Birth date: 17 September––16 August––17 October––Conclusion––The memorandum
Birth date
Sep 17
The first possible date was constructed back in the 19th century. In the absence of any original records, the only official document that gives a hint about Captain Crozier's date of birth is a note written by Rev. Shaw who says that the christening took place on 21 September 1797 (ADM 107/49, f. 116; from 1812). The note does not explicitly
state the age of the child, so in his article on the subject Campbell suggested that "it was
remembered that [Crozier] was a year old when he was baptised" (Campbell,
p. 120). The resulting date, September 1796, was used for the memorials and obituaries. Indeed, there exists a short message from Crozier's sister Charlotte, saying, "My dear Brother Frank was born, September 1796, and entered the Navy 1810" (RGS800137). Crozier's first biographer, Fluhmann, trusted this calculation implicitly and came up with a precise date by fetching a
17th from an undated, "almost obliterated" memorandum,
written by Crozier during the Antarctic expedition. Subsequently, Sep 17 has been eagerly adopted, despite it being entirely artificial.
Note:
Long raises doubts about the certificate's accuracy, seemingly implying that Rev. Shaw
compiled it from memory. Was the original parish register already lost
in 1812? As for the delayed christening, by the end of the 18th c. it
was not particularly unusual. There was apparently a tradition of
batch christening several children together as well.
 |
| Fluhmann, p. 5 |
Aug 16/17
Campbell was the first to point out that Sergeant Cunningham's
journal from that same voyage explicitly specifies Aug 16 as Crozier's birthday. In order to explore the discrepancy Campbell secured a photocopy of Crozier's memo and found it "in rather better
condition than [Fluhmann] implied, although
not every word is legible" (the
text has not suffered any damage). The dilemma here is that the dates (recorded and projected) do not fit.
The memo itself is undated, so Campbell
attempted to reconstruct the circumstances around which it was penned and concluded "that the ships were at sea in company and that
a boat passed between
them." He was able to identify such a situation in 1843. Specifically, the ships were in
company at sea near the Azores: Cunningham noted on
Aug 14 that a "boat from the Erebus came onboard in the evening",
and on the 16th, "Wednesday Fine Light & Variable winds &
occasionally Calm. Captain & some of the Officers dined onboard the
Erebus." (Campbell, pp. 150-151). The Erebus log for the 14th also recorded that a cutter was sent to Terror at 6.5 PM and returned at 7.15 (p. 271; worth noting that Crozier also visited the Erebus on Sunday the 13th, p. 270). In other words, the log corroborates Cunningham's information, that a social event took place on that particular date.
 |
| Erebus log for Aug 16-17 1843 (source | alt) |
It's important that
the proceedings
hinted at in the memorandum definitely rule out the Aug 16 1842 event
(at anchor in Port
Louis), the one Cunningham dubbed a "birthday," making them two different, documented
social occasions. It means one is potentially looking at double the amount of
evidence. The earlier years can both be discounted: in 1840 they were anxiously
waiting for Erebus to reach Van Diemen's Land (Erebus
arrived on Aug
17), in 1841, approaching the Bay of Islands, Aotearoa, though sailing
in close company, they were experiencing difficult seas, then anchored
off Kororarika. Note that the timing matches the dates when the gatherings
could've realistically taken place; it's not possible
to infer purely from this that the date didn't have any significance
before 1842 – there are no times where Aug 16 was event-free by choice.
Campbell
was keen to bind the memo to August and further to the other
"birthday" mention, and speculated that the 'wrong' number (compared to
Cunningham's date) could've perhaps been a private
International Date Line joke between Crozier and Ross since they crossed
it previously (incidentally, reporting on two Nov 25s in 1841, J.E.
Davis defiantly states, "I shall not change my birthday." Davis,
p. 8) Campbell also ventured that
perhaps it's not a date at all: Ross and Crozier had been friends since
1821, so "it might refer to the 17th time they had spent it
together." Such precision doesn't seem to be typical of their long
companionship. In 1855, after the Franklin disaster, Ross was unable to
provide the exact details of "where or when" Crozier was born
(D8760/F/FEG/1/51).
There's
also an outside option that the date is a result of Crozier and
Ross' colloquial use of the discontinued sea day (or nautical day)
reckoning – the sea day lasts from noon to noon, so the evening of the
civil 16th would be the 17th. The Royal Navy abolished this reckoning in
1805, but it was still preferred "by many in the merchant service" (Coleman,
p. 36) as well as whalers, until completely ended by the Brussels'
Conference in 1853. (Dodge indicates that John Ross used sea days, but his example is that of an astronomical day.)
 |
| Norie, p. 213 |
Finally, it's important to note a vital distinction: as pieces of information, Aug 16 (the journal and the log) and X 17 (the memo)
are not equal. The first one was provided by witnesses of an
event that had already happened. The second one was only planned.
