Thomas Woodward
Thomas Woodward was sent to Normandy to study at the age of 10. He left two years later when it was ruled there that all teachers be Roman Catholic priests. He was given the nickname “Monsieur” for the French accent he picked up during his stint abroad. His later schooling revealed talents in mathematics and drawing, priming him to attend the School of Naval Architecture at Portsmouth Dockyard. He entered service in 1829 as Naval Instructor, which took him to the East Indies. He became Captain's Clerk within the year, but took leave soon after due to poor health. He returned to work and was appointed purser in 1835. After nearly 10 years of difficult work on various ships, he was appointed to the Herald which was to survey the west coast of South America, but made its way north as well. Mr. Woodward caught a severe cold on his third trip to the Arctic, proceeding some time on the Sandwich Islands, died 26 January 1851 near the Cape of Good Hope as he was returning home from Hong Kong, and was buried at sea. He was described as a friendly man with “true-heartedness, good-nature, and cheerful disposition,” whose popularity brought him great esteem so that he was noted as a worthy mention in the Narrative of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Herald, which went as far to describe his death as a family misfortune. He was also noted for his skill as an interpreter, having familiarity with many languages, and for his specimens of natural history which he collected whenever he landed.
Sources:
- Seemann, Berthold. “Thomas Woodward.” Narrative of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Herald. London: Reeve, 1853. http://books.google.ca/books?id=1HVCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=woodward+ purser+herald&source=bl&ots=D1MLz5ZUPd&sig=9qz- _jWcDrOmvuP2FjwYsToo4bo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=h6E4U6mLFY2yqAHv1oCwBA&ved=0CC8 Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=woodward%20purser%20herald&f=false.
- Woodward, Lewis. "[Mar] Buried at Seat 1851.” RootsWeb. 3 November 1999. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/MARINERS/1999-11/0941614529.
Wear (birth/death dates unknown) Supercargo with the HBC.
