{"id":224,"date":"2026-07-29T04:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T04:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikecaine.im\/?page_id=224"},"modified":"2026-08-02T11:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T11:16:07","slug":"wilby-rackham-letters-intro","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mikecaine.im\/index.php\/wilby-rackham-letters-intro\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilby Rackham Letters Intro"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Maritime History \u2022 Biography & Letters<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wilby Rackham - His Life and Letters\n Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Follow the remarkable journey of Captain Wilby Rackham, from his early years in Suffolk to his career as a respected merchant sea captain. Drawing on family letters, historical records, and genealogical research, this account explores his voyages, marriage, and eventual disappearance at sea in 1868, preserving the legacy of a life shaped by the maritime world.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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01<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Captain Wilby Rackham (1831\u20131868): A Life at Sea<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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C<\/strong>aptain<\/strong>\u00a0W<\/strong>ilby<\/strong>\u00a0R<\/strong>ackham<\/strong>\u00a0was lost at sea in 1868. Following his death, his widow, Mary Billington Rackham, earned her living as a Monthly Nurse, at Hanley in Staffordshire, where she had family connections. At some time before 1881 she came to the Isle of Man with her aged parents, William and Sarah Crosbie, and with her daughter Mary Jordan Rackham and her son Charles Wilby Rackham. She rented a property at 17, Victoria Terrace, Douglas, which she ran as a small guest house. In due course her son, Charles Wilby, went to Liverpool as a ship\u2019s carpenter and in 1885 her daughter Mary Jordan married James Caine.<\/p>

In later years Wilby\u2019s widow, Mary, lived with her daughter and her husband James at his drapery shop at 49, Athol Street, Douglas. It was here that she would recount to her grandchildren, of whom Nance Caine was one, episodes in the lives of her late husband and herself. Alice Caine also recalled her grandmother in an article in “Manx Life”, published in August 1993 and entitled “Memories of Childhood”, in which she wrote that her grandmother would tell her “…stories about ‘The Captain’, my grandfather, and how she sailed with him to the West Indies and about the pet monkey on the ship and the pig who was known as Dennis…”<\/em>. Nance Caine, too, remembered grandmother Rackham reading from the letters which Wilby had sent to her, and, later when her grandmother\u2019s eyes were failing, reading the letters to her.<\/p>

Mary Billington Rackham died in 1920 in her eighty-first year. She had lovingly preserved her late husband\u2019s letters along with various other letters and papers. In 1939 Nance Caine undertook the task of transcribing and arranging this collection. The completed transcript, which amounted to around 105 pages, she presented to her niece Mary Rackham (Mollie) Teare, who was born in 1920 just before Mary Rackham\u2019s death, along with a letter which forms the prologue to her transcription.<\/p>

In the course of time, the letters passed into the possession of Mollie\u2019s brother Martin and I am indebted to him for the loan of the collection for use in my studies of our family history. The letters solved the mystery of where and when my grandmother, Mary Jordan Caine, was born and ended family speculation on that topic.<\/p>

Apart from the purely genealogical interest, the letters portray a picture of life which is now difficult to imagine. They tell, amongst other matters, of voyages lasting up to ten months, of living in lodgings convenient to the seaports, of a journey from Glasgow to Liverpool made by ship when we would now go overland and of open railway carriages exposed to the weather. In the final part, the cohesion of the Rackham family unit when Wilby\u2019s vessel was overdue, becomes very apparent.<\/p>

The letters have been reproduced by computer using Optical Character Recognition. They have been modified in places by the insertion of punctuation and of capitals to assist in reading, but in general the original layout has been followed. Original notes by Nance Caine are in brackets (—-) whereas my own additions and notes inserted into Nance\u2019s text are in square brackets [—-].<\/p>

John Wilby Caine.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Onchan,<\/p>

Isle of Man.<\/p>

25th<\/sup>\u00a0April 1998.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Wilby Rackham\u00a0 was born at\u00a0W<\/strong>rentham<\/strong>, about eight miles south of Lowestoft, in the county of Suffolk. The surname Rackham is frequently found in East Anglia, and occurs in Norfolk and more especially, in Suffolk. The earliest known member of Wilby\u2019s branch of the Rackham family was a Benjamin Rackham who was born in about 1656. Benjamin\u2019s son Natham Rackham was born at\u00a0Farnham<\/strong>, about six and a half miles west north west of Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast in 1705. He married a Mary Mayhew, at\u00a0Melton<\/strong>, about eleven and a half miles west south west of Aldeburgh, on 25th July 1731. Their son Thomas Rackham was born on 15th June 1740 at\u00a0Tunstall<\/strong>, a few miles south of Farnham, and married Margaret Elizabeth Langley on 31st December 1764 at\u00a0North Cove<\/strong>, between Beccles and Lowestoft. Their daughter Maria Rackham was baptised on 11th January 1780 and was the unmarried mother of John Rackham, born on 23rd September 1798 at\u00a0Rushmere<\/strong>, about two miles due west of\u00a0Kessingland<\/strong>. These places are situated on or near the Suffolk seaboard between North Cove at the northern extremity to Melton in the south, within an area approximately 27 miles in length.<\/p>

