THE SHIP TELEGRAPH
When The ship Telegraph docked in Philadelphia, her captain, Hector Coffin, signed the following sworn statement:
I, Hector Coffin, do solemnly, sincerely, and truly, swear that the Report or Manifest with my name, and now delivered by me to the Collector of the District of Philadelphia, contains, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a just and true account of all the passengers which were on board the ship Telegraph at the time of her sailing from the port of Liverpool or which have been taken on board at any time since; that I am at present and have been during the voyage, master of the said vessel. And I do likewise swear that all matters whatsoever in the said Report or Manifest, are to the best of my knowledge and belief, just and true. SO HELP ME GOD
Sworn before me, this 17 day of Sept. 1821.
Initials Collector. Hector Coffin
The signature at the bottom is different from the handwritten name, so apparently Captain Coffin dictated the information and only signed it. Probably out of deference to the Quaker element in Philadelphia, the captain could write in whether he swore or affirmed his statement.
John Fleming and his family, are not indexed in the published Passenger Arrivals, and I always wondered about that until I finally found the Manifest. A look at the microfilmed sheet shows why. The second passenger is listed as from Pennsylvania, then apparently the transcriber forgot to note country of origin and indicated it with a long bracket, but he did not include John Fleming's family, so that the later reader thought they were being listed as from Pennsylvania.
Here is the passenger list:
Ann McMahon, 47. Ireland. No occupation given. Nothing to indicate where she embarked or if she was hired for some office
aboard ship.
Samuel Annan M. D. 23, Pennsylvania. Occupation M. D. At his age, he might be returning from Medical School at
Edinburgh, and might have been hired as ship's physician, or might have arranged passage in return for his services.
Whatever the case, Annan had a distinguished career. He founded several medical schools in Baltimore, and then went
west to found a medical school at Transylvania University at Lexington Kentucky. At that time Transylvania was a major
institution in the West. Later it dropped its medical department and is now a Liberal Arts College.
John Fleming 52
Jean Fleming 48
James " ; 29
John " 23
Janet :" 21
Agnes " 19
Mary " 17
Jean " 15
William " 11
David " 9
Isabella " 7
William " 12 (Was William counted twice, or did another Fleming boy come with them?)
Robert " 27
Mary [Dunlap] 25
Archibald " 2
John McCuigh 20
James Harvey 59
Catherine " 58
Mary " 17
Elizabeth " 15
Ann " 13
Margaret " 14
Jackie " 4 (listed as female, but that is apparently a mistake.)
Andrew " 38
Elizabeth [McMurchy] 35
James " 11
William " 8
Catherine " 6
Elizabeth " 1
Andrew " 18
Agnes " 19 (Agnes was a niece of the older Andrew.
Thomas Greenlees 20
John Porter 23 [33]
Janet [McNair] 27
William " 4
Jean " 2
Alex " 27
Jean Porter 23
William " 1
Janet Johnston 38 Widow of William Johnston and sister of John Porter.
Thomas " 17
Susan " 15
William " 13
Ann " 11
James " 7
Robert " 4
Helen " 2
Gavin Wallace 24
Catherine [Harvey] 23
William Fleming 37 William was John's half-nephew.
Agnes [Harvie] 20
Elizabeth " 1
Donald Shaw 25
Archibald Greenlees 29
William Fleming's sister Elizabeth and her husband William Fullerton came at the same time on a boat that sailed directly from Liverpool. They probably met in Philadelphia and traveled West together.
The Porters and Johnstons moved on to Clermont County, Ohio, where there was another colony from Campbeltown. Janet, or Jennette Johnston never remarried and died in 1851
.
PASSENGERS SORTED BY AGE:
Passengers by age