Search Results for 'John Atkinson'

On 3 February 1842, Baptist missionaries Mr Clarke and Dr Prince boarded the Barque Mary at Bassipa, a new settlement established by London merchant Robert Jamieson on the island of Fernando Po, Equatorial Guinea. Their destination was Liverpool. The voyage was stalked by disaster from the outset. On 11 February, the main mast was struck by lightning in a storm, and a crew member was killed. On 25 March, the mast fell onto the deck bringing down sails and rigging, leaving the ship adrift at the mercy of the waves.

Much of my work on the County Mayo Famine Deaths Database has focussed on inquests. Dr John Atkinson was the Ballina District coroner when the Famine took hold. Atkinson threw himself body and soul at the increasingly grim workload.