James Baines & Co.

James Baines and Lightning

James Baines & Co. of Liverpool was the parent company of a fleet of packet ships running between Liverpool, England and Australia under the name of Black Ball Line.[1][2]

History

James Baines, the owner

The company was headed by James Baines, the owner of 86 of the world's finest sailing clippers such as Champion of the Seas, James Baines, Lightning, Indian Queen,[3] Marco Polo, Red Rover and Sovereign of the Seas.

The flag of the company was a red swallowtail with a black dot.[4]

James Baines (1822-1889) was the son of William Baines and Mary Picton. He married Anne Netherton in 1848 and had two daughters. His mother ran a very successful confectionery manufacturing business which provided sweets to the Royal Family after her husband died in 1829. This may have been the source of some of the funds he used to set up in business.

James Baines has been suggested as an inspiration for the character of James Onedin in the popular BBC drama The Onedin Line, created by Liverpool-born Cyril Abraham. A leading character in the series was Captain Baines, played by Howard Lang.

References

  1. ↑ John Leander Bishop; Edwin Troxell Freedley; Edward Young (1868). A history of American manufactures from 1608 to 1860...: comprising annals of the industry of the United States in machinery, manufactures and useful arts, with a notice of the important inventions, tariffs, and the results of each decennial census. E. Young. pp. 296–. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Samuel Eliot Morison (1922). The maritime history of Massachusetts, 1783-1860. Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 362–. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Passenger List, Indian Queen, Wellington 1857 ::". FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  4. ↑ "British shipping companies (B)". Retrieved 2013-04-01.
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