Wilby was one of John Rackham\u2019s eleven children. John Rackham was married on 15th November 1821 to Sarah Wealey, who was born in about 1793. Sarah was the widow of William Wealey, or more correctly, Whalley, who died in 1818 at Covehithe, near the coast south east of Wrentham. All of their family had died as infants. The Wrentham marriage register noted\u00a0 –\u00a015 November 1821 John Rackham, bachelor, Sarah Wealey, widow, both of this parish with consent of parties by banns<\/em><\/strong>. There were six children of John Rackham’s first marriage. Their baptismal entries in the parish registers for Wrentham gave, in each case, the parents as John and Sarah Rackham of Wrentham. John Rackham’s occupation was given as “Labourer” in the case of the first born child and as “Shoemaker” in the case of subsequent children.<\/p>

John and Sarah Rackham\u2019s first born was baptised as\u00a0John<\/strong>\u00a0at Wrentham parish church on 17th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1821.\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0was baptised on 26th<\/sup>\u00a0June 1823, and daughter\u00a0Hannah<\/strong>\u00a0on 25th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1824.\u00a0Charles<\/strong>\u00a0was baptised on 9th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1825. He went to sea as a boy around 1840 and we will encounter him again in this account. Twin sons\u00a0Edward and Robert<\/strong>\u00a0were both baptised privately on 4th<\/sup>\u00a0November 1829 which suggests that they were sickly at birth and both died within a short time afterwards. Edward was buried on 9th<\/sup>\u00a0November and Robert on 6th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1829. Their mother, Sarah, also died and was buried on 30th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1829, aged 36.<\/p>

Following the death of his wife Sarah, John Rackham married again and the marriage is recorded on 15th<\/sup>\u00a0August 1830 in the parish register for Wrentham, a village about 3 miles south west of Kessingland, near Lowestoft, Suffolk. The entry reads –\u00a0MARRIAGES solemnised in the Parish of Wrentham in the County of Suffolk in the Year 1830. John Rackham of this Parish widower, and Elizabeth Simons of this Parish spinster were married in this church by Banns this Fifteenth day of August in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty<\/em><\/strong>. The register entry, number 121 of page 41, shows that the bride signed the entry as\u00a0Elizabeth Simmons<\/strong>, not Simons.<\/p>

John and Elizabeth Rackham had five children. The first four were baptised at what appears to have been a mass baptism on 30th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1837 at the\u00a0Anglican church of St Nicholas at Wrentham<\/strong>. John Rackham\u2019s family by his second marriage were as follows.<\/p>

Wilby<\/strong>\u00a0was born 21st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831 although the date is given in error by Suffolk Record Office as 31st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831.\u00a0Frederick<\/strong>\u00a0was born 17th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1832. He emigrated to Australia in 1852 where he married Ellen Bloodworth. He died at Millicent, in Australia, aged 60 on 13th<\/sup>\u00a0August 1893.\u00a0George<\/strong>\u00a0was born in about 1834 and died of smallpox in 1847 at Kessingland, aged 13.\u00a0Jemima<\/strong>\u00a0was born in about 1836 and married George William Bird, a sluice manager, on 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1856 at Kessingland. They lived at\u00a0Gisleham<\/strong>. Jemima died in 1883 aged 47.<\/p>

John and Elizabeth Rackham\u2019s fifth child,\u00a0Edward,<\/strong>\u00a0was born on 16th<\/sup>\u00a0April 1839 after the family had moved to\u00a0Kessingland<\/strong>\u00a0in about 1838. Edward married Miranda Dann on 25th<\/sup>\u00a0May 1865 at Shottesham, Norfolk. In 1868 Edward Rackham had charge of the Kessingland Post Office and his daughters continued to be involved with the same Office until at least 1946. Mary Jordan Caine, wife of James Caine, visited her cousins Kate and Ada Rackham at the Post Office in 1929.<\/p>

The letters of Edward Rackham and his wife Miranda, and those of Jemima Bird, nee Rackham, feature amongst those which Wilby\u2019s wife, Mary Billington Crosbie, treasured so much and which Nance Caine transcribed for her niece Mary Rackham (Mollie) Faragher and in so doing preserved them for posterity. Edward and Miranda named their first child, born in Kessingland in 1866, Wilby Edward after the child\u2019s uncle and father. Sadly, he died within a few months. Their next son was William Alfred, born 4th<\/sup>\u00a0May 1868, and referred to by Miranda as \u201cMy Darling little boy\u201d in her letters of 19th<\/sup>\u00a0November and 23rd<\/sup>\u00a0December 1868 to Wilby\u2019s widow, Mary.<\/p>

Wilby\u2019s parents, John and Elizabeth Rackham, made a further move to\u00a0Gisleham<\/strong>\u00a0at some time prior to the 1851 Census. The villages of\u00a0Wrentham<\/strong>,\u00a0Kessingland<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Gisleham<\/strong>\u00a0are all within a few miles of each other.<\/p>

