The Hamburg bark JOHANN CESAR was built at Reiherstieg, Hamburg, by Joh[ann] Ces[ar] Godeffroy & Sohn, Hamburg, for their own account, in 1852; Bielbrief [certificate of registry] 3 September 1852. 182 Commerzlasten/390 tons; 37,9 x 8,1 x 5,12 meters (length x beam x depth of hold).

Master:
     1852-1854 - N. Störtenbecker
     1854-1859 - H. A. G. Möller
     1857      - A. C. Falk
     1859-1860 - J. T. S. Hansen
     1860-1863 - H. Bruhns
     1864-1865 - H. Falck
     1865-1875 - H. D. A. Brück

Voyages:
     1852/53   - Sydney/Batavia/Semarang
     1853/54   - Melbourne/Valparaiso/Huasco, Chile/Herradura, Chile/Islay, Peru
     1854/55   - Adelaide/Valparaiso/Caldera, Chile/Islay
     1855-1857 - Moreton Bay/intermediate ports/Calcutta
     1857/58   - Sunderland/Totoral, Chile/Valparaiso
     1858/59   - Cape of Good Hope/East London/Bombay/Cochin, India
     1859/60   - Cardiff/intermediate ports/Kronstadt
     1860/61   - Cape of Good Hope/Antwerp
     1861-1863 - Nikolajewsk, Amur/intermediate ports/London
     1863-1865 - Moreton Bay/intermediate ports/Caldera, Chile/Valparaiso
     1865-1867 - Moreton Bay/intermediate ports/Le Havre

In 1867, the JOHANN CESAR was acquired from Goddefroy by her then master, H. D. A. Brück, but was re-acquired by Godeffroy in 1872.

Voyages:
     1872/73   - Tahiti
     1873/74   - Tahiti
     1874/75   - Tahiti
     1875-1879 - Apia/intermediate ports/Liverpool
     1879/80   - laid up 12 months in Hamburg

In 1880, the JOHANN CESAR was sold Swedish, to Björksgren, Kalmar, and renamed INGEGERD. I have no information on her later history or ultimate fate.

Source: Walter Kresse, ed., Seeschiffs-Verzeichnis der Hamburger Reedereien, 1824-1888, Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, N. F., Bd. 5 (Hamburg: Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, 1969), vol. 1, p. 168. For possible additional information on the JOHANN CESAR, see the following:

1. Richard Hertz, Das Hamburger Seehandelshaus J. C. Godeffroy und Sohn 1677-1879 (Hamburg 1922).
2. Kurt Schmack, "J. C. Godeffry & Sohn", Kaufleute zu Hamburg, Leistung und Schicksal eines Welthandelshauses (Hamburg 1938).

The Bremen bark JOHANN FRIEDRICH was built at Vegesack/Grohn by Johann Lange, for the Bremen firm of N. Gloystein Söhne, and was launched on 3 December 1835. 140 Commerzlasten; 29 x 8,2 x 4,9 meters. Her masters were, in turn, Friedrich Hederich, from Bremen, and, from 1839, Heinrich Wieting, from Vegesack. The vessel was employed primarily in the emigrant trade to New York but also, under Capt. Wieting, to Charleston.

On 20 February 1839, the JOHANN FRIEDRICH, Hederich, master, bound for Brazil, collided with the Danish brig DELOS, Johannsen, master, in the English Channel off Folkestone. The DELOS sank, but the JOHANN FRIEDRICH safely reached Ramsgate, where the necessary repairs were made.

On 10 October 1850, the JOHANN FRIEDRICH, Wieting, master, sailed from Bremerhaven for Charleston with approximately 150 emigrants on board. However, severe storms in the North Sea forced Wieting to return to Bremerhaven. On 21 October 1850, the JOHANN FRIEDRICH again set sail for Charleston, but again encountered severe storms; on 24 October 1850, she grounded on Gunflert Sand, off Harwich, and became a total loss. Fortunately, all on board were saved and transported back to Bremerhaven, where 125 passengers boarded the bark LEONTINE, G. Thormann, master, and sailed for Charleston on 22 November 1850

Source: Peter-Michael Pawlik, Von der Weser in die Welt; Die Geschichte der Segelschiffe von Weser und Lesum und ihrer Bauwerften 1770 bis 1893, Schriften des Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseums, Bd. 33 (Hamburg: Kabel, c1993), pp. 188-189, no. 133.

