Research in Dover St Mary
Our professional researchers were this week conducting searches of the Dover St Mary burial register, for September 1719. An intriguing entry was noted, relating to one Heramanus Oosterwyn.
He was not a native of Dover, and the clerk provided much detail about him: where he lived (Amsterdam), where he died (in the house of Simon Turner), his date of death (16 September), his place of birth (Hannover), his age (29), and where he had travelled from (Guinea) and where he was travelling to ('Henckvisen' - presumably representing the Dutch port of Enkhuizen). The name of the ship on which he was travelling, and its captain were also given.
There was a Stranger whose name was
Hermanus Oosterwyn of Amsterdam who
died at the sign of the Union Flagg in Dover
in the house of Simon Turner on the 16 of
September 1719 and was Burried on the
18 day of the same month.
He was born at Hannover and was
about 29 years of age he was a Passen=
=ger from the Coast of Guinea for Hol=
=land on board of the Ship Camani under
the Command of Captain Frederick Boz=
=gers bound for Henckvisen [Enkhuizen]
Links to the wider world and slave trade
Other burial entries at Dover St Mary only included the name of the deceased and their date of burial in this period, but it shows that clerks could choose to provide much more detail when they chose. This burial also demonstrates the global nature of travel in this period, including links to the slave trade - presumably the deceased Hermanus Oosterwyn was part of this, having recently been in Guinea.
Dover Castle
Hermanus and his fellow passengers would have arrived in Dover in 1719, with Dover Castle dominating the skyline, as it does today. It had recently been used as a prison for French and Spanish prisoners during the War of Spanish Succession (which ended in 1714). The Castle was significantly renovated and improved from the later 18th century and during the Napoleonic Wars, and it continued to be of military significance into the 20th century.
Family history research
This burial entry shows just how mobile our ancestors may have been in the 18th century, when, in a period before train travel opened up the world, significant distances could still be travelled.
If you need help in finding any of your missing ancestors, contact us today for a free quote.
