L is for Little William Ebbott

This post is part of my A to Z Challenge series on migration. “L is for Little William Ebbott,” the youngest member of the Ebbott family, who tragically died at sea during the 1852 voyage of the Gloucester to South Australia. His short life reflects the risks families faced during assisted migration, particularly when epidemics spread aboard overcrowded ships.

The Voyage of the Gloucester

On 30 April 1852, the Gloucester departed Plymouth carrying government-assisted emigrants to South Australia, John and Sally (Sarah) Ebbott and their children, including their youngest, one-year-old William. The Gloucester, a barque of 530 tons, under Captain James Marshall’s command, carried 285 passengers, including 16 infants under the age of one. After over three months at sea, the vessel arrived at Port Adelaide on 13 August 1852.ⁱ

Sadly, William did not survive the journey. He was one of 25 passengers who died aboard the Gloucester during its voyage. No details about his cause of death—or those of the other victims—were recorded. This lack of documentation was standard practice at the time; deaths at sea were typically listed only by name, date, and burial location in government reports such as the South Australian Government Gazette (No. 4, 25 January 1866). The absence of medical information left authorities and future researchers without crucial insights into health concerns aboard emigrant ships. Family accounts suggest he was buried on the banks of the Torrens River—a heartbreaking end to an already arduous journey.

Mortality Rates and Epidemics

The scale of mortality aboard the Gloucester becomes more significant when viewed in historical context. According to Robin Haines and colleagues in their study on emigrant ship deaths:

“The average voyage death percentage rate was 1.8. Eight ships arrived with more than 21 deaths. These included the Gloucester, in 1852 with 25 deaths among 284 emigrants... These high mortality voyages all suffered epidemics, and the eight ships are among the seventeen vessels that suffered more than 16 deaths at sea, accounting for five per cent of all ships arriving after 1848.”
— Bound for South Australia: Births and Deaths on Government-Assisted Immigrant Ships 1848–1885, Haines, Jeffery, and Slattery (2004)

Epidemics were common aboard overcrowded ships with poor sanitation and limited medical resources. Infants like William were especially vulnerable to infectious diseases that could spread rapidly in such conditions.

Leadership Failures: Captain James Marshall

Further insights into the troubled voyage come from court proceedings later that year. John Acraman, the ship’s agent, testified about Captain Marshall’s drinking habits:

“The captain was James Marshall, who was addicted to drinking, and while here, and about the time of the departure of the ship, was afflicted with delirium tremens... Although he was aware of the drinking propensities of Captain Marshall, he allowed him to go in command.”
— Adelaide Morning Chronicle, 6 September 1852, p. 3

This testimony suggests a troubling lack of oversight. The safety and wellbeing of passengers depended heavily on competent leadership—a standard that may have been compromised by Captain Marshall’s alcoholism. Hygiene and discipline aboard the ship could have suffered as a result, potentially exacerbating disease outbreaks or delaying appropriate responses to illness.

While no direct link can be drawn between Marshall’s condition and William’s death, this pattern of negligence raises unsettling questions about how many deaths aboard the Gloucester might have been preventable under better leadership.

Tragedy Upon Arrival

The Gloucester’s journey was marked by further tragedy shortly after its arrival in South Australia. As the ship was being towed up the harbour days after docking, a small boat carrying two men capsized; one man drowned, and his body was never recovered despite prompt rescue attempts. Captain Marshall was later fined for unlawfully detaining Her Majesty’s mail during this period.

“The oversight may possibly have been owing to the illness of the captain which, we regret to learn, is very severe.” — South Australian Register, 23 August 1852, p.3

Court testimony from June 1853 revealed that Acraman knowingly allowed an alcoholic captain to command the vessel—a decision described as “awkward” but ultimately accepted without intervention.

'In cross-examination... the witness stated that, although he was aware of the drinking propensities of Captain Marshall, he allowed him to go in command. It was rather an awkward thing to displace a captain. Did not know that the mate was subject to the same infirmity.'

Systemic Failures

For vulnerable travellers like infant William Ebbott, survival often depended on prompt medical attention, proper sanitation, and disciplined leadership—all factors that may have been compromised during this voyage. The high mortality rate (25 deaths among 284 emigrants) points to systemic failures exacerbated by documented negligence in leadership.

