The Belyea Connection
#44 Charles A Belyea - Part 1
#44 Charles A Belyea - Part 1
Charles A Belyea and at least three of his ships have an interesting connection to Samuel Scott. Scott may have known the Belyea family in Saint John and he may have sailed on the Kelvin, there is that reference letter in the scrapbook mentioning Captain Belyea’s praise for Scott while he was mate on a unidentified schooner in 1872. The Kelvin, captained and owned by Belyea, was built by John Owens of Saint John, NB who left some of his fortune to establish the Owens Art Institute, now housed at Mount Allison University.
Charles Allan Belyea was born in Saint John in 1821, went to sea and gained a Master’s Certificate #72.980, married and had three children, then relocated to Liverpool England. The family is on the 1871 census there, with wife Murray Ann, children George [age 20], Adelaide 12 and Clara 10, all born in Saint John, New Brunswick. Belyea is listed as a ‘general merchant; by 1881 he is listed as a ‘ship broker’. Correspondence with Scott is on letterhead from Belyea and Co., Liverpool and Fleetwood, 29 Red Cross St., Liverpool.
Then things get confusing. Lloyd’s Register never list him as a captain of the Kelvin. The Seafarers of the Atlantic Provinces does, Dec 1862 – Aug 1867 ship Kelvin # J851097, Captain’s certificate # B25373; The Naval Marine Archive lists him as Master 1862-1868, ship Kelvin #24086, Captain’s certificate #25373. The BAC-LAC have the Kelvin reregistered three times, always #24086, [The ‘J’ in 1851 identifies Saint John as Port of Registry, that was updated when changed in 1857, but unfortunately Lloyds does not list a ‘Belonging to Port’ between 1858 – 1865, when the Kelvin built by Owens in 1851 is listed in Registry.] The change is registration number happened after 1855 when the British system changed and all ‘British’ ships including those from the ‘colonies’ were reregistered with an official number.
Lloyd’s Index to List of Captains list him as #C25373 in Liverpool 1862. However Crew List has four voyage listings, and three different certificate number: 1854/5 #72.980; then 1856/57 #73.649; 1859/1860 #71.264; The last,1861, uses #71264 but also notes #CC25,373.
Charles Allan Belyea was born in Saint John in 1821, went to sea and gained a Master’s Certificate #72.980, married and had three children, then relocated to Liverpool England. The family is on the 1871 census there, with wife Murray Ann, children George [age 20], Adelaide 12 and Clara 10, all born in Saint John, New Brunswick. Belyea is listed as a ‘general merchant; by 1881 he is listed as a ‘ship broker’. Correspondence with Scott is on letterhead from Belyea and Co., Liverpool and Fleetwood, 29 Red Cross St., Liverpool.
Then things get confusing. Lloyd’s Register never list him as a captain of the Kelvin. The Seafarers of the Atlantic Provinces does, Dec 1862 – Aug 1867 ship Kelvin # J851097, Captain’s certificate # B25373; The Naval Marine Archive lists him as Master 1862-1868, ship Kelvin #24086, Captain’s certificate #25373. The BAC-LAC have the Kelvin reregistered three times, always #24086, [The ‘J’ in 1851 identifies Saint John as Port of Registry, that was updated when changed in 1857, but unfortunately Lloyds does not list a ‘Belonging to Port’ between 1858 – 1865, when the Kelvin built by Owens in 1851 is listed in Registry.] The change is registration number happened after 1855 when the British system changed and all ‘British’ ships including those from the ‘colonies’ were reregistered with an official number.
Lloyd’s Index to List of Captains list him as #C25373 in Liverpool 1862. However Crew List has four voyage listings, and three different certificate number: 1854/5 #72.980; then 1856/57 #73.649; 1859/1860 #71.264; The last,1861, uses #71264 but also notes #CC25,373.