The U.S., later Hamburg, ship JOHN BERTRAM was built as an "extreme clipper" at East Boston, by Ewell & Jackson, in the short time of 61 days, and launched on 9 December 1850. She was built under the supervision of Capt. Glidden for the Glidden & Williams Line of Boston-San Francisco packets, and was owned jointly by Glidden & Williams, of Boston, and Flint, Peabody & Co, of San Francisco. She was named after the well-known Salem sea captain and merchant, John Bertram. 1,080/778 tons (old/new measurement); 173/180/190 x 37 x 20 feet(keel/deck/overall length x beam x depth of hold); her figurehead was a representation of an eagle on the wing, and on her stern was a medallion bust of her namesake. For a lengthy description of the JOHN BERTRAM at the time of her launching, see the account by Duncan Maclean in the Boston Daily Atlas, 4 January 1851.

The JOHN BERTRAM made 3 voyages from Boston to San Francisco, and 1 voyage from Boston to Asia, all under the command of Capt. Frederick Lindholm:

On 30 April 1855, the JOHN BERTRAM was purchased from William F. Schmidt & Frederick C. Schmidt, of New York, for $36,000, by the Hamburg shipowner Robert Miles Sloman, who in 1856 placed her in service on the North Atlantic, carrying emigrants to New York and returning to Europe with a cargo of either tobacco or cotton.

Masters:
     1855      - H. Visser
     1855-1862 - T. J. Knudtsen
     1863      - A. J. Dierks
     1863-1864 - H. C. Johannsen
     1864-1865 - F. G. Herting
     1865-1866 - H. O. Edye
     1866-1867 - G. Hopfner
     1868-1871 - Heinrich Petersen
     1871      - Hans Petersen
     1871-1872 - J. H. Fendt

Voyages:
     1855      - from New York to Hamburg
     1855/56   - Newcastle/intermediate ports/London
     1856-1867 - New York
     1867/68   - New York/Antwerp
     1868      - New York (2 x)
     1869      - New York
     1869/70   - New York/Antwerp
     1870/71   - New York
     1871      - New York
     1871/72   - Brisbane/intermediate ports/Rangoon

The JOHN BERTRAM was sold in 1872 to the firm of Röd & Sönner, of Tönsberg, Norway, who ran her primarily in the timber trade between Quebec and London. On 22 February 1883, she sailed from New York for Rotterdam, but was abandoned at sea on 17 March, her crew being taken aboard the Norwegian bark OXO, Dahl, master, which landed at London on 29 March 1883, with 10 crewmen, the remainder having transferred to another vessel.

Sources: Octavius T. Howe and Frederick C. Matthews, American Clipper Ships, 1833-1858, Marine Research Society
Publication No. 13 (Salem, Massachusetts: Marine Research Society, 1926), pp. 300-303; Carl C. Cutler, Greyhounds of the Sea; The Story of the American Clipper Ship (New York: Halcyon House, 1930), pp. 413, 452, 455, 469, 479, 482, 491; William Armstrong Fairburn, Merchant Sail (Center Lovell, Maine: Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation, [1945-55]), II.1501, 1508, 1513, 1532, 1536; III.1664, 1855, 1861, 1880, 1928, 1949, 1956, 2036, 2037, 2039, 2040, 2059, 2060, 2066, 2067, 2109, 2110, 2123; IV.2210, 2218, 2219, 2266, 2445, 2447, 2454, 2642; V.2914, 2922, 2929, 2930, 2931, 2938, 2985, 3015, 3021; VI.3626, 3627, 3635, 3654, 3655, 3668, 3716, 3752, 3755, 3908, 3933, 3946; Ernst Hieke, Rob. M. Sloman jr., errichtet 1793, Veröffentlichungen der Wirtschaftsgeschichtlichen Forschungsstelle e.V., Hamburg, 30 (Hamburg: Verlag Hanseatischer Merkur, 1968), p. 373; Walter Kresse, ed., Seeschiffs - Verzeichnis der Hamburger Reedereien, 1824-1888, Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, N. F., Bd. 5 (Hamburg: Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, 1969), vol. 2, p. 211.

