BBC 'Making History' Programme

Thanks to a family history researcher who contacted me regarding his ancestors and the Duchess of Buccleuch newspaper articles the BBC has looked into the shipwreck of the Duchess of Buccleuch. Below is a summary of the Radio 4 Making History programme which was broadcast on the 6th of April 2004 at 3pm.
 

Making History
 The sinking of the Duchess of Buccleuch, 1842

Listener's Queries
"My ancestor, who was a ship's mate or ship's carpenter, was on The Duchess of Buccleuch, a sailing ship which was lost when it ran aground on the islands off Cuba in 1842. What happened?"
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Brief Summary
The Duchess of Buccleuch was a two-masted brig of 260 tons, built in 1835 at one of the little shipyards on the River Nith at Glencaple, south of Dumfries.
The shipyard was owned by William Thomson who was not only the builder of the The Duchess of Buccleuch, but the Master for her last voyage. The records indicate that she sailed from Bristol, bound for Havana, Cuba. However, she called first at Jamaica and sailed from there to Havana.
The suggestion is that she was carrying coal from Bristol, though that is not entirely logical.
Whether she emptied  her cargo in Jamaica and took another cargo on to Havana is not known.

We have no details, but maritime historian Chris Ware suggests that the ship went aground on a shoal or rocks on the Jordanillos, part of the hundreds of island that surround Cuba. It was possibly because of a navigation error, perhaps in the dark.
The ship was lost , but everyone aboard was saved. Somehow they managed to make their way to the Cayman Islands, probably after being picked up by another vessel. However, the survivors of the shipwreck suffered further misfortunes. Many caught a fever - possibly Yellow Fever - from which most of them died, including William Thomson, the Master and shipowner and our listener's ancestor Robert Carswell, the ship's carpenter and mate. His grave is at Caerlaverock, south of Dumfries. There is a strong Dumfries connection with everyone on board and William Thomson's widow eventually made her way to a plantation in Jamaica owned by Wellwood Hyslop who had also come from Dumfries. The Dumfries Standard nine months later reported that Mrs Thomson recovered at Hyslop's home and then a passage home was found for her.

There remain many mysteries about The Duchess of Buccleuch, not the least why the shipowner went with the vessel, taking with him a 66 year old ship's carpenter or mate. More detail on this story are expected to emerge.
 

www.bbc.co.uk/makinghistory

The above link will take you to the BBC website from which the above information was taken, if you are interested in the Duchess of Buccleuch remember to visit the above website to see if any new details emerge, but if you forget I will be posting any new information here.
 

Dumfries & Galloway Standard Intimation 1843

Here is the intimation placed in the newspaper with regard to Mr Robert Carswell some nine months after the shipwreck which was mentioned in the above BBC broadcast.
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Standard Newspaper 1843
Suddenly on the Island of Gran Caymon West Indies (near Cuba)
on the 19th September last
in the 66th year of his age
Mr Robert Carswell, ship carpenter,
native of Kelton, Dumfriesshire.
The deceased was on board the Duchess of Buccleuch
when wrecked in August last and has left a widow and numerous 
family and friends to lament his premature death.
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Duchess of Buccleuch
Information

Duchess of Buccleuch

Dumfries

Brig or Brigantine

261 90/94

92 6/12

25 10.5/12

16 5/12