Early Life and Seafaring Career of David Beattie

David Beattie was born 25 August 1842 in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, the son of Robert Beattie and Eliza (née Gordon). He went to sea as a young man, joining the British Merchant Navy in the late 1850s. By his late teens, David had gained experience as a sailor on ocean-going voyages. (No specific apprenticeship or early ship records have surfaced in the sources, but by 1861 he was an able seaman.) It was common for Scottish youths from maritime communities like Kirkcudbright to seek work as crew on merchant ships, and David followed this path. Ultimately, he found himself serving aboard the Burita, a square-rigged sailing ship, by 1861 – the vessel on which he would take his final voyage.

The Burita: Build, Ownership, and Voyages

The Burita was a wooden sailing ship (often described as a barque or full-rigged ship) built in 1854 at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. She measured about 627 tons register (approximately 560–568 tons in other records) and was built by shipbuilder James Smith. The vessel’s dimensions were roughly 134 feet in length, 28 feet beam, and 19 feet depth of hold, making her a medium-sized cargo ship of the era. The Burita was originally registered in St. John, but in 1857 her ownership shifted to Liverpool, England when she was purchased (or partly owned) by the broker brothers Lawrence and Alexander Stoddart. The Stoddarts retained shares in the Burita, which is noted in a contemporary report: “In 1857 the brokers Lawrence and Alexander Stoddart jointly retained twelve shares in the 562-ton Saint John-built barque Burita”. With this Liverpool ownership, the Burita was assigned the official British registration number 34701 and classed A1 Lloyd’s (indicating a top-rated hull) for 7 years. In 1861 her Lloyd’s classification was still in force (an A1 class with a couple of years left before needing renewal).

What the Burita may have looked like based on the specs of the ship.

As a merchant ship, the Burita was employed in long-distance trade routes. One noteworthy voyage took place in 1858–1859: the Burita, under a Captain Allan, sailed from Glasgow to South Australia. She departed Glasgow on 16 August 1858 and arrived at Port Adelaide on 15 December 1858. Shipping records in Adelaide list “Burita, ship, 668 tons, Allan, master, from Glasgow” berthed at a company’s wharf. After delivering cargo (likely general goods for the colonies), Burita then sailed from Adelaide in February 1859 bound for Liverpool. This Australian voyage highlights that Burita was not limited to one route; she could be found on trade lanes from the UK to far-flung ports in the British Empire.

By 1861, the Burita was engaged in the transatlantic trade between Britain and North America. Her port of registry was Liverpool, and her trade route was listed as Liverpool–North America. Typically, this meant carrying emigrants or general cargo westward and returning with staple commodities. In the fall of 1861, the Burita undertook what would be her final voyage: a journey from Canada back to Liverpool laden with grain.

The Final Voyage (1861) – Montreal to Liverpool

In late summer 1861, David Beattie signed on as crew aboard the Burita for her voyage from Montreal to Liverpool. According to shipping office records, he engaged on 10 August 1861 (likely in Montreal) as the ship prepared for the Atlantic crossing. The Burita had loaded a cargo of grain in Montreal, Canada East (Quebec), and cleared for Liverpool. There were 16 crew members on board, including David and the captain (records suggest the master of Burita around this time may have been W. Russell, as listed in Lloyd’s Register, although the crew lists themselves are not fully preserved). The ship was expected to traverse the St. Lawrence and Atlantic during the height of the autumn shipping season.

After departing the St. Lawrence River, Burita unfortunately never reached her destination. The last known contact or sighting of the vessel was sometime in the early fall of 1861 (one source indicates the ship was “last heard of” around mid-November 1861, by which time she was overdue). On 8 October 1861, based on later official filings, David Beattie’s death was recorded – this date likely reflects when the Burita was believed to have foundered at sea. Indeed, the Burita disappeared in the North Atlantic in October 1861, presumably succumbing to stormy weather or some other calamity. There were no survivors and no wreckage found to tell the exact tale. The ship and all 16 hands were lost without a trace. Contemporary maritime registers simply marked Burita as “supposed foundered” on the voyage from Montreal to Liverpool.

The Burita may have been lost during a violent storm and heavy seas.