Research into Wilby\u2019s birth was dogged by a series of false leads. He was the first child of John Rackham and his second wife, Elizabeth Simmons, and was first noted in the International Genealogical Index (IGI) for Suffolk which listed the baptism on the 26th<\/sup>. February 1831 of a\u00a0Welby<\/strong>\u00a0(sic) Rackham, son of John and Elizabeth Rackham at\u00a0Wrentham Independent Congregational Church<\/strong>. The register of that church gives the date of birth as 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831. Also listed in the IGI, as the son of the same parents, is a baptismal entry from the register of the\u00a0Wrentham Anglican parish church of St Nicholas<\/strong>\u00a0for a\u00a0Wilby<\/strong>\u00a0Rackham at Wrentham on 30th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1837.<\/p>

In the absence of an age at death for Capt. Wilby Rackman, it had seemed that either child could have been him. However, it was thought\u00a0 unlikely that two sons would have been given the same name during the lifetime of the first born and the 1831 child might have died in infancy.<\/p>

In 1997,\u00a0Maritime Research of Hythe, Southampton<\/strong>\u00a0were commissioned to investigate Captain Wilby Rackham and their findings proved this assumption was incorrect and that the child Wilby, who had become a seafarer, had, in fact, been born in 1831. This was evidenced by an application for an examination for his Master’s Certificate, signed by Wilby Rackham on which he gave his date of birth as 21st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831.<\/p>

In August 1997\u00a0Suffolk County Council Records Office<\/strong>\u00a0was engaged under its Postal Research Service to check the entry in the registers of the 1837 baptism to see if an indication of the child’s age was noted. Their record of the Wrentham parish register entry was –<\/p>

30th July 1837. Wilby son of John and Elizabeth Rackham of Wrentham shoemaker born 31 January 1831.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

This transcript of the parish register, supplied by Suffolk Record Office, gives the date of birth of this child as 31st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831. This is at variance with Wilby\u2019s own statement as to his date of birth and is probably an error in computerising the registers where 31 has been entered rather than 21. However, it did become clear that there was only the one son named Wilby and that he was baptised twice, once in the non-conformist congregational church in1831 and again six years later in the Anglican parish church.<\/p>

Wilby Rackham was not the only one of John Rackham’s eleven children to have been baptised on two occasions. His brother Frederick was baptised on 5th<\/sup>\u00a0March 1833 at the Wrentham Congregational church and again at the parish church on 30th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1837.<\/p>

Charles Rackham<\/strong>, a son of John and Sarah Rackham who had been privately baptised on 9th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1825, is recorded in the Wrentham parish church registers as having been publicly (sic) baptised on 30th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1837. It is noteworthy that on that date all four children of John and Elizabeth Rackham, who had been born at Wrentham, were also baptised. Charles Rackham, who was a half brother of Wilby, went to sea as a boy around 1840 when he would have been 14 or 15 years of age. He was serving as an able seaman aboard the clipper\u00a0“Phaeton”<\/em>,<\/strong>\u00a0carrying Chinese passengers from Hong Kong to the Australian goldfields, when he was shipwrecked at Guichen Bay, near Robe, in the vicinity of Adelaide, Australia, on 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1857. There, by chance, he met\u00a0Frederick Rackham<\/strong>, who was his own half brother, and a blood brother of\u00a0Wilby Rackham<\/strong>. Frederick, had emigrated by assisted passage in 1852 and had settled in Robe. Charles married Ellen Parsons at Robe in 1860. They christened their son Wilby Rackham after Charles Rackham’s half brother Captain Wilby Rackham, who, in turn, christened his son Charles Wilby after Charles Rackham. Charles Rackham’s descendants still live in Australia.<\/p>

The use of the name Wilby became something of a tradition with the Australian Rackham family and in 1998 four members of the family, still living, had this name.<\/p>

John Rackham died at Gisleham on 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0October 1866. His death certificate gave the cause of death as cholera, his age as 68 and his occupation as a shoemaker. The Gisleham register of burials, page 25, entry No. 193, records his burial there on 5th<\/sup>\u00a0October 1866. His wife Elizabeth died at Gisleham on 27th<\/sup>\u00a0April 1864 aged 65. The Gisleham burial register, entry No. 182 for 1864, lists her burial there on 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0May 1864.<\/p>

Wilby\u2019s half brother Charles, born in 1825 and some 6 or 7 years older than Wilby, went to sea in about 1840. Whether this influenced Wilby in his choice of career or whether living on the Suffolk coast was a natural draw towards a seafaring life, we will never know.<\/p>

However, Wilby did decide to go to sea and the earliest record of this is his Register Ticket issued at Yarmouth on 16th<\/sup>\u00a0May 1845. This reads\u00a0 \u2013<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

No. of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0137, 791<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Register Ticket<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Wilby Rackham<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Born at<\/strong>\u00a0 Wrentham\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in the County of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Suffolk\u00a0\u00a0 21\u00a0\u00a0day of<\/strong>\u00a0 January 1831.<\/p>

Capacity<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Boy<\/p>

Height<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 4 ft\u00a0 7 1\/4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hair<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Brown\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Complexion<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Ruddy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eyes<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Grey<\/p>

