Thomas Philby Passage

PHILBY VOYAGE OVER THE ALANTIC

Posted By: William Rear (email)
Date: 3/2/2003 at 16:25:02

This posting is a copy of the diary of Thomas Philby's voyage from Liverpool,England to the Port of New York arriving January 14, 1865 aboard the S.S.Francis Edinburgh.

December 27th 1864

December 17th 1864 Tusday Mor I left Oldham by tha
10 minnets to six trane bound for amarica we was very mery in tha trane we was dancing and singing
we spent a mery day in Liverpool and Birkenh we got to our logings at 5 oclock that night very tired we spent tha rest of tha night in card playing we got on bord tha next morning at 8 oclock all right we set sale at aleven oclock we spend a very mery night on board a very fine night we got in Queens Town tha next day tha 29
all right we tok about 300 passengers and one took off for steling in Manchester so you see tha are prety sharp after them we saled from queenstown at 4 oclock tha same day but if I say
mery I shall tell a li for we had not been saleng more then alf a hour when the second mate caled out we was in a rong places close to a rock I thought if I was on shore agan I wold never be
cetshed on a ship agan but there was no back door so I was ware imust stay stay it was very calm wether Friday a calm day tha 30th Saturday a clam day 31st at 12 oclock this night we ad all got to bed when we here a shout of shipp on fire tha bells was ringing I rin on deck with me pants in my hand and nothing on but my shirt wimmenin there shifts cring for there husbends I tell you I thought it was all over with us now and when it all came hout it was was nothing but a lark among
tha salors it was a new yers morning I was glad that it was a lark on Sunday morning I went to church it was tha first of Jenuery it was as nice a morning as aver is saw tha sun was shining buteful munday a butefull day the second of Jenuer tusday 3rd rither ruf still we was in very mery abraham and me had a race on deck the dack was clered for us and wat cosed a gret laff tha ship rocked at that time and we both fell after that we both got a glass of porter and we both fell sick together about 15 minets that was all our sickness Wednesday 4th a nice day Thursday 5th a nice day Friday 7th a nice day we spent all
these nice nights in singing and dancing Saturday 7th it begen to blow very hard tha sea run mountins high this was wrrs then all I would not of believed any one if hi had not sen it sometimes you cold not sed one part of the shpp it was over head in water I have red about shipwrecks and storms at sea and I thought it was not tru but sara you may beleve all you hear about the sea. It was so all night and all day on Sunday 8th this storm broke of at 12 oclock on Sunday night it was so ruf tha was no church this day Munday 9th we saw a vesel with that masts all blew a way and hour engengs ad broke down at 3 oclock this morning we was blue back 8 miles if hour engengs ad broke that day before we all of us ben lost she was brok 10 houres on tha 10th of Jan we had a death of a child 3 munths hold and it was bered at 4 oclock th same day in tha sea with same sirvces as if it had ben on shore about 700 miles from New York on wednesday 11 we saw a vessell turned tha rong side up and all lost She was floting about in tha water about 500 miles from New York on tha 12 Thursday we saw a fish about 8 or 10 fet long it had a head just like a hors Friday 13 a nice day we got a pilot at 9 oclock this night we droped ancor at 12 oclock in tha river which makes our passage 15 days and 12 houres we got on shore tha next morning at 11 oclock it was snowing very hard and freseng it wold have cut your nose off this day it was 13 degres belo zero this is Saturday we got lodgengs in New ork this night at some peples from royton on Sundayit was not so cold so we went to Green Point to my hants we stayed there till Tuesday at 4 oclock then we started for Pitsburgh we was in tha trane from tusday at 4 o'clock till Friday
morning at 9 oclock we was all this time in gun
400 miles this is the hend of our passage.