NOTES ON THE ENDERBYS
Barbara
Ludlow
Enderby Wharf on the Greenwich
Peninsula - and the activities of the family who made rope and canvass there,
and built Enderby House (the only listed building on the Peninsula) - are of
great interest to industrial historians. I have acquired a mass of material
over the years about the Enderbys and their business - therefore I am dealing
with only a few specific points but would be pleased to expand on, and answer,
more if approached.
Samuel Enderby.1640-1723. Samuel
and family owned a tannery in Bermondsey. The Enderbys were granted forfeited
estates in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. In l660 these were sold and the
money was invested in the oil and Russia trade.
Daniel Enderby, 1681-1766. Several
researchers have stated that Daniel married Mary Cook, the sister of Captain
Cook. During Daniel’s lifetime the firm of Buxton, Sims and Enderby, Oil
Merchants, was established at Paul's Wharf, Thames Street. Daniel's son,
Samuel, married Hannah Buxton (1st wife). Samuel was a barrel maker at first.
It was through marriage that the business became dominated by the Enderby
family.
Samuel Enderby, 1719-1797. His
second wife was Elizabeth. Enderby ships were registered in London and Boston
in America. They transported goods to the colonists and brought whale oil back
to the UK. In 1773 the Boston 'Tea Party' took place and it has been said that
an Enderby ship carried the tea. However, Dan Byrnes of Australia has stated
that there was no direct involvement of Enderby ships in the event. By 1775 The
War of Independence had cut off American whale oil so British ship-owners, and
Samuel Enderby in particular, decided to go whaling in the South Atlantic. In
about 10 years the whales in the South Atlantic were nearly extinct. The
Enderbys then concentrated on the seas around New Zealand with The Bay of
Islands as a main base. In 1789 after much pleading with the government the
Enderbys won the right to go into the South Seas and were then bitten by the
exploring bug. This was the start of a drain on their profits.
Samuel Enderby, 1756-1829. Son of
Samuel described above. Samuel and all his brothers and sisters were baptised
and entered in the Protestant and Non Conformist Register for London, now kept
at the Dr. Williams’ Library. Money was left to the preachers at Sailors Hall.
It is just possible that the forfeited lands in Ireland were given to the
Enderbys for their allegiance to the Non-Conformists during the English Civil
War in the 17th century. No proof as yet, just a thought. Samuel got his
Captains to go to the Antarctic - thus Enderby Land. Mount Gordon - his
daughter Elizabeth married Henry Gordon and so General Gordon was his grandson.
By the time of Samuel's death the British whaling industry was in trouble and
his son Charles Enderby thought of ways to expand the firm. He was interested
in the new 'technology' that was emerging and he was a founder member of the
Royal Geographical Society.
Charles, Henry and George Enderby were Samuel's sons. In 1841 Charles was
living in Enderby House at Enderby Wharf, while George and Henry were living
with their mother in Old Charlton. Previously the family had moved from
Greenwich/Blackheath to Eltham. By 1846 Mary Enderby was dead and Charles tried
to save the firm by setting up the South Seas Whaling Company with others. As
he sailed out of Plymouth to go to the Auckland Islands, NZ, a notice to the
effect that the Enderbys were unable to meet all their financial commitments
appeared in a London newspaper. There is an excellent book on the ill-fated
settlement.
George Enderby. It is unlikely that
George lived on Greenwich Marsh. The Enderby Rope Works and other buildings
were destroyed or badly damaged by fire in March 1845. Enderby House was
eventually repaired.In 1849 Charles moved away, never to return to Greenwich. I
had a letter from a Gravesend historian who found George Enderby living in the
1850s and 1860s at Orme House in Northfleet, Kent. The 1861 census listed him
as unmarried, age 58; a retired ship owner. His housekeeper Mary Nunn called
him ‘Captain Enderby’ and when George moved to Dover Road, Mary moved with him.
I have no death date for him.
Henry Enderby. After leaving the
Charlton area at some date, he went to live with a male opera singer in West
London.
William Enderby. Born 1805. William
had money in the firm but does not appear to have been that involved. He
married a Mary Howls in 1830 and they had 8 children, e.g. Baptism entry from
St. Luke's Church, Charlton, May 23rd 1837:- Charles, son of William and Mary
Enderby. Abode Eltham. Father’s profession - Gentleman. Later William Enderby
is listed as a ratepayer in Shooters Hill Road. Other information is taken from
a notebook of H.H.Enderby of Kai Iwi Beach, Nr.Wanganui, NZ. - H.H. Enderby was
William and Mary's grandson. After the firm crashed it is quite likely that
William went to Australia or New Zealand. I have no death date for him.
One whaling historian described the Enderbys as "Clogs to clogs in
three generations".
1 comment:
I’m sorry to be coming into this so late, but I appreciate your research. Is there any reason to think that these Enderby families originated in Lincolnshire? The fact that George lived in Orme House seems to suggest a connection to the Viking Orme whose descendants began calling themselves Enderby. Thanks for any ideas.
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