In 1837 Lewis records that there were 690 Wexfordmen sailing in 110 registered vessels, and 2 ships sailed regular scheduled trips between Wexford and Liverpool. One of these vessels was 'Town of Wexford' which had been built locally. Passage on that boat to Liverpool in 1837 cost 12/6 saloon and 6/= steerage.
An enquiry about pensions to the Seamen’s Fund Trustees in 1839 elicited some interesting information on the port at that time. No pensions were paid to persons in Wexford in the year ended December 31st 1839 because there were no applications from the port other than for temporary relief, but that claimant died before a pension could be granted. This shows that sailors in Wexford had organised themselves to the extent of securing pensions.
The letter went on to remark that there were at that time in the service of the port a great number of very aged seamen who would soon be claiming pensions.
In 1840, Wexford quays were said to be some 60 feet wide (this would not have included the pile wharf or woodenworks which were not yet built) and would by then have reached 150 yards more seaward than the original coastline of Weissfiord. This latter statement was borne out some years ago when builders working in Anne Street came upon a layer of beach sand some halfway up that thoroughfare. Also in 1840 the area at the bridge was called Wellington Quay and that beside Bank of Ireland was known as Wigram Quay.
J.G. Kohl wrote in his book in 1842 that a distinguishing characteristic of Wexford Harbour was that it possessed more ships of its own than any other port in Ireland. He went on to say that a great many ships were built there and that there he saw for the first time the 'Parkins Patent Slip' for raising and lowering ships under construction. He also referred to the peculiar method of carrying flour sacks witnessed there. They placed the sack on their back but instead of reaching back over their shoulders to hold it, they placed their hands behind, under the bag to carry it.
The worldwide travel of Wexford sailors and ships is demonstrated by the following descriptions.
The 'Forth' a 200 tonner owned by Allen and the 'Selskar' of 81 tons also owned by the Allen Brothers sailed the 'grain route' to the ports of the Black Sea. The 'Undine' carried fruit from Patros (now Patra) in Greece and Myrna (now Ismir) in Turkey. The Devereux-owned 'Hantoon', and Allens' 'Saltee' sailed to Canada regularly for timber and the "Wexford" carried emigrants via Liverpool to the Southern United States returning with cotton for the Lancashire mills. The older
'Menapia' (not to be confused with a 20th century vessel of the same name) sailed regularly to West Africa, trading trinkets for palm oil. Her crew of Wexford sailors often fell prey to malaria or blackwater fever.
The wages paid to those involved in this important trading had increased unevenly in the previous 50
years as this comparison shows:
The payments are per month.
1790
1846
Master
£10-0-0
£10-0-0
Chief (First) Mate
£ 3-5-0
£ 5-5-0
Second Mate
£ 2-5-0
£3-10-0
Carpenter
£ 3-5-0
£ 5-5-0
Cook
£ 2-7-6
£ 3-7-6
Seaman
£ 2-0-0
£ 3-0-0
Boys
12/-
£ 1-5-0
There would also have been apprentices on board some of the ships. These could have been aged from 12
years upwards. The boys were taken on to learn the trade of seamanship but at times were used more as a source of free labour.
In 1854 an act was passed allowing the Poor Law Guardians to apprentice boys to sea, provided the boys agreed. Such boys would otherwise have been sent to the Workhouse (or Poorhouse): There are no records of boys from Wexford being apprenticed in such circumstances and this may be attributable to members of existing seafaring families apprenticing their own sons under the supervision of relatives.
A harbour record from 1831 shows that 583 ships berthed at Wexford in the previous year. Of these one was a foreign ship, 146 were coasters and 442 were British registered (this would have included those for whom Wexford was the home port). The number of these ships weighing over 40 tons was 435 with the remaining 148 under 40 tons.
There was 4,327 tons of ballast delivered to ships by cots and gabbards in that year before the construction of the Ballast Bank.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Wexford was dominated by a number of influential families, all of whom were involved to some degree in the harbour or its trade.
The Devereux Family
This was perhaps the most important family as
far as the port was concerned. Richard
Devereux had been successful in business and
shipping at the turn of the century and his sons
John Thomas and Richard continued to build
on his success. The family owned numerous
barques, brigs and schooners which were
employed in the Mediterranean fruit and grain
trades and also on coastal and cross channel
routes. A number of ships of the Devereux
fleet were built in the family's own yards. The
first of these was a little wooden schooner, "The Sidney" of ninety tons, which was launched in 1837. In 1846 Richard Devereux, bought the Sunderland built schooner, 'Vision' of 143 tons and it was with this
