The Announcement of the Discovery Of The North West Passage and The Search For Sir John Franklin Two important holograph letters signed, from Robert McClure (1807-1873) from the Arctic to his...

The Announcement of the Discovery Of The North West Passage and The Search For Sir John Franklin Two important holograph letters signed, from Robert McClure (1807-1873) from the Arctic to his uncle the Reverend John Elgee of St Iberius's Church Wexford, and a short correspondence from Richard Waddy Elgee to Lady Wilde (nee Elgee) concerning the McClure estate. 1) A two page, four sided letter, headed ''HMS Resolute Dealy Island, Barrow's strait, April 1853, addressed 'My Dear Uncle', from 'your attached nephew Robert McClure'. ''Your kind and unexpected letter reached me through a travelling party despatched by my excellent friend Capt. Kellett at a position on the opposite side of these straits where we had been frozen in since 1851?. the surprise caused by the appearance of strangers, where none were imagined to be within a couple of thousand miles was more than I can describe ?? the spirits of my crew appeared to revive, and from despondency to joy was but the work of a moment ?.. the stream of human creatures up the solitary hatchway which the severity of the weather allowed of being kept open rushed on deck to be assured that the strange apparition was actually living flesh and blood, and not denizens of the nether world, for certainly their faces were black as Erebus from cooking in their tents ?.. many and great have been the mercies (of the Lord) in our long tedious and terrible navigation of that fearful Polar Sea which has for four hundred years baffled the navies of maritime Europe. - You will I am certain be very happy to learn that the 'N W Passage' has been discovered ''by Investigator'' which was decided on the 26th October 1850 by a sledge party over the ice. The 7th of this month I left the Investigator and arrived on board here on the 19th when I met with such a welcome from Captain Kellett as none but a generous Irish heart could give - I feel assured that a peep at the Emerald Isle with the hearty welcome you promise will lighten any slight weight it (my heart) may be encumbered with. 2) A two page eight sided letter headed ''HMS Phoenix Sept. 26th 1854 100 N. Cape Clear'' addressed ''My Dear Uncle from your affectionate nephew Robert McClure'' You will be happy to hear that congratulations have poured upon me from all quarters, and the sincerest from those who know me best, my old mess-mates and captains - I ought equally to appreciate the kind sentiments which you tell me are cordially expressed by my fellow townsmen of Wexford. I am no longer in the Investigator, she was deserted in June 1853, my good friend Kellett thinking we had persevered sufficiently in an attempt to get the ship through it was a sad disappointment after the sacrifice to achieve what was the height of my ambition, the bringing home of my little barque. In June 1853 we left - (but) - it was 18th August before the Resolute got clear of her winter quarters and on the 12th Sept. was again encircled within the icy trammels of Barrow straight. In April Sir Edward Belcher determined?the ships were to be deserted and the crews to proceed to Beechey Island?arrived 26th August near Cape Osborn on the day which Phoenix made her most welcome appearance.'' 3) Correspondence re: McClure's Estate 3 letters for Lady Wilde 1874/1875 headed 1 Merrion Square, an unsigned letter from Richard Elgee, solicitor resisting the claim of McClure's 'nieces' and a chancery bill showing that the estate was divided equally between seventeen claimants. 4) Type written letter from Dept. of Mines Canada 14/12/1966 acknowledging copies of the present letters in the National Archives of Canada. Provenance: The Rev. John Elgee, Wexford and by descent in the family. Note These letters written privately simply and honestly bring to immediacy through their understatement the unimaginable fortitude of the men who took sailing boats up to explore the 'Polar Sea' and in McClures case to endure four successive winters cut off from the world and with rudimentary equipment and clothing. The disappearance of Sir John Franklin's expedition instigated the dispatch of various expeditions to find him. McClure, from Wexford, was a professional soldier, educated at Eton and Sandhurst, who changed to the Navy in 1824. Having served in Hudson's Bay, The Great Lakes and on the first Franklin expedition under Captain Ross he was appointed to the Investigator (four hundred tons, sixty crew) in 1850. A new attempt was to be made to solve the mystery by sailing from the Pacific and looking for the western end of the supposed N.W. Passage above Alaska. McClure acting independently of his commander Collinson, chanced upon a channel (Prince of Wales strait) which he realised could bring him to Melville sound and thus prove the N.W. Passage did exist. However he was trapped by ice. At one point the ship was turned on to its side and crew broke out the alcohol. The ship righted itself however and McClure 21/9/1850 headed off in sledges and climbing a hill clearly identified Melville sound. Subsequently released and trapped by ice the Investigator was icebound in ''Mercy'' bay. He kept his crew busy on sledge parties to look for Franklin and retrieved a message left by fellow Irishman McClintock who had escaped the ice pack. Some of the officers began to show signs of insanity and many of the men became ill with scurvy. On 6th April 1853 whilst burying a crew member they were astonished to be saluted by Lieutenant Pim sent by Capt. Henry Kellett. McClure refused to leave the Investigator but with the death of three more crew he was forced onto Kelletts ship Resolution which was in turn to be abandoned on the orders of Admiral Belcher. McClure arrived home in Sept. 1854 and was awarded ?10,000 for the discovery of the N.W. Passage. His dispatch was not published until 1856 so this letter is the ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DISCOVERY. It is remarkable how many of the pioneers of Arctic exploration were Irish, Henry Kellett (1806-1875) was born in the West of Ireland. He tolerated McClures somewhat ingenious interpretation of his orders and fitting out a rescue expedition he followed McClures tracks and retrieved his journal showing that Investigator would lie at Mercury Bay. Seeing the state of McClures crew he had to order him to abandon ship but however in turn tried to resist Belchers orders and was acquitted in the ensuing courts martial. McClure overshadows Kellett in the Arctic story but there is no doubt that McClure would not have survived, whatever about getting through to Baffin Bay, without Kelletts determined and skilled navigation. And, of course, McClintock from County Louth, was the man who discovered the whereabouts and fate of the Franklin expedition. The Elgee family who have preserved these wonderful documents have been associated with Wexford since the 18th Century. The Rev. John Elgee was spared by the Rebels on bridge in Wexford in 1798 because of his Christian work amongst prisoners. His daughter married an officer, Robert McClure from the North of Ireland, the parents of our Robert John LeNesuier McClure 28/1/1807 who was baptised in Wexford two days later. McClure although married did not have children and there is a mystery as to who were the ''nieces'' Lady Wilde was his first cousin and is of course better know as Speranza, the mother of Oscar Wilde.

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