"Clanmcpherson" - Glasgow

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Does dim enw ar gefn y llun bach hwn o’r llong ‘Clanmcpherson’ ond mae’n bosib iawn mai Capt John Henry Price sydd i weld wrth y llyw.

Cafodd ei eni yn 1852, a magwyd ef yn Abergwaun yn fab i Thomas a Jane Price. Morwr oedd Thomas a anwyd yn Dinas ac a dreuliodd y rhan fwyaf o’i fywyd ar fwrdd llong.

Yn 1861, roedd John Henry yn 9 oed ac yn byw yn ‘Main St’ gyda’i fam a’i frodyr a chwiorydd – Anna Jane, William a Martha. Ganwyd pob un ohonynt yn Abergwaun.

Rhaid bod John wedi setlo ar y syniad o ‘fynd i’r môr’ yn gynnar. Erbyn 1877, cofnodwyd ei fod ar fwrdd llong y ‘Standard Bearer’, ac wedyn llongau eraill – Illimani (1878-80), Overdale(1880-83), Gallovidian (1883-87)….. Er hyn,  cafodd gyfle i briodi gyda merch leol – Elizabeth Vaughan Clay yn 1882. Ar 14-6-1884, cafodd eu mab, Thomas James Price ei eni. Yn 1891, crwt ysgol 9 oed oedd Thomas, ei dad ar y môr, ac yr oedd ef a’i fam yn byw drws nesa at ei dadcu, James Clay, morwr wedi ymddeol, yn y Cwm. Roedd hanes yn ailadrodd eu hunan.

Ond, roedd newid mawr ar y gorwel i Thomas. Erbyn 1901, roedd yn brentis yn Abertawe, yn dysgu sut oedd bod yn blwmer yn trin pibau dwr. Yn anaml y byddai’n gweld ei dad a oedd ar y môr am gyfnodau hir.

Daeth gofid yn 1908 wrth i neges gyrraedd Abergwaun yn sôn am salwch Capten John H Price tra ar daith yn cario glo rhwng Newcastle yn New South Wales, Awstralia a Valpariso. Yn ninas Iquique, (porthladd yng Ngwlad Chile), roedd yn yr ysbyty yn derbyn triniaeth.

Wedi wythnosau, daeth y newyddion drwg am farwolaeth Capt Price i glustiau’r teulu yn Abergwaun, ond nid oedd y gofid drosodd eto. Roedd mab  i deulu arall o’r ardal – Timothy Morgan John, o Wdig, wedi cydio yn y llyw er mwyn hwylio’r Clanmcpherson adre. Am fisoedd ni fu sôn amdani, a phawb yn ofni’r gweithaf. O’r diwedd, ar Fawrth 26ain, 1909, clywyd bod y llong a’r criw yn saff yn Taltal, porthladd heb fod ym mhell o Iquique. Ond, o fewn tri mis, drylliwyd pob gobaith wrth i’r llong ddiflanu a chollwyd Timothy a’r criw i gyd. Ni welwyd y Clanmcpherson eto.

Erbyn 1911, roedd Thomas, y crwt a fu yn brentis yn Abertawe, yn rhedeg garej (‘motor garage proprietor’) yn ôl y cyfrifiad. Ceir hysbyseb am y busnes fan hyn. Roedd ef a’i fam yn byw yn ‘Bridge House’, Cwm Abergwaun.

Erbyn 1939, roedd Thomas yn ddyn priod, a chanddo ddau o blant yn byw yn ardal Pentowr.  Roedd yn bartner mewn busnes ‘laundry’… o bosib, Gwynfa Steam Laundry.  Yr oedd wedi colli ei fam ers 1936. Roedd y teulu i gyd yn aelodau yng Nghapel Pentowr ac mae eu carreg fedd i’w gweld ym mynwent y Capel ym mhenucha’r dre.

Llong hwylio a adeiladwyd gan gwmni Russell & Co, Greenock, yn 1885 oedd y Clanmcpherson. Cofrestrwyd hi i gwmni T. Dunlop & Sons yn Glasgow.

There is no name on the back of this small picture of the ship ‘Clanmcpherson’ but it is very possible that it is Capt John Henry Price at the helm.

He was born in 1852, and grew up in Fishguard, the son of Thomas and Jane Price. Thomas was a Master Mariner who was born in Dinas and spent most of his life on board ship.

In 1861, John Henry was 9 years old and living in ‘Main St’ with his mother and his siblings – Anna Jane, William and Martha. All of them were born at Fishguard.

John must have settled on the idea of ​​’going to sea’ early on. By 1877, it is recorded that he was on board the ship ‘Standard Bearer’, and then a series of ships – Illimani (1878-80), Overdale (1880-83), Gallovidian (1883-87)….. Despite this, he had the opportunity to marry a local girl – Elizabeth Vaughan Clay in 1882.

On 14-6-1884, their son, Thomas James Price was born. In 1891, Thomas was a 9-year-old schoolboy, his father at sea. He lived with his mother, next door to his grandfather, James Clay, a retired sailor, in Lower Town. History was repeating itself.

But, a big change was on the horizon for Thomas. By 1901, he was a 16yr old apprentice in Swansea, learning his trade as a plumber. He rarely saw his father.

Trouble came in 1908 when a message arrived at Fishguard. Captain John H Price, while carrying coal between Newcastle,N.S.W. Australia and Valpariso had been taken ill and was in hospital. In the city of Iquique, (a port in Chile), he was receiving treatment.

After several weeks, the bad news arrived of Capt Price’s death, but that was not all. The son of another family from the area – Timothy Morgan John, from Goodwick, had taken the helm to sail the Clanmcpherson home. For months there were no sightings of her, and everyone feared the worst. Finally, on March 26th, 1909, it was heard that the ship and the crew were safe in Taltal, a port not far from Iquique.  But, within three months, all hope was again dashed as the ship disappeared and Timothy and the crew never made contact again. Inspite of a Board of Trade inquiry, it was as if the ship had never existed.

By 1911, Thomas, the lad who had been an apprentice in Swansea, was a ‘motor garage proprietor’ according to the census. An advertisement for the business appeared in the County Echo here. He and his mother lived at ‘Bridge House’, Lower Fishguard.

By 1939, Thomas was a married man, with two children living in the Tower Hill area. He was a partner in a ‘laundry’ business… possibly Gwynfa Steam Laundry. He had lost his mother since 1936. The family were all members of Capel Pentowr and their tombstone can be seen in the chapel cemetery at the top of town.

The Clanmcpherson was a three masted sailing ship built by Russell & Co, Greenock, in 1885. She was registered to T. Dunlop & Sons in Glasgow.