George Asplet
George Asplet (1815- )
Grocer, oyster merchant, shipowner and broker, coal merchant and shipbuilder
George Asplet embodies the energy, adaptability and enterprise of Jersey`s commercial sector at the height of what has been termed the Island's 'golden era'
This biography was written by Guy Dixon
George Asplet (1815- ) was the son of Philippe Asplet and Elizabeth Grault of St Martin. In 1841 he was in business, aged 25, as a grocer, assisted by his half-sister, 14 year-old Susan Asplet[1].
Ships owned
His name had already appeared in the Jersey Shipping Register and local almanacs. In 1838, he is listed as the owner of the 26-ton cutter Margaritta and Esther. From 1840 Philip and George Asplet featured as joint-owners of the 28-ton cutter George and Mary. Philip was probably George`s elder brother; his name, however, was absent after 1845 from local shipping records. In 1844 he was the ship`s "husband", or managing owner, and George was by then the managing owner of the 46-ton cutter Turk, which the company still owned in 1849. The 1851 census (St Martin) shows that he had followed in the footsteps of his uncle and namesake, George Asplet senr. (1781-1832), as he was therein described solely as a shipowner.
Being based in Gorey and operating cutters, the business would have been oyster dredging and sales. In 1846 the cutter Turk was schooner-rigged, with a corresponding increase of weight to 59 tons. The cutters Emerald (53 tons) and Fly (12 tons), joined the fleet. 1848 saw the shipwreck of Emerald and an addition of two further vessels, the 58-ton schooner Emperor and the 17-ton cutter William and Frank, bringing the total number of vessels owned in that year to four.
In 1849 the 60-ton cutter Daring, owned jointly with his in-laws Le Quesne, was a further addition. In 1856, the cutter Louisa (60 tons) briefly joined the list, but the cutters Emerald and William and Frank no longer featured. In 1856 Fly had been sold to H Baker, to be replaced by the 96-ton schooner James and the 46-ton cutter Carolina R Ferrar. The year 1857 saw the 99-ton schooner Rhine restoring the fleet to six vessels and increasing the total tonnage. By 1859, the Carolina R. Ferrar had been replaced by the 197-ton brig Vivid. George Asplet`s shipping interests had now long ago been extended beyond Gorey`s oyster trade to international shipping, probably in association with Jersey`s Canadian fisheries. [2]
Ship building
Another concern of his was shipbuilding. Perhaps the cost of having had the brig Advance (229 tons), intended for the international carrying trade, built for him in 1858 by Bellot at Gorey, led to his decision to employ shipwrights and open his own shipyard. His shipbuilding business, 1858-1862, is credited with the construction of seven vessels, including the 365-ton Montrose, built for Scrutton and Company of London and launched on 23 July 1861. [3] Other vessels mentioned by the maritime historian, John Jean as having been constructed by Asplet included, in 1859, the 157-ton schooner Onward for a brother-in-law, Philip Le Quesne, corn merchant, and the 197-ton brig Vivid, for his own use. Jeffery, a 70-ton schooner, was built in 1860, perhaps for Thomas Lavan, and in 1861 Flying Foam, a 98-ton schooner was built for another brother-in-law, Charles Le Quesne of St Helier, draper and shipowner.
It was not, however, an auspicious time to enter Jersey`s shipbuilding trade, as local timber was almost exhausted, trade was soon to be affected by the American Civil War and shipyards in major industrial ports were producing increasing numbers of iron ships, with a greater carrying capacity. After four years, Asplet`s shipbuilding yard closed, together with the majority of the Island`s other shipyards. Then, in 1863, both of his brigs, the Advance and Vivid, were shipwrecked, whilst the James, Daring and Rhine disappear from the list of vessels he owned. The new owner of the latter two vessels, was the above Charles Le Quesne. It would seem that the capital invested in his ill-timed shipbuilding venture all but ruined Asplet`s mercantile career. His name was not among Jersey`s shipowners in 1864.
Ship broking
Ship broking is listed by John Jean [4] as another of George Asplet`s activities. He was also a coal merchant. John Jean even includes in the list omnibus owner. These were large, flat-bedded, horse-drawn carts, first used in 1826, in which were arranged lines of benches for the benefit of those wishing to view castles, shipyards and other features not normally seen.
John Jean thought the year 1865 marked the end of Asplet`s business career. However, his name featured once again in almanacks between 1865 and 1870, this time as the owner of the 102-ton schooner Vivid, which was probably named after the earlier vessel of this name.
He married in 1847, at St Saviour Margaret Le Quesne (1817- ), daughter of Jean, a landowner, of Mont a L`Abbe House, St Helier. Her family included, in addition to those mentioned above, Nicolas Le Quesne, the St Helier corn and flour merchant, mill and ship owner, whose business, like that of Asplet, extended far beyond Jersey`s shores.
George Asplet was still alive at the time of the 1871 Jersey census as his wife Margaret, visiting her Gaudin relatives at St Etienne, in St Martin, described herself as being both married and a "merchant`s wife," rather than widow.
They had a son and two daughters.
Family tree
Notes and references
- ↑ 1841 Census, St Martin
- ↑ Jersey almanacs and directories` annual shipping lists
- ↑ John Jean, Jersey Sailing Ships (Chichester: Phillimore & Co, 1982), 29, 5
- ↑ Ibid., 3. Jean, in his list of Jersey`s Principal Shipowners in the 19th century, 116, has for "George Asplet" the dates 1826-65. He may not have realised that there were two men of this name, uncle and nephew. The uncle`s dates as a shipowner were 1825-1832, whilst George junior came into shipping in 1838
