Samuel Francis Scoates was born on March
25th 1825 in the parish of St Johns Margate, Kent, England Margate
was a very small fishing port in those years but now it has grown
into a fair size town and very little fishing is carried out in present
times but it is one of the very important coastal towns of East Kent.
On
May 7th 1848 Samuel F Scoates married Ann Male at Chislet
a tiny village just outside Canterbury, Kent,
Ann Male came from a
very large family in the village of Upstreet near Chislet in Kent situated on what was the major road from London
to Dover.
Samuel was a master mariner and owned several fishing boats
one was named “Dester” used for home trade fishing in the North Sea,
the details of the “Dester” are as follows Official #19939 of Ramsgate,
Kent, registered 25/10/1847 and of 22 tons.
Another vessel owned by
Capt S F Scoates was the “Elisha” built in 1849 at Sandwich,
Kent, the official number was 62254 it was a wooden sailing
vessel and cutter rigged weighing 35 tons and registered as 202 of
Ramsgate, Kent.
Capt Samuel F Scoates family consisted of two sons
and four daughters
William Richard Scoates was born on March 26 1854
at Ramsgate, Kent and died in Mar 1937 at Ramsgate, Kent, England.
Francis
James Scoates was born on February 15th 1863 in Ramsgate, Kent died
in Feb 1927 at Ramsgate, Kent, England
Harriet Ann Scoates was born
on December 19th 1851 at Ramsgate, Kent died in July 1895 at Ramsgate,
Kent, England.
Jessie Louisa Scoates was born in 1857 in New York America
died November 1933 at Folkstone, Kent, England.
Sophia Scoates
was born 1861 at Ramsgate, Kent. died on a date unknown.
Alice
Elizabeth Scoates was born in 1866 at Ramsgate, Kent died on a date
unknown.
Capt S F Scoates was presented with a solid gold pocket
watch and chain from President Ulysses Simpson Grant for his action
in saving the Capt and crew of the American Barque “Argentine” at
Galloper Sands in the North Sea,
there is a Citation with the award
a copy of the Citation was obtained for me by John Scoates of Jacksonville,
Florida, U.S.A.
My grandfather was given the middle name of “Simpson”
in honour of this award.
Capt Samuel F Scoates was lost at sea with
the “Elisha” during severe gales in the North Sea during 1882, his
body was never recovered but there is a remembrance on his wife`s
headstone in the cemetery at St Lawrence,Ramsgate, Kent,England.
