Capt. Michael Bond

Michael Bond  was born at Hesketh Bank in 1811, the the third son of William and Alice Bond. All four sons of this family went to sea. John, the eldest stayed in Hesketh while Michael and his younger brother, Henry moved to Furness. It is not certain whether the second son, William moved or stayed put !

Michael was probably the first to settle in Furness. By 1837, when he was listed as part-owner of the Mary, he was living in Ulverston. In 1848 he was master and part-owner of the schooner Margaret. Michael's wife was Mary Ann but there are no details, at the moment, of any offspring. Mary Ann accompanied her husband on some voyages, as in the 1861 census they are both enumerated on board the Mary Ann Bond.

Unlike his brother, Henry, Michael sailed to foreign ports and eventually needed to be registered under the Mercantile Marine Act of 1850, being given a certificate of service. In 1862, Michael was master of the Fairy. In June that year he survived the demise of the vessel. 'The Fairy (schooner) of Lancaster from Barrow to Newport with iron ore foundered off Tuskar 11th.June; one man drowned' (Lloyds List). Tuskar Rock is just off the SE coast of Ireland. Capt. Bond lost his master's certificate in the wreck, and his application for a replacement certificate gave the following details:

Borough of Liverpool

 to wit,

I  Michael Bond  of Ulverstone in the County of Lancaster, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland do solemnly and sincerely declare that
I was Master of the Schooner 'Fairy' of Lancaster and that on the 11th June 1862 the said vessel foundered in St Georges Channel (when on a voyage from Barrow to Newport) and that we did not save a single article of any description more than the clothes we stood in at the time of her going down and that my Certificate of Service as Master no.49681 was lost with the said vessel and that this declaration is mark for the purpose of getting a Duplicate of said Certificate

Lloyds Captains' Register and the records at the Public Record Office show Michael sailing the Mary Jane to Riga, amongst other places, in 1867 and 1868. By 1869 he was master of the Maggie Brocklebank , one of William Postlethwaite's fleet. With this ship he made two journeys to Seville in 1869.

Michael Bond was pensioned on 31 January 1873 when he was 62 years old. In 1881 he was a widower and lodging in the house of James Booth, wheelwright and coal dealer, in Lund Street, Ulverston. He died the following year:

Barrow Herald, 28th January 1882 page 6:

"The body of Captain Bond, a man advanced in years, and who had retired some years ago from sea-faring pursuits, was on Saturday found in the Ulverston canal, opposite to the works of the North Lonsdale Iron & Steel Company. He was last seen at Canal Foot, and left there to go to Ulverston, taking the south bank of the canal".

Sources :

1. Information provided by Sue Bond.