The event that Crozier called his "birthday" was to take place in the
future. There's no confirmation that it actually happened – or if it
did, whether it was on the date mentioned. I cannot speak for Campbell,
but this would be a very good reason to prefer Cunningham's date to
Crozier's. So the absence of an exact
fit that seems to emerge looking at the logs etc. does not necessarily
invalidate anything. It might simply be an indicator of some not-yet-described
situation instead.
Campbell's research was generally ignored – perhaps he should've focused not on proving, but on disproving. The journal and the logs show that the memo is definitely not from September.
Oct 17
The next and hopefully last turn occurred when Kimmins discovered that Crozier's father, writing in 1810, maintained that his son was born on Oct 17 1796. Is Crozier's father's testimony reliable? Yes. Until shown that he had a reason to conceal the real date of birth, Oct 17 should be treated as Crozier's birth date.
The situation is less straightforward when it comes to Crozier's message. Kimmins highlighted the recurrence of the memo's 17th. Long, who also analysed this letter from Crozier's father, didn't
attempt to date the Antarctic note. The contents might be a bit difficult to parse, still, this
is clearly a situation
of two ships sailing north, in company. Going by the facts available at the
moment, the note is not from any October either. The ships parted company Oct 4–Oct 24 1839, then were at anchor every
year afterwards: moored in the River Derwent, Tasmania Aug 15–Nov 12
1840; the Bay of Islands, Aotearoa, Aug 18–Nov 23 1841; St. Martins Cove
at Hermite Island, Cape Horn (not the Falklands) Sep 19–Nov 7 1842.
Thus this new evidence from the letter appears to be separate from the testimony in
Cunningham's diary and Campbell's interpretation of the memo. Regarding Crozier and Cunningham, there's no doubt that they were friends. At sea, Crozier spent days with Ross and months with
his own officers. Cunningham's 1842 entry could well have been a verbatim recording of some
information he received. As Ross really made a fuss of Crozier that day, there was no reason for Cunningham to question what he heard (worth noting that the following year he refrains from identifying the social occasion – it's possible it's been cleared up by then).
August
1842: 16th Tuesday Blowing fresh all day.
The Captains birth day [3]:
all the Officers of both Ships dined
with him and Spent the evening.
Spliced "main brace".
While this August date, or tradition, could've
originated, for whatever reason, at any time over the thirty years that
passed, the most serious option is that it's very recent: Crozier was
posted
Aug 16 1841, which he learnt about arriving at the Falklands the
following spring. Which would make Aug 16 1842 a birthday of the
posting. Let's not forget the context.
This is not the home straight situation of August 1843. This is the
tragical misery tour of the final overwintering. Inventing a festive occasion would've been a welcome distraction. So it would seem that Cunningham's entry purely provides details about the Antarctic voyage.
Conclusion
Even if one day somebody comes up with a better interpretation and/or dating of the memo, it won't impact Campbell's main contribution: kindling of a doubt. This doubt has inspired people to dig, and eventually led to a concrete answer. The old artificial September date should've been disqualified much sooner – it's a great pity that it's taken decades for the letter to surface. At the same time, it's also a very promising sign, showing that the possibilities are far from exhausted.
The memorandum
As transcribed by Campbell (with adjustments and notes)
My dear John [a] I send you Do Gin and
a piece of Pork for my birth day (17th)
mind I shall make Inte S L E. [b]
What a
noble chance getting such clear
water. [c] I wish we could make a
little
more Northg. Intensity ∠ [d] with both
weights and
deflectors have encreased
since making Northing. [e] God bless you
Excuse haste as I like not to
detain boat
FRMCrozier
Notes:
a––Who is the addressee? If the note is indeed from
1843, that would eliminate Fluhmann's John Sibbald, the only Erebus
officer by that name, who had transferred to Terror in
August 1842. Campbell guessed
that Crozier meant to write "James" – the hurried note is inscribed
"Captain Ross, Erebus" on verso (not evident from the archive's digital materials!). However, there exist other memos from Crozier
to "John", and the tone and content of those messages seem to make Ross the
only possible recipient, so "John" must have been
intentional (more on "John").
 |
| Erebus log for Aug 16 1842 (source) |
b––Campbell: either Internal Supply Ledger Expenditure or "that observations
needed to be made on 'S & E' headings"; first one more likely.
