Background: In researching the THOMPSON lines, I found one Henry THOMPSON died on frigate "South Carolina" and admin papers were filed in Berks Co Wills office in 1794. I got curious about this incident and wanted to know more because in my will abstract book, there is a whole page of admininstrative filings for men on that ship. So here is some history that my MOHR cousin, Doug Good, found about it, and a list of the men from Berks Co who died:
Facts: The frigate "South Carolina" was built in Amsterdam by Jacques Boux in 1777-1778. Due to a shortage of money, the title of the vessel was given to the French government. For several years the ship lay idle at Amsterdam. In 1780 the French government gave control of the ship to the chevalier de Luxembourg, who then leased the frigate to Commodore Alexander Gillon of the South Carolina navy. By borrowing considerable money from Dutch merchants, Gillon managed to make the vessel ready for a voyage to America.
In 1781 the "South Carolina" manned by American officers and a group of European seamen and marines, sailed from Texel. Stopping at Corunna and Santa Cruz, the "South Carolina" sailed across the Atlantic toward Charleston. Finding Charleston occupied by the British, the ship sailed to Cuba. At Havana, after negotiations between Gillon and the Spanish, the "South Carolina" became a member of a force sent to capture the British colony of New Providence in the Bahamas. Even though the venture was successful, since the Bahamas surrendered to the Americans and Spanish without a fight, Gillon and the Spanish managed to quarrel, and the "South Carolina" departed for the mainland. In the Delaware River the ship was repaired and the European crew was discharged. The "South Carolina" was then manned by a new crew of American seamen and German marines. Putting at sea in December 1782, the "South Carolina" was captured by the British, but that was not the end of its story. Gillon, while in command of the frigate, left a string of debts in ports around the rim of the North Atlantic. As a result, for years after, in fact until 1856, lawyers and government officials were employed in settling the financial affairs of the "South Carolina." The career of Gillon and the "South Carolina" is one of little known stories of the American Revolution. Not only was the "South Carolina" the sole American force during the conflict to take part in the capture of a British colony, but Gillon, with no money and operating on credit, managed financially to support the operations of the frigate for almost two years.
In the book, Neptune's Militia: The Frigate "South Carolina" During the American Revolution by James A Lewis, there is more about the frigate. The ship was taken off the coast of the Delaware Capes on 12/19/1782, by the "Astrea," "Diomede," and "Quebec" after an eighteen hour chase.
The crew had been recruited from Philadelphia area, predominantly German, in December 1782. All are probably buried in the Atlantic Ocean. Listed below are 21 men from Berks Co for whom letters of administration were filed in the Berks Co Wills office, mostly in 1794:
Augustus ARBREY - admin filed 7/7/1794 by creditor Rudolph LAMPE
Henry BALTY, - admin filed 7/4/1794 by John SISLER, bro-in-law
Henry BEARNES - admin filed 7/7/1794 by Rudolph LAMPE, bro-in-law
John CLARK - admin 3/13/1795, by only son Christopher CLARK
John DEITS - admin filed 3/15/1792, Thomas DEITS, father
Jacob GREINER - admin filed 3/15/1792 by Andrew GREINER, father
Abraham HARTMAN - filed 7/4/1794 son of John HARTMAN
George HEINLEIN - admin filed 7/7/1794 Margaret HEINLEIN, mother
Anthony HOUSER - admin filed 7/7/1794 by Jacob HOUSER, father
George HOUSER - admin filed 7/7/1794 by Jacob HOUSER, father
Frederich KIEHL admin filed 12/3/1794 by Adam KIEHL, brother
John KUHN admin filed 6/2/1794 by Frederich STROHECKER, bro-in-law
Henry MOYER - admin filed 7/2/1794 by Nicholas LOTZ, Esq., uncle
Abel ROBESON - admin filed 7/7/1794 by Ann WALTER, mother
Henry SCHLABIG - admin filed 7/17/1794 by George SCHLABIG, eldest brother
George SHULTZ - admin filed 7/4/1794 by Juliana, widow
Peter SMITH -admin filed 7/4/1794 by Michael SHATZ and Elisabeth, his wife who was widow
John STEEL - admin filed 11/17/1803 by George FIX, creditor
Henry THOMPSON - admin filed 7/7/1794 by John WAREN and wife Catharina who was his mother
Isaac WAGONER(WAGNER) - admin filed 7/5/1794 by Catharine, the widow
Henry WICKS - admin filed 7/4/1794 by Christian WICKS, father
Submitted by: Diana.
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