided there in the early 1730s? If we could connect those pieces of information, we would be in a strong position to conclude that the Prince William was Cullen’s ship.
I will attempt to do this in Part 3.
