Another Ignatius Everard-where does this one belong???

Above: Ignatius Everard's Medal awarded for services during the Crimean War whilst serving on the ship HMS 'London'.

Above: Ignatius Everard's naval record, spanning from 22 March, 1840 to 19 July 1869

Ever since the discovery of the name 'Ignatius' being associated with my John Everard, I have clutched this precious clue to my chest and hunted for mentions of the name 'Ignatius Everard' world wide. As you would imagine, mentions are very few and far between, so several years ago when I found an 'Ignatius Everard' in the 1861 and 1871 English census returns I duly noted his details and placed him carefully aside. His birthplace was Mayo, Ireland, and my John Everard had only mentioned Sligo or Kildare as places significant to him. Since I have discovered recently the fact that the Sligo Everards originated in Mayo, my interest in this Ignatius has been reignited and I have broadened my research into his life.

Ignatius Everard was born in c. 1818-19 at Belmullet, County Mayo, the son of Patrick Boyd Everard. The census returns for 1861 and 1871 suggest a birth year of 1823 and 1818 respectively, and the Naval record shown above favours c. 1819.
  Merchant Seaman records have recently appeared online at Findmypast, and two exist for Ignatius Everard. The first gives his date of birth as April 21, 1820, and birthplace as Belmullet, Mayo. It also states that he first went to sea in 1839.
  The second record gave Ignatuis Everard's birth date as April 21, 1819, and his birth place as Belmullet. His first year at sea was given as 1840. His description details were as follows: Height: 5 feet, 5 1/2 inches; red hair; blue eyes, ruddy complexion. Served in the Royal Navy five years. Lives at Belmullet when unemployed. Age when ticketed: 27 years.

Ignatius joined the Royal Navy on March 22, 1840, at the age of 21 years. He spent his first two years on board the ship 'Cleopatra'. This ship's complement was 152 officers and men ; 33 boys ; 25 marines. At the time Ignatius boarded her, Cleopatra was being used between Jamaica, Bermuda and Quebec. Her main activity seems to have been boarding ships suspected of being slave vessels and sentencing them for adjudication if slaves were found.

In August 1842 Ignatius transferred to the ship 'San Josef''. From 1839 San Josef was used as a gunnery training ship. From 10 August 1841 she was commanded by Captain Joseph Needham Tayler, serving as a guard ship at Plymouth (established gunnery school). Ignatius spent eleven months on the San Josef, then on May 27, 1843 transferred to the ship 'Fisgard'. The Fisgard came under the command of Captain John Alexander Duntze on 13 May 1843 and spent some time in the Pacific before returning to Woolwich.

The next transfer, in December of 1847, was to the ship 'Hydra', where Ignatius remained until January 1850. In 1849, the Hydra captured the armed slaver 'Unaio' on the south-east coast of America.

For three years Ignatius Everard served on board the ship 'Phaeton', from January 1850 until January 1853. In March 1853, he joined the crew of H.M.S. London , and remained on this ship for almost the entire duration of the Crimean War (October 1853-February 1856). About 200 sailors and Royal Marines from H.M.S. London served ashore during the Crimean War. The sailors serving in the Royal Naval Brigade did good service in the batteries before Sebastopol.

Out of the approximately 25,000 men of the Royal Navy to serve in the Crimea, the men of the H.M.S. London, along with the crews of H.M.S. Niger, Rodney and Wasp, were the only men of the Royal Navy to receive their Crimea medals with officially impressed naming, most of the men of the Royal Navy receiving their Crimea medals unnamed.

The ship HMS Brunswick was Ignatius Everard's next vessel, and he remained with her from January 27, 1856 until June 12, 1858. In 1856 and 1857 the Brunswick , captained by Henry Broadhead, sailed the Mediterranean.

It was noticed that after Ignatius left the Brunswick on June 12, 1858, he had shore leave for ten days before resuming with another ship. This date is significant, because on June 21, 1858, Ignatius Everard took himself a wife. At St. Mary's Parish Church, Devonport, on June 21, 1858, seaman Ignatius Everard, aged 36 years, married 32 year old widow Caroline Semmens. Their place of residence at the time of their marriage was 31 Mount Street, Devonport. Fathers were noted as being Patrick Boyd Everard and John Williams, both deceased. Witnesses to the marriage were Richard Bennett and Elizabeth Guy.