Marks<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Scar on ??\u00a0\u00a0 ????<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

First went to sea as<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Boy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in the year<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 1845<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Has served in the Royal Navy<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Has been in Foreign Service<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No<\/p>

When unemployed resides at<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kessingland<\/p>

Age when Ticketed<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Can Write<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes<\/p>

Issued at<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yarmouth\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0day of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 May\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a018<\/strong>\u00a0 45<\/p>

Printed to the right of the above details are vertical columns. The first two are headed 1845 and 1846. The first of these, that for 1845, reads 684 and 108. The number 108 refers to Yarmouth as the port of Registry of the vessel he sailed on. The number 684 is known as the Port Rotation Number. Beneath these numbers are the figures 12\u00a0 45 signifying the date of December 1845. For 1846 there are two sets of numbers, 138\u00a0 108,\u00a0 6 46, and 299\u00a0 108,\u00a0 12 46. These refer to a further two voyages on a Yarmouth registered vessel, probably that on which he sailed in December 1845, and these voyages were in June and December 1846.<\/p>

A Register Ticket for Wilby\u2019s half brother Charles, No. 311, 066, was issued at Yarmouth in March 1846. This gives his place of birth as Wrentham on 6th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1825. He is described as a Mariner and when unemployed he lived at Wangford. Research by Mr. Stan Rackham indicates that Charles\u2019 and Wilby\u2019s paths may have crossed on occasion. Wilby was ticketed in Yarmouth in May 1845 and Charles was aboard a vessel there the following month.<\/p>

A further Register Ticket was issued, this time at Newcastle, and bears the same date as his apprenticeship indenture.\u00a0 This reads\u00a0 –<\/p>

NAME AND DESCRIPTION<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

No. of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0350,122<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Register Ticket<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

William Rackham<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Born at<\/strong>\u00a0 Wrentham\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in the County of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Suffolk\u00a0\u00a0 21\u00a0\u00a0day of<\/strong>\u00a0 January 1831.<\/p>

Capacity<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 App. [rentice]<\/p>

Height<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Growing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hair<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Brown\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Complexion<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Fair\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eyes<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Grey\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marks<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 None<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

First went to sea as<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Boy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0in the year<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 1845<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Has served in the Royal Navy<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Has been in Foreign Service<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No<\/p>

When unemployed resides at<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 N. Shields<\/p>

Age when Ticketed<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Can Write<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes<\/p>

Issued at<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Newcastle\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0day of<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Feby\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a018<\/strong>\u00a0 47<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Wilby\u2019s given name has been mis-spelled as William.<\/p>

Two further documents relating to Wilby\u2019s apprenticeship with a shipping company and with his early days at sea, which were formerly in the possession of Martin Faragher, are now held by the writer. The first is his\u00a0Indenture of Apprenticeship<\/strong>. He was indentured to William Elliott of North Shields in the county of Northumberland on 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1847 at the age of 16 for a period of 4 years. It is endorsed, (very faintly),\u00a0\u00a0“North Shields\u00a0 Port of Newcastle. 3rd February 1847. Parolled\u00a0 (??)”<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0and with a signature.\u00a0 Another endorsement on this document reads\u00a0\u00a0“This is to Certify that the within named Wilby Rackham has served the full term of his Apprenticeship to the satisfaction of his Employers.\u00a0 Wm. Elliott”<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>This document has the earliest known example of his signature and he signed it\u00a0Wilby Rackham<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0which refutes the baptismal spelling of\u00a0Welby<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in the register of the Independent Congregational church at Wrentham. (The name Elliott also occurs in a firm at Newcastle by the name of Elliott, Lowrey and Dunford operating in 1860 and in a firm trading in 1899 under the name of Dunford and Elliott).<\/p>

The second document relates that after completing his apprenticeship, he sailed on the Brig Elliotts as an Able Seaman in March 1851 but it is noted that on 14th<\/sup>\u00a0March he was “Discharged on Loss of Ship” after a voyage of 6 days. The document, entitled\u00a0“No. 1 Dis”<\/strong>\u00a0 [Discharge], reads –\u00a0“This is to Certify that Wilby Rackham whose Register Ticket is numbered 350.122 served as Seaman on board the Brig Elliotts from the 8th day of March to the 14th day of March 1851 and was discharged from the Ship at Stornoway on the loss of the Ship.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stornoway\u00a0\u00a0 March 24th \/ 51.\u00a0 Robert Walker. Master.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Amongst the records which were discovered by Maritime Research was one entitled\u00a0List of Testimonials and Statement of Service.<\/strong>\u00a0 This is a record, entered on an official form and verified at the Register Office of Seamen. It covers the period 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1847 to 1st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1859. During that time he served on \u201cElliotts\u201d of North Shields, \u201cDefender\u201d of Newcastle, \u201cPrompt\u201d of Shields, \u201cJason\u201d of London, \u201cArethusa\u201d of North Shields, \u201cLeipzig\u201d of Grimsby, \u201cRose\u201d of Sunderland and \u201cRoyalist\u201d of Newcastle, in each case as an able seaman. In August 1855 he joined the \u201cCresswell\u201d of Shields as Cook and Steward. The following year he served as an able seaman for the last time on the \u201cAmbassador\u201d of Shields.<\/p>

