Forster Gallery

Built in Sunderland in 1833 the Forster was a wood snow of 245gt. Her dimensions were 87.0 x 25.7 x 16.9.

Owners: 1833 J Forster, Sunderland; 1838 Hartlepool Original Shipping Co.

Masters: 1833-38 J Forster; 1838-40 Cato; 1840-42 L McLearon.

History: 15 May 1835 took on board seven men from an island near Pabou. They were from the brig Clyde of Troon which had been wrecked near the island; July 1836 sailed from Quebec bound for Sunderland with a crew of eight; 1836 Sunderland for Hamburg; 7 January 1839 Bound from Hartlepool for London off Flamborough Head fell over on her broadside but righted after her masts were cut away. She became leaky & was abandoned 100 miles off Flamborough. She was recovered; 1840 repairs carried out; 29 October 1841 she was in a squall off Sardinia; 1841 the crew rescued sixteen Greek seaman from a wreck.

Forster was wrecked outside Selina Bar at Galatz on or about 28 May 1842. No lives were lost & part of her stores were saved.

Formed in 1835 under the management of Robinson Watson and with a capital of £50,054. The shareholders were paid extremely high dividends which probably brought about the downfall of the Company. The shareholders were; Thomas Thompson of Stockton; Thomas Allison Tenant (railway clerk) Stockton; Joshua Byers (timber and lead merchant) Stockton; Ralph Walker of Stockton and Thomas Fox (spirit merchant) of Norton. William Lisle (miller) and William Geoge Jackson (grocer and druggist) both of Hartlepool. Although some of the shareholders were from Stockton-on-Tees all their vessels were known as Hartlepool ships and traded from that port.

The company went into liquidation in 1843 with some of their ships purchased by the Phoenix Shipping  Co. Those ships are  listed under that company. They were: Allison, Evenwood, George William and Schiedam.