Remembering Little William

For little William Ebbott, the journey ended silently somewhere between Plymouth and Port Adelaide. While his story is fragmentary, the context around the voyage gives us insight into the conditions, risks, and limited procedures that framed such migrations.

William’s death, like those of many infants at sea, was absorbed into the larger narrative of migration history as a private loss amid a vast movement of people striving for better futures..

Sources:

• Passenger List for the Gloucester, 1852, arrived 13 August 1852, (The South Australian Government Archives, https://archives.sa.gov.au/, Passenger Lists 1845-1940 , 1852 Gloucester 13/1852 [Explanation: Includes the following documents:

1. Nominal list of Emigrations dispatched from Plymouth for Adelaide, South Australia p.2 (only John Ebbott is named and recorded as Ag Lab [Agricultural Labourer], Selected from Cornwall, the rest of the family is numerically represented, only ages are given) [Description: recorded emigrants selected by the Colonization Commissioners London, whose passage were paid for out of the Emigration Fund.]

2. Certificate of Final Departure for the Gloucester (The Ebbott family appear on p.3 (Every member of the family is identified Wm is noted as dead) [Explanation: Confirms family departure from England and notes William’s death]

• FATAL ACCIDENT, South Australian Register, 18 August 1852, p. 3. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38457162 [Explanation: confirms the time of the Gloucester was being towed up harbour]

• CLASSIFIED LIST OF EMIGRANTS, Adelaide Observer (SA), 28 August 1852, p. 8. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160110490 [Explanation: establishes who sponsored the immigrants arriving o the Gloucester in 1852]

• ADELAIDE LOCAL COURT, Adelaide Morning Chronicle (SA), 6 September 1852, p. 3. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66449562 [Explanation: Confirms the that Gloucester was behind schedule]

• SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE, South Australian Register, 14 September 1852, p. 2. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38454932 [Explanation: The Gloucester is in harbour]

• Advertising, South Australian Register, 25 September 1852, p. 1. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38466786 [Explanation: As of late September 1852, the Gloucester was docked at McLaren Wharf, preparing to sail to the Victorian goldfields. McLaren Wharf was very likely the same place where emigrants (like the Ebbotts) disembarked earlier that August.]

• DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 20 December 1852, p. 5. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4788598 [Explanation: Inquest into the suicide of Captain James Marshall]

• VICTORIA, South Australian Register, 24 December 1852, p. 4. nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38459768 [Explanation: Mentions the captain was suffering from delirium tremens]

• 'SUPREME COURT.', Adelaide Times (SA : 1848 - 1858), 15 June 1853, p. 2. , viewed 06 Apr 2025, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207012784 [Explanation: Confirms the Captain’s state of health and addiction to alcohol, as was the first mate]

• 'Returns showing Deaths on board Emigrant Ships from 1849 to 1865.' South Australian Government Gazette, No. 4, 25 January 1866, pp. 79–80. viewed 13 Apr 2025, https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1866/4.pdf [Explanation: Lists the death of William Ebbott on the Gloucester in 1852]

Glossary of Colonial Terms and Phrases

• “Barque” A type of sailing vessel with three or more masts, with the foremast and mainmast square-rigged and the aft mast fore-and-aft rigged. Common in the 19th century for long-distance voyages

• "in the stream" refers to the ship Gloucester being anchored in the main part of the harbor or river, rather than being moored alongside a wharf or dock.
  This was a common nautical term in the 19th century. "The stream" typically meant the navigable channel or deeper waterway—where ships could safely anchor if there wasn't available wharf space, or if they were waiting for clearance, cargo handling, or other instructions. [in this case, the Gloucester had arrived from Plymouth and was anchored in the stream at the Port of Adelaide, likely near Port Adelaide River, waiting to dock or unload.]

• “Towed up the harbour” Refers to a ship being moved (often by a smaller steamer or tugboat) from an anchorage or outer harbour further inland or toward a docking point.

• “Delirium tremens” A severe form of alcohol withdrawal characterised by shaking, confusion, and hallucinations.

• “Her Majesty’s mail” Official mail carried on behalf of the Crown (the British government). Delaying or interfering with its delivery could lead to legal penalties.