In addition to Wilby\u2019s List of Testimonials and Statement of Service, Maritime Research of\u00a0<\/strong>Southampton produced a further seven documents which included his\u00a0Certificate of Competency as Second Mate<\/strong>. This was issued under the Seal of the Board of Trade on 6th<\/sup>\u00a0October 1856 and entered at the General Register and Record Office of Seamen on 7th<\/sup>\u00a0October. The certificate that he had passed the requisite examination as Second Mate was issued at North Shields and gave Wilby\u2019s address as Dock Lane, Bull Ring, North Shields, Northumberland. Immediately after qualifying as Second Mate he passed, again at North Shields, the examination as\u00a0Only Mate<\/strong>\u00a0and his certificate was issued on the 16th<\/sup>\u00a0October 1856.<\/p>

In October 1856, Wilby, as a qualified Mate, sailed as such on the \u201cEliza and Caroline\u201d of Shields. This was followed in April 1858 by a position as Mate of the \u201cQueen Victoria\u201d of London and then in August 1858 as Mate of the Brig \u201cHarriet Julia\u201d registered at Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis. It was whilst serving on the \u201cHarriet Julia\u201d that her Master died at sea and Wilby became Master on 17th<\/sup>\u00a0December of that year. He was not then in possession of a Master\u2019s Certificate.<\/p>

Another document produced by Maritime Research was an\u00a0Application to be Examined<\/strong>\u00a0for a\u00a0Master’s Ordinary Certificate of Competency in the Foreign trade.<\/strong>\u00a0Wilby Rackham declared on this form, which he signed on 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1859, that he was born at WRENTHAM in the county of SUFFOLK on 21st<\/sup>\u00a0January 1831. He gave his address as GISLEHAM, Near Lowestoft, Suffolk. (Gisleham is a tiny village approximately midway between Lowestoft and Kessingland and Wilby’s parents were living there in February 1859 at Black Street.). The application was addressed to the Local Marine Board for the Port of Glasgow and he requested that his Certificate be sent to the Shipping Office or Custom House at Glasgow. At the foot of the form is a note dated 4th<\/sup>\u00a0February 1859 that he had “Passed as Ordinary Master”. The resulting\u00a0Certificate of Competency as Master<\/strong>\u00a0was sealed and issued by the Board of Trade on 8th<\/sup>\u00a0February 1859.<\/p>

Wilby\u2019s Statement of Service from February 1847 to January 1859 gave his time served at sea during that period as 9 years, 3 months and 15 days. This included the four years of his apprenticeship. The printed Statement of Service form included the words \u201cTime served at sea for which I now produce certificates<\/em><\/strong>\u201d and these certificates are probably the Discharge Certificates issued at the end of a voyage such as the one issued to him when the Brig Elliotts was lost on his first six day voyage as an able seaman after completing his apprenticeship. Four years are noted as being served without certificates and these are the four years of his apprenticeship.<\/p>

Another item which has survived is\u00a0Capt. Rackham’s notebook<\/strong>, actually a diary published under the name \u201cThe Mercantile Memorandum Book for 1861\u201d in which he entered some financial information. The pages which he headed \u201cAcc. of Wages since Oct 1856<\/strong>\u201d help to give meaning to the value of money during the period covered by his letters to his wife. He listed the vessel on which he served, the length of time and his monthly rate of pay which varied on the Brig \u201cHarriet Julia\u201d, for example, from \u00a34 as Mate to \u00a39 as Master.<\/p>

Brig\u00a0ELIZA AND CAROLINE<\/strong>\u00a0at \u00a36 pr Mo.\u00a0 11 Mo. 26 days – \u00a377. 2. 8<\/p>

QUEEN VICTORIA<\/strong>\u00a0 Brig. at \u00a34. 10\u00a0 for 3\u00bd\u00a0 month – \u00a314. 5. 0<\/p>

Brig\u00a0HARRIET JULIA<\/strong>,\u00a0 Mate from Aug to Nov\u00a0 4\u00a3 per Mo – \u00a312. 0. 0\u00a0\u00a0 Master\u00a0 6\u00bd\u00a0 Mo at 9\u00a3 \u00a358.10. 0<\/p>

Ship\u00a0SPES<\/strong>, Mate at 6\u00a3 pr Mo\u00a0 for 11 mo\u00a0 2 days – \u00a366. 8. 0<\/p>

Ship\u00a0ST. MAGNUS<\/strong>\u00a0 at 6\u00a3 pr Mo\u00a0 7 mo & 1 day – \u00a342. 4. 0<\/p>

Total in 5 years\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a3270. 9. 8<\/p>

It becomes clear from the addresses which Wilby gave on official documents that he would move from port to port as employment was available. When he took his examination for Master he asked for his certificate to be sent to Glasgow and it was there that he met and married his wife Mary Billington Crosbie.<\/p>

