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Westward Cork Migration by Sail 1815-1860 by John Sutton

PART III CATALOGUE OF CORK-BASED EMIGRANT SHIPS 1815-60

Fig. 35. Queenstown Cork I wrote a paper a few years ago after I learned that a branch of the 19 th century Suttons of Cork were deeply immersed in the Cork maritime community, of which I knew nothing. I discovered that those Suttons were related by marriage to several other seagoing families and realized the strong predisposition of intermarriage between maritime families, just as exists between farming families – folks with common interests drawn together. A small reality, but useful in my understanding of interactions within the Cork mariner community. Curiosity about the ships of Cork and their acquisition led me to draw up a broad sampling of ships, their size, design, place and date of construction, their ownership, and any readily available crew details. It became rapidly evident that the Cork shipping fleet was quite small and that the vessels too were commonly interlinked; connected by construction, cargoes, trade routes, their ownership, and their crews. The result was an online book, “ 19 th Century Cork Sutton Mariners, Sailing Ships and Crews ”, that offered a broad overview of the Cork maritime community in those times.

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