The U.S. ship JOHN BRIGHT was built at New York by William H. Webb (hull #83), for Williams & Guion's New York-Liverpool service, and was launched on 29 December 1853. 1444 tons; 190 feet x 42 feet 6 inches x 28 feet 4 inches (length x beam x depth of hold). The ship was named after a British merchant, statesman, and prominent opponent to the Corn Laws. 30 January 1854, Edwards, master, maiden voyage, New York-Liverpool. The JOHN BRIGHT was still running in Williams & Guion's New York-Liverpool service in 1869. 3 August 1869, sailed for San Francisco under charter to Platt & Newton. April 1872, recoppered and major repairs. Following her refit, the JOHN BRIGHT resumed sailing as a transient between the United States and Europe, under the command of Joseph E. Hadley.

On 3 November 1874, the JOHN BRIGHT, Capt. Hadley, sailed from New York for San Francisco, with a mixed general cargo valued at $70,772. At 10:30 on the night of 10 December 1874, she struck a reef at Capo de Sao Roque (Cape St. Roque), on the coast of Brazil, 140 miles north of Natal. The captain and crew abandoned the ship at 3:30 the morning of 11 December, in 3 boats. At 4 that afternoon, one of the boats sprang a leak, and the occupants transferred to the other two. The following morning, 12 December, the boats lost sight of one another. The boat commanded by the Chief Mate arrived at Natal on the 13th, and he and his crew boarded the Brazilian coastal steamer INAJUCA for Pernambuco, which had been chosen as the point of rendezvous before the boats had separated. The INAJUCA picked up Capt. Hadley and the remainder of the crew that evening, and landed the entire complement of the JOHN BRIGHT at Pernambuco on 15 December 1874.

Source: Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William duBarry Thomas, William H. Webb: Shipbuilder (Glen Cove, New York: Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, 1989), pp. 197-198.

The British bark JOHN CALVIN, 420/510 tons (old/new measurement), was built at Greenock, Scotland, and launched in June 1839. The annual volumes of Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1839/40 through 1851/52 give the following information:

Master:
     1839/40-1841/42 - Abercrombie
     1841/42-1845/46 - Knox
     1845/46-1847/48 - Hunter
     1848/49-1849/50 - J[ohn] Davison
     1850/51-1851/52 - [not given]

Owner:
     1839/40-1845/46 - Taylor & Co
     1845/46         - Sands & Co
     1845/46-1849/50 - R. Hunter
     1850/51-1851/52 - [not given]

Port of Registry:
     1839/40-1845/46 - Greenock
     1845/46-1850/51 - London
     1851/52         - [not given]

Port of Survey:
     1839/40-1841/42 - Clydeside
     1841/42-1850/51 - London
     1851/52         - [not given]

Destined Voyage:
     1839/40-1841/42 - Calcutta
     1841/42-1845/46 - Bombay
     1845/46-1847/48 - Sydney
     1848/49-1849/50 - Hobart Town
     1850/51         - California
     1851/52         - [not given]

Australian Joint Copying Project, National Library, Canberra, Australia, reel 3199, contains surgeons' reports of two voyages to the South Pacific:

1. London, 13 May 1846 - Norfolk Island, 29 September 1846, with 199 male prisoners;
2. Dublin, 24 January 1848 - Hobart Town, 18 May 1848, with 170 female prisoners.

The last entry in Lloyd's Registerfor the JOHN CALVIN is in 1851/52, an incomplete entry giving only her name, tonnage, and place and date of build. As the destination of her last printed destined voyage was California it is probable that she was either wrecked during the passage, sold American, or even abandoned at San Francisco.

According to the annual volumes of Lloyd's Register of Shipping for 1851/52-1857/58, the British ship JOHN FIELDEN, 916 tons, was built at New Brunswick in 1846. It is possible that she was built by James Briggs, who built both the ship MOUNTAINEER, 869 tons, and the ship EDINBURGH, 941 tons, in 1840. Lloyd's Register gives no measurements for the JOHN FIELDEN, although if she was indeed built by Briggs, judging from her tonnage she was approximately 145 feet x 33 feet x 22 feet (length x beam x depth of hold).