The marriage of Wilby Rackham and Mary Crosbie<\/strong>\u00a0took place at Kingston church, Glasgow. The following is from a typewritten copy made by Annie Isabel (Nance) Caine but the date does not contain the year. It would appear to be 1860 and this is confirmed by the existence of Mary’s wedding ring engraved ”\u00a0W.R. – M.C.\u00a0 1860<\/strong>\u00a0” and would also tie in with the ages given.<\/p>

On the thirty first day of December at 54 Clyde Place Glasgow Marriage (after Banns) was solemnised between us according to the forms of the Established Church of Scotland.<\/p>

Wilby Rackham\u00a0\u00a0 Mate\u00a0 (Merchant Service)\u00a0\u00a0 Bachelor\u00a0\u00a0 Aged 29<\/p>

Mary Crosbie\u00a0\u00a0 Spinster\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aged 21<\/p>

The couple\u2019s parents are listed as \u2013<\/p>

John Rackham\u00a0 Boot Maker (Master) and Elizabeth Rackham.\u00a0 Maiden name\u00a0 Simmonds<\/p>

William Crosbie\u00a0 Wine & Spirit Merchant and Sarah Crosbie.\u00a0 Maiden name\u00a0 Billington<\/p>

The ceremony was conducted by Robert Pollok, Minister of Kingston Church, Glasgow with Alexander Barry and R. Crosbie, the bride\u2019s brother, as witnesses. The entry was signed by Thomas Pollok, Assistant Registrar, and Nicol McDougal, Registrar.<\/p>

An entry in the International Genealogical Index of the Church of Latter Day Saints records the marriage in the county of Lanarkshire and confirms the date –<\/p>

RACKHAM,\u00a0 Willy\u00a0 (&)\u00a0 Mary Crosbie\u00a0 31 December 1860\u00a0 Lanark, Glasgow, Tradeston.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Wilby’s name has been miscopied and appears as Willy.<\/p>

At his marriage Wilby gave his occupation as \u201cMate. Merchant Service\u201d. Although he held a Master\u2019s Certificate of Competency he appears to have been the Mate of the \u201cSpes\u201d or possibly of the Ship \u201cSt. Magnus\u201d at that time.<\/p>

Wilby\u2019s wife Mary lived with her parents, William and Sarah Crosbie, at \u201cIvy Cottage\u201d, Langside, Glasgow. Judged by the details given in the advertisement for sale, the property was a substantial four bedroomed house, with stable and glass houses. It was described as forming\u00a0\u201ca very desirable residence<\/strong><\/em>\u201d. In later years it was occupied by a Doctor. By the date of the advertisement in 1861 the Crosbies appear to have moved to the Bull\u2019s Head Inn, Tottenham Court Road, London. In November 1861, Mary travelled from Glasgow to Hanley, where she had family, and in December she joined her parents in London. Wilby\u2019s letter of 24th<\/sup>\u00a0February 1862 contains the first hint that Mary is expecting their first child. He wrote \u2013 \u201cIf it is over before I get home you will please save me a piece of the Christening cake and a drop of the stuff to wash it down with<\/em><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>

A letter dated 25th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1862 to Wilby Rackham from his mother-in-law Sarah Crosbie confirmed the birth. It read –\u00a0“Dear Wilby,\u00a0 We received your letter and was very happy to hear that you had arrived safe and found all well. In regard to Mary and the little one I am happy to say they are getting on very well but for all that you must come home on Tuesday without fail….<\/em><\/strong>“.<\/em>\u00a0The “little one” was, of course, Mary Jordan Rackham who, in 1885, was to marry James Caine at Kirk Braddan. Other evidence, namely an envelope addressed to Mary at the Bull\u2019s Head in September 1862, strongly suggests that their daughter had been born there. The exact date was not clear but a letter dated 20th<\/sup>\u00a0July, with no year stated, which Wilby wrote to his wife from the ship Lord Elgin at anchor in the river St Lawrence, Canada,\u00a0 read –\u00a0“I was thinking of you and our dear little Polly<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0[his pet name for both wife and daughter]\u00a0yesterday and she is one year old and I was wondering whether you took her down to St James’s Park for a drink of New Milk on the first anniversary of her birth…”<\/em><\/strong>. As the child was one year old this fixes the year of the letter as 1863. So taking this literally, a letter written on 20th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1863 which speaks of his daughter’s first birthday as being\u00a0“yesterday”<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0means that she was born on 19th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1862. At the foot of the letter Wilby had written his daughter’s initials\u00a0\u00a0M.J.R.<\/strong><\/p>

The date and place of Wilby\u2019s first child, Mary Jordan Rackham, my grandmother, had long been the subject of speculation. Up until that point in my research into our family history, the only record of her birth place was in the 1881 Census for Douglas which states that she was born in England. As to the date of her birth, the best that could be done was to calculate back from her age at death which was stated to be 76 on 21st May 1939. This would give an earliest possible date of birth of 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0May 1862. She was listed as aged 18 in the Manx Census of 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0\/ 4th<\/sup>\u00a0April 1881. This would indicate an earliest possible birth date of 4th<\/sup>\u00a0April 1862. Wilby\u2019s letters have provided the answer to this question.<\/p>