Caroline was the widow of William Martin Semmens, a blacksmith from Ludgvan, Cornwall, who she married in 1848. The 1851 census shows that Caroline had given birth to a daughter, Jane Ann Semmens, in c. 1849, and a son William Martin Semmens was 2 months old at the time of the census. In March 1866, William joined the Navy at the age of 15 years, and gave his birthdate as 17 March, 1851. Another son, John Semmens, was born on July 18, 1852, and he also had a long career in the Navy, joining in May 1867.

When Caroline Williams Semmen married Ignatius Everard in 1858, her sons would have been aged seven and six respectively. There has been no further mention of their sister, Jane Ann Semmens, and checking the death records for Cornwall we find an entry for Jane Ann Semmens for the June quarter of 1851- just after the 1851 census was taken.

From June 22, 1858 until November 9, 1861, Ignatius was serving on board the HMS Orion, with the rank of Captain of the Mast, a 2nd Class Petty Officer rank. Most of this time was spent in the Mediterranean.

Ignatius appeared in the 1861 census on board the Orion:
Ignatius Everard, Captain mast/ married/ 38 years old/ born Belmullet, Mayo, Ireland.

His wife and stepsons were living at Fairfield Inn, 127 North Road, St Andrew, Plymouth:
Caroline Everard/ head/ married/ 35/ born Ludgvan, Cornwall/
William M Semmens/ son/ 10/ scholar/ born Ludgvan
John Semmens/ son/ 8/ scholar/ born Ludgvan
John Williams/ boarder/ 46/ labourer/ born Ludgvan.

The last person, John Williams, may have been a brother or other relation of Caroline Everard as her maiden name was Williams, and both she and John Williams were born at Ludgvan.

On November 10. 1861, Ignatius began service on his final ship, the HMS Indus. This ship became Guard ship at Devonport 14 July 1860 and remained there until sold in Nov 1898, when the Valiant was renamed Indus and took her place. According to the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia :" A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service. She usually was the flagship of the admiral commanding on the coast."

Ignatius Everard remained with the Indus until July 17, 1869, when he finally left the Navy. His character for the duration of over 29 years of service had always been noted as being either "good" or "V.G".

The 1871 census reveals Ignatius and his wife Caroline to be living at 7 Queen Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport:
Ignatius Everard/head/ married/ 58/ Pensioner R.N/ born Mayo Ireland
Caroline Everard/wife/ 45/ tailoress/ born Ludgvan, Cornwall
Ann Williams/ mother/ widow/ 80/ milliner/ born Ludgvan.

There were three other Royal Navy Pensioners and their families living at 7 Queen Street-Thomas Short, Thomas Cobb and John Williams.

In 1871, Ignatius Everard's stepsons were found as follows:
William M. Semmens/ prisoner at police station, The Guildhall, Stoke Damerel/ unmarried/ 20/ seaman R.N/ born Ludgvan, Cornwall

John Semmens/18/ ordinary seaman/ born Ludgvan Cornwall/ on board ship HMS Leven, entrance Osaka River Japan.

Caroline Williams Semmens Everard died in 1877 at Stoke Damerel, Devon. I can find absolutely no trace anywhere of the death of her husband, Ignatius Everard, or what his movements were after the death of his wife.

Caroline's sons both ended up working for the Coast Guard, and both married- John to Florence Keturah Gillett at Romney Marsh early in 1882, and William Martin Semmens to Mary Ann Barker at Stoke Damerel in early 1875.

The 1891 census for Cheriton, Kent, has:
John Semmens/ head/ married/ 38/ chief boatman H.M Coast Guard/ born Ludgvan, Cornwall
Florence Semmens/ wife/ 32/ born Lydd, Kent
George Semmens/ son / 8/ born Lydd Kent
Kate Semmens/ daughter/ 6/ born Kent
Clive/ son/ born Sandgate, Kent


George John Semmens was born at Romney Marsh, Kent, in 1883.
Kate Caroline Semmens was born in Kent in 1884
Clive William Semmens born 1889, Kent
John Semmens died at Fair View, Chilton, Alkham, Kent, on April 2, 1935, at the age of 82 years. He left an estate of just over 271 pounds. His wife Florence Semmens died in November 1946 at Alkham, Kent, aged 87 years.

Ignatius Everard's elder stepson, William Martin Semmens, died in 1889 in Hampshire, aged 38.