The U.S. ship JOHN HOLLAND, 529 tons, was built at Warren, Maine, in 1837. She was registered at Warren until re-registered at the port of New York on 24 November 1852. The following is an incomplete chronology of her career:

The New-York Daily Tribune for 10 June 1853, p. 8d, prints the following report:

THE SHIP JOHN HOLLAND, from New-York for San Francisco, put into Acapulco (Mexico) on the 10th May, in distress, leaking between 3,000 and 4,000 strokes per hour. She reported having experienced very heavy weather off Cape Horn. Great credit is due to Capt. Baxter for his energy and perseverance in bringing his ship into the port under the circumstances, the men being completely worn out at the pumps. The Surveyors ordered her to be discharged of her lumber, and are in hopes of finding her leak above her copper. She will be caulked, &., and have all possible dispatch for San Francisco. The J. H. reports being in company with a large American round stern clipper back, painted black, in lat. 58 52 S, lon 09 13 W, with loss of foretopgallantmast, jibboom, &.

(A somewhat abbreviated copy of this account is printed in the San Francisco Daily Alta California for 22 May [not, as on the Maritime Heritage Project website, 2 June] 1853, p. 2f.)

The New-York Daily Tribune for 1 August 1853, p. 8d, prints the following followup:

SHIP JOHN HOLLAND, Baxter, of and from New-York for San Francisco, condemned at Acapulco, was sold, with materials, for $1,290. The cargo consisted of 382,000 feet of lumber, of which 7,500 were thrown overboard; the balance sold at $25 per M. Also, 321 M. shingles and 340 tuns anthracite coal, which was left there on storage at $25 per month.

Additional Sources: Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., List of American-flag Merchant Vessels that received Certificates of Enrollment or Registry at the Port of New York, 1789-1867 (Record Groups 41 and 36), National Archives Publication 68-10, Special Lists 22 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1968), p 378; Carl C. Cutler, Queens of the Western Ocean; The Story of America's Mail and Passenger Sailing Lines (Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, c1961), pp. 448, 451, 455, 504, 505.

The wooden side-wheel steamship JOHN L. STEPHENS was built for the Pacific Mail Steamship Co by Smith & Dimon, New York, and was launched on 21 September 1852. 2,182 92/95 tons, 274.3 x 41 x 17.3 feet (1852), length x breadth x depth of hold; 1,995 44/100 tons (1865); beam over guards 65 feet 6 inches; mean draft 12 feet; 3 decks, 2 masts (brigantine rigged), round stern, no head; one oscillating engine (Novelty Iron Works, New York): diameter of cylinder 7 feet 1 inch, length of stroke 9 feet; diameter of paddle wheels 32 feet; 640 hp; 8 lifeboats. Fitted with Pierson's Patent Steam Condenser to supply fresh water for the boilers, for an estimated saving of 50 per cent. Coal capacity 450 tons. Tanks for 20,000 gallons of fresh water. 350 berths on the upper deck, built fore and aft with wide gangways; two steerage decks, the lower or berth deck with 550 single berths built athwartship with ventilating apparatus between them. Extensive suite of baths for passengers with instant hot and cold water.

17 December 1852, cleared New York for San Francisco (arrived 3 April 1853 with passengers from Panama). Continued to operate for the Pacific Mail between San Francisco and Panama until October 1860. 1864, began making voyages between San Francisco and the Columbia River and was still in this service for the Oregon Steamship Company in 1876. 1878, sold at San Francisco to Sisson, Wallace & Co, who sent her to Karluk, Alaska, for use as a floating cannery. On her return, she was retired from service and broken up the following year.

Source: John Haskell Kemble, The Panama Route, 1848-1869, University of California Publications in History, 29 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1943), p. 233.

The U.S. bark JOHN WESLEY, 520 tons, was built at Searsport, Maine, by John Shirley in 1852. She was wrecked on the coast of Florida.

Source: William Armstrong Fairburn, Merchant Sail (Center Lovell, Maine: Fairburn Marine Educational Foundation, [1945-1955], V.3500 and 3503.