Wilby wrote also in his letter of 25th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1862 that\u00a0\u00a0“….if we take up our residence apart from Father and Mother<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0[his in-laws]\u00a0it must be somewhere near the River or Docks, I often think about those pretty little houses on the Deptford Road….”<\/em><\/strong>. This was not to be. In the course of a visit by Mary to Wilby, a second daughter was born at Newport, Monmouthshire, on 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0September 1863 but lived for only a few hours. A son was born at Bucknell House, Park Road, New Wandsworth, London, on 14th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1866. This property was built speculatively by William Crosbie and Wilby also had a financial interest in the venture. The birth was registered in the name of\u00a0Wilby Crosbie Rackham<\/strong>\u00a0at Battersea, London. The baptism in the name of\u00a0Charles Wilby Rackham<\/strong>\u00a0took place on 7th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1867 at St Peter’s church, Langrove Street, Everton, Liverpool. It was from Liverpool that Wilby sailed from 1866 to 1868.<\/p>

Mr Stan Rackham of Victoria, Australia has details of vessels on which Capt. Rackham served between 1856 and 1868. This information was researched at the Public Records Office, Kew. He has supplied the main details for 1866 to 1868 as follows –<\/p>

1866\u00a0\u00a0 Official Number\u00a0\u00a0 51026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0STAR OF THE SEA<\/strong><\/p>

1866\u00a0\u00a0 Official Number\u00a0\u00a0 29970\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ALCAIG<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liverpool to Lagos<\/p>

1867\u00a0\u00a0 Official Number\u00a0\u00a0 29970\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ALCAIG<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liverpool – Lagos – Africa – Liverpool<\/p>

1868\u00a0\u00a0 Official Number\u00a0\u00a0 29970\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ALCAIG<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liverpool – Lagos. Supposed drowned. Ship not heard of since 10th<\/sup>\u00a0March. The departure date from Liverpool is confirmed by the surviving Crew List which states that the crew joined the vessel on 28th<\/sup>\u00a0February and sailed on 10 March.<\/p>

This last entry, although not the complete story, does at least fix the time scale involved in Wilby\u2019s death and eliminates the speculation as to the locality. It was through the World Wide Web Internet that some other Rackham researchers, notably Mr Stan Rackham of Australia, were introduced.<\/p>

Mr Rackham commented in 1998 that\u00a0\u00a0”\u00a0With regard to the “Memories of Childhood” stories. In 1864 Wilby was the master of a ship EMERALD ISLE OF ST. JOHN which sailed to Georgetown in British Guiana. The West Indies story could well be true\u00a0<\/em>“.<\/strong>\u00a0 This refers to the article in “Manx Life<\/strong>“,\u00a0 published in August 1993 entitled “Memories of Childhood<\/strong>” by the late Miss Alice Caine who recalled that her grandmother, Mary Billington Rackham, who died in 1920, would tell her\u00a0“…stories about ‘The Captain’, my grandfather, and how she sailed with him to the West Indies and about the pet monkey on the ship and the pig who was known as Dennis…<\/em><\/strong>“. However, this 1864 voyage to Georgetown was probably not the one on which Wilby\u2019s wife and daughter accompanied him.<\/p>

The following year a letter to his parents-in-law from the \u201cEmerald Isle\u201d at Havana and dated 16th<\/sup>\u00a0July 1865 includes the words\u00a0\u201c\u00a0Mary, myself and the little one are quite well at present\u00a0<\/em>\u201d<\/strong>. The letter is signed\u00a0\u00a0\u201c\u00a0Yours very Affectionately\u00a0\u00a0 W. & M. Rackham\u00a0<\/em>\u201d<\/strong>. This clearly indicates that his wife Mary and their daughter were with him. There was also a footnote intended to be a greeting from their daughter Mary Jordan Rackham to the child\u2019s grandparents. This read\u00a0 \u2013<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

for daddie & Grammie<\/strong><\/p>

& Willie & Bobbie<\/strong><\/p>

& Aunty Sally<\/strong><\/p>

M. J. R.<\/strong><\/p>

Wilby wrote in a letter of 5th<\/sup>\u00a0May 1866 to his brother Edward that –\u00a0 \u201cMary and our little daughter are both first rate sailors and if I go on a Pleasant voyage they will accompany me again<\/em><\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>

It is evident from Wilby\u2019s later letters from West Africa that he traded on his own behalf and presumably this was one of the privileges of a ship\u2019s Master. Nance Caine has written of the speculative building projects in which Wilby\u2019s father-in-law, William Crosbie, was involved, none too successfully. Wilby seems to have emulated his father-in-law by investing in the development of Bucknall House in New Wandsworth, London. In a letter of the 5th<\/sup>\u00a0March 1866 from the Barque Emerald Isle at Stanley Dock, Liverpool, to his brother Edward Rackham at Kessingland, Wilby wrote –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0“I expect her\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[his wife Mary]\u00a0down from London in a day or two, where she has been on a visit to her Father and Mother. Her father has built a new house since I left London and I have invested some money in it. The Address is Mr Wm. Crosbie, Bucknall House, Park Rd. New Wandsworth, London S.W. its estimated value is about \u00a31200 and after another year or so we intend to sell it and build some others in another part of the Country”<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>