It’s worth noting that the autumn of 1861 was a particularly stormy period in the North Atlantic. Many sailing ships fell victim to gales. The Burita’s cargo (grain in bulk) could also have shifted in heavy seas, causing instability. Whatever the case, by late 1861 the ship was posted as missing. In Lloyd’s Register and other records, the Burita ceased to appear after 1861 – a strong indication she was removed from the rolls due to loss. An official inquiry was not possible without witnesses, but the fate of the ship was clear from her prolonged non-arrival. In the Royal Commission on Unseaworthy Ships (1874) appendix of lost vessels, Burita is listed with her official number as one of the ships that vanished in 1861.

Aftermath and Records of the Loss

The loss of the Burita was noted in various shipping records and would have been reported in the marine columns of newspapers in early 1862. For example, Lloyd’s List (the daily shipping journal) and Liverpool papers likely carried notices that “Ship Burita, of Liverpool, from Montreal (grain cargo) – overdue and presumed lost with all hands.” Because no survivors ever returned, the crew’s death dates were legally registered based on when the ship was last known to be afloat. David Beattie’s death at sea on 8 October 1861 is recorded in the UK Register of Deaths at Sea (1844–1890) for the ship Burita. The register entry for David confirms his identity and the circumstances: Burita, presumed drowned at sea.

In June 1862, the British Board of Trade and the Liverpool shipping office settled the final wages and effects of the Burita’s crew. David’s owed wages (a sum of £8 and 7 shillings for the voyage) were noted as “Effects: Lost” (since he died with the ship) and the balance paid out in Liverpool on 12 June 1862, with the account of wages sent on 19 June 1862. This information comes from the ledger of seamen’s effects for those who died at sea; it humanizes the tragedy – even in absence, the sailors were accounted for on paper and their meager earnings sent to next of kin or held in trust.

As for news coverage, detailed reports were scant without wreckage or survivors. However, newspapers in port cities did list Burita among missing vessels. In Scotland, where David’s family lived, there may have been brief mentions in local papers that “a young Kirkcudbright seaman, David Beattie, son of Robert Beattie, was among the crew lost in the Burita, presumed foundered en route from Canada.” Local maritime tragedies were often noted in passing. The major press, such as the Liverpool Mercury or The Times, tended to publish periodic summaries like “Losses of Shipping”. For instance, by January 1862 one might find a notice that “Burita (ship, 561 tons, built 1854) Montreal to Liverpool, not heard of since Sept–Oct 1861 – presumed lost with 16 hands.” Such announcements served as the public confirmation of the ship’s fate.

Legacy and Conclusion

Though David Beattie’s life was brief – he was only 19 years old at the time of his death – his story is intertwined with the wider saga of 19th-century seafaring. He ventured across oceans in the age of sail and ultimately gave his life to the sea. The Burita, the ship on which he served, had a notable career spanning the globe (from the shipyards of New Brunswick to the ports of Australia and the Atlantic grain trade) before meeting her end. The loss of Burita and David’s entire crew would have been one of many heartbreaking maritime disasters of 1861, a reminder of the perils faced by merchant sailors.

Today, records like the Lloyd’s Register entry and the marine death register preserve the basic facts. Through those documents and contemporary reports, we piece together David Beattie’s naval history: from his Scottish origins to his service at sea, and finally to the ill-fated final voyage of Burita. While no physical monument exists at the wreck site (the exact location of which remains unknown in the Atlantic depths), David is commemorated in Kirkcudbright by his family’s gravestone, which poignantly notes his death “at sea” on 8 October 1861.

Sources:

• Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (1860–61), listing Burita (built 1854 St. John, NB, 627 tons) owned by L. & A. Stoddart of Liverpool archive.org.

• Frederick W. Wallace, Record of Canadian Shipping (Toronto: Musson, 1929) – entry for Burita with build details archive.org.

• “Shipping Intelligence – Vessels in Harbour,” South Australian Register, 1 Jan 1859 (reporting Burita, Capt. Allan, arrived from Glasgow) trove.nla.gov.au.

• Peter Owens, “CLIP” Crew List Index Project data – Stoddart brothers holding shares in Burita (citing BT 108/23 Liverpool 1857) cnrs-scrn.org.

• UK Board of Trade Marine Registers (Deaths at Sea) – entry for David Beattie, Burita (1861) archive.org. (Additional information compiled from family research notes and contemporary newspaper summaries.)