John Rand

John Rand

John Rand
Person	John Rand
Title
First name	John
Middle name(s)
Last name	Rand
Suffix
Spouse of
Widow of
Occupation	Mariner
Secondary shorebased occupation
Mariner occupation	Master
Associated with ship(s)	Elizabeth (Master: John Rand)
Training	Not apprentice
Is apprentice of
Was apprentice of
Had apprentice(s)
Citizen	Unknown
Literacy	Signature
Has opening text	John Rand
Has signoff text	John: Rand
Signoff image	(Invalid transcription image)
Language skills	English language
Has interpreter
Birth street
Birth parish
Birth town
Birth county
Birth province
Birth country
Res street	Ratcliff
Res parish	Stepney
Res town
Res county	Middlesex
Res province
Res country	England
Birth year	1619
Marriage year
Death year	1673
Probate date	January 17, 1673
First deposition age	34
Primary sources
Act book start page(s)	HCA 3/47 f.42r Annotate
Personal answer start page(s)
Allegation start page(s)
Interrogatories page(s)
Deposition start page(s)	HCA 13/71 f.346r Annotate, HCA 13/73 f.40v Annotate, HCA 13/73 f.128r Annotate
Chancery start page(s)
Letter start page(s)
Miscellaneous start page(s)
Act book date(s)
Personal answer date(s)
Allegation date(s)
Interrogatories date(s)
Deposition date(s)	Aug 20 1656, Feb 2 1659, May 6 1659
How complete is this biography?
Has infobox completed	Yes
Has synthesis completed	No
Has HCA evidence completed	No
Has source comment completed	No
Ship classification
Type of ship	Merchant ship
Silver Ship litigation in 1650s
Role in Silver Ship litigation	None

Biographical synthesis

John Rand (b. ca. 1619-1622; d.?ca. 1673). Mariner and master of ships since his early thirties. Very experienced in voyages to Barbados from London.

Master and part-owner of the English ship the Elizabeth in 1654, which made at least one voyage to Barbados from London.

Resident in Ratcliff in parish of Stepney in 1656 and 1659, and probably in Stepney through to his probable death circa 1673.

His 1659 testimony in the High Court of Admiralty suggests that he first went to sea when he was about twelve years of age, and that he had been master of ships on the Barbados route from around the age of thirty-one.

A will of a John Rand, mariner of Stepney, was proved in 1673.

Evidence from High Court of Admiralty

Thirty-nine year old John Rand deposed on March 27th 1652 in the High Court of Admiralty, He was examined on an allegation on behalf of Warren in a cause of "Warren against Williams". The signature at the end of his deposition is clearly the same as in the later depositions.

John Rand gave evidence in the High Court of Admiralty on August 20th 1656 in a case concerning the ship the Edward and John (Master: John Tottey), which had retuirned to London from Barbados. Rand gave his age as thirty four and stated that he and two other masters of ships (Edward Thompson and Thomas Burgis) had been desired by Captaine Tottey to come aboard his ship which lay near Bell wharf in the River Thames to survey a number of casks or butts of sugar which had been shipped from Barbados. Rand stated that one butt appeared to be empty, despite being dry and well stowed and that three other butts were partially empty. All three masters concluded that "the sayd three butts were very well stowed and kentlidged and thatnoe water soe farr they as could perceive had come to any one of them."

John Rand gave evidence on February 2 1659 in the High Court of Admiralty in a case concerning mariners wages on the Barbados route. The case was "Whiting and others mariners of the Agreement against Lewellin and [?Gunhill] aforesaid". Rand stated that he had been in Barbados in late 1654, where he had seen the ship the Agreement. He added that he "this deponent being then master of an English ship named the Elizabeth then trading at the Barbathoes, and having made about six voyages from England to the Barbathoes, thereby well knoweth that the usuall rates and wages (from hence to the Barbathoes.) the foresaid time for a mate was about 3: li 3: s per moneth for a boatswaine 3: li a carpenter 2: li 15: s a carpenters mate 2 li a quarter master 1: li 16: s a cooper ij: li and for common men about 30: s or 32: s per moneth and soe much. (or a small matter more or lesse) this deponent gave and paid to his mariners, that served (in the qualityes aforesaid) in the said ship the Elizabeth, the said voyage."

Captaine John Rand deposed again on May 6th 1659 in the High Court of Admiralty. He was examined on an allegation in a case brought against XXX Grove, master of the XXXX. He gave his age as forty and stated that he had used the sea "for theise theise eight and twenty yeeres last as a master and mariner; and used to saile to the island of Barbadoes, for theise nine yeeres last as master." His experience of the Barbados led him to state that "it a very common, and usuall thing for ships to miss the island of Barbadoes, by reason of hurricanes, which put them out of their littitude, and saith that by reason of the said hurricanes this deponent hath missed the sayd island twice, and one of those times was when the arlate ship the Peace (Thomas Grove Master) missed it, and then the hurricanes were very great and as this deponent hath bin credibly informed severall shipps did then misse the said island of Barbadoes, and went to the Leoward Islands."

A record in an act book of the High Court of Admiralty dated July 2nd 1656 identifies a further case described as "John Rand and Company owners of the Elsabeth against the said shippe the Willinge Minde and against the said Peirson."

TO DO: RESOLVE ISSUES TO DO WITH JOHN RAND'S AGE

Comment on sources

1673

PROB 11/341/75 Will of John Rand, Mariner of Stepney, Middlesex 17 January 1673