The property appears to have been named after Bucknall, a town to the south-east of Hanley, in the Potteries district of Staffordshire where Mary Rackham had family connections. His wife, Mary, lived at Bucknall House for a time with her parents and her son Charles Wilby (Crosbie) Rackham was born there. It does seem that perhaps Wilby hoped to amass sufficient funds to give up his seafaring life and to live and work ashore, settled with his family.<\/p>

This, as we know, was not to be. Wilby Rackham had been sailing, according to his Register Ticket entry, from when he\u00a0 \u201cFirst went to Sea as\u00a0 Boy\u00a0 in the Year\u00a0 1845<\/em><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 at the age of 14 and following this he was apprenticed on 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0February 1847 at the age of 16 for a period of 4 years. During the next 21 years he had sailed to the Atlantic coasts of north and south America from New Brunswick in Canada, to New York, to Havana, Matanzas and Nuevitas in Cuba, to Georgetown in British Guyana and down to Buenos Aires in Argentina. On a voyage to Calloa in Peru he had, presumably, rounded the notorious Cape Horn. As well as passages around the British Isles, he had carried cargos along the European coastlines to as far south as Cadiz and into the Mediterranean Sea. In his final years at sea he had been involved with the West Coast of Africa and it was on a passage to Lagos that this story of Wilby Rackham\u2019s life at sea comes to an end.<\/p>

It had long been tradition in our family that Capt. Wilby Rackham was lost at sea. Philip Wilby Caine, his grandson, stated that this occurred in 1868. One family tradition, which the compiler of these notes and other members of the family had been brought up on, was that his vessel had foundered on the Goodwin Sands. However, there had always been some doubt about the locality of the loss and it is now established that his ship, the\u00a0“Alcaig”, Official Number 29970<\/strong>, of 190 tons, sailed from Liverpool on 10 March 1868 for Lagos, Nigeria, was not heard of since that date. He and his crew of eight were supposed drowned. So, although family tradition was wrong as far as the locality was concerned, the year 1868 was correct. Part Eight of the Letters includes one to Wilby from Mary, by then a widow although she was not aware of the fact. This is dated June 9th<\/sup>\u00a01868.<\/p>

The name “WILBY” was given to Capt. Wilby Rackham’s son, Charles Wilby Crosbie Rackham, to his grandson, Philip Wilby Caine, and to his great grand son John Wilby Caine. In addition there are several descendants of his half brother Charles Rackham, who was shipwrecked at Guichen Bay near Robe, in South Australia, who were named after Wilby Rackham and in whom the name is perpetuated to this day.<\/p>

The name Wilby is used within our family as a given name but is really a Suffolk placename. There is a small hamlet called Wilby, in the parish of the same name, to the east of the town of Eye and about nine or ten miles to the south south west of Halesworth in Suffolk. Near to the village are Wilby Hall and Wilby Green. The name Wilby was also used as a surname. An example of this was a John Wilby who lived in Wrentham around 1715. What appears to be a variant spelling of the surname in the form of “Weelby” is also to be found in the Suffolk registers.<\/p>

Nance Caine wrote in her Prologue \u2013 \u201cI should like to know where his name Wilby came from, his wife evidently teased him about it<\/em><\/strong>\u201d. Mr Stan Rackham of Rosanna, Victoria, Australia, whose father was another Wilby Rackham and a son of Charles Rackham, Capt. Wilby Rackham\u2019s half brother, has given me a possible explanation of this surname\u2019s use as a first name. As already noted there was a Wilby family established in Wrentham around 1715. A descendant of this family, a William Wilby, was a witness in 1760 to the marriage of Robert W. Carter. In 1776 a Charles Carter acted as a witness when William Wilby, who was then a widower, remarried. By 1807 the surname Wilby was in use as a first name in the Carter family in the person of a Wilby Carter. There were other examples. In 1853 a Robert Wilby Carter, aged 70, was buried and he had a son William Wilby Carter who died aged 34 in 1849. Both Robert Wilby Carter and William Wilby Carter are listed in the 1841 Wrentham Census. Mr Stan Rackham says \u2013 \u201cMy guess is that John Rackham knew the Carter family and that he used the name Wilby as a given name for his first son with Elizabeth<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maritime History \u2022 Biography & Letters Wilby Rackham – His Life and Letters Introduction Follow the remarkable journey of Captain Wilby Rackham, from his early years in Suffolk to his career as a respected merchant sea captain. Drawing on family letters, historical records, and genealogical research, this account explores his voyages, marriage, and eventual disappearance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-224","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWilby Rackham Letters Intro - Mike's Test Page<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mikecaine.im\/index.php\/wilby-rackham-letters-intro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wilby Rackham Letters Intro - Mike's Test Page\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maritime History \u2022 Biography & Letters Wilby Rackham – His Life and Letters Introduction Follow the remarkable journey of Captain Wilby Rackham, from his early years in Suffolk to his career as a respected merchant sea captain. 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