c––Campbell wonders
whether "clear water" could mean "unobstructed by ice" and undo his theory. It is indeed a standard term
for ice-free sailing, f.ex., in Parry's Explanation of Technical Terms (Parry, p. xvii): "Clear Water. – The sea unincumbered by ice." Despite quoting the
relevant entries from
that week
in August 1843, Campbell doesn't discuss the fact that Cunningham complains about "Making little or No progress." Which actually
tallies with Crozier's "I wish we could make a little more Northg." Moreover, they never encountered ice in August (or October for that matter). Could "clear water" mean "calm water" in this instance? Or perhaps it's simply "clear weather"?
d––The line should perhaps be read as "Intensity [inclination angle]".
e––Campbell: "weights and
deflectors" – referring to the magnetic field measuring apparatus, "since making Northing" – likely, entering the Northern
hemisphere, "intensity increases away from the terrestrial magnetic equator".
[3] The Crozier Monument in Church Square, Banbridge,
Northern Ireland, gives his date of birth as September 1796. Fluhman,
Second in Command, p. 5, quotes a note from Crozier to Lieutenant
Sibbald: 'Dear John: I send for … and a p….d of pork for my birthday
(17th)' and assumes the date is likely to be correct. DNB gives 17
September 1796 quoting Fluhman as authority. The certificate of
Crozier's baptism with his passing certificate for Lieutenant,
TNAADM107/49, f.116, states that he was baptised on 21 September 1797.
It would seem possible that when the monument in Banbridge was erected
it was remembered that he was a year old when he was baptised and dated
it accordingly. The note May Fluhman quotes, SPRIMS 248/364/13;D, is in
fact addressed on the verso to Captain Ross and would appear, from the
remainder of the contents, to have been written on 14 August 1843 to
accompany some stores sent to Erebus for a party Ross gave on 16 August
for Crozier and some of his officers. See Campbell, The date of birth of
Captain F.R.M. Crozier R.N., in Polar Record, Vol 45, Number 232,
January 2009, pp. 83–4.
Campbell's references:
- Crozier, F.R.M. no date. Memorandum to J.C. Ross 14 August 1843(?). Cambridge: Scott Polar Research Institute MS 248/364/13;D
- Cunningham, W.K. 1839–1843. Journal. Belfast: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland D869
- Fluhmann, M. 1976. Second in command: a biography of Captain Francis Crozier, R.N., F.R.S., F.R.A.S. Yellowknife: Government of the Northwest Territories
- The
National Archives. F.R.M. Crozier, papers relating to examination for
Lieutenant in 1817. London: The National Archives ADM 107/49 f. 116
Sources:
- Campbell, R.J., The date of birth of Captain F.R.M. Crozier R.N., in: Polar Record, Volume 45, Issue 1, January 2009, pp. 83-84 (link)
- Campbell, Richard, The Voyage of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Southern and Antarctic Regions. Captain James Clark Ross, R.N. 1839–1843. The Journal of Sergeant William K. Cunningham, R.M. of HMS Terror, Part 2, in: The Journal of the Hakluyt Society, April 2009 (link)
- Coleman, George, Lunar and Nautical Tables, Arranged and Adapted for Determining (by the Various Methods) the Latitude at Sea, 1846
- Crozier, Charlotte, Miscellaneous papers relating to Crozier's naval career, RGS800137, Royal Geographical Society (link) – thank you Allegra Rosenberg
- Davis, J.E., A Letter from the Antarctic by J.E. Davis, 1901 (link)
- Dodge, Ernest, The Polar Rosses: John and James Clark Ross and Their Explorations, 1973
- Fluhmann, M., Second in Command: a Biography of Captain Francis Crozier, R.N., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., 1976
- Kimmins, Olga, The Man of Many Birthdays (link)
- Log of the Erebus, by C.F. Tucker, 1 Jan 1843 to 23 Sep 1843, ADM55, Log 52, The National Archives (record | online)
- Long, Alison, A note relating to the birth date of Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier R.N., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., in: Polar Record, Volume 58, 2022, e24 (link)
- Norie, John William, A New and Complete Epitome of Practical Navigation, Containing all Necessary Instruction for Keeping a Ship's Reckoning at Sea, 1817
- Parry, William Edward, Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: Performed in the Years 1819-20, in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Griper, 1821 (link)
- Ross, James Clark, Letters from members of the Ross family to Eleanor Isabella Franklin, later Gell, D8760/F/FEG/1/51, Derbyshire Record Office (link) – thank you Olga Kimmins