Hunt for Captain Cook’s heir
Captain Cook’s greatest achievement of discovering Australia and New Zealand may have gone down in the history books, but so has his one failure: the inability to leave any direct descendants.
Despite having had six children, all are commonly believed to have died young without any offspring of their own. A new book, however, may be about to change that.
After the discovery of a 200-year-old file kept in the National Archives, The Untold Story of Captain James Cook
RN by Colin Waters, a writer and historical researcher, has suggested for the first time that Cook’s eldest son did not meet an early demise.
Instead, James Cook Jr may have faked his own death in an attempt to desert his post in the Royal Navy and gone on to produce a long line of heirs.
He was previously thought to have drowned off Britain in 1794, along with six other men, while rowing out to take up duties on HMS Spitfire. The boat capsized after getting caught in stormy weather and his body was believed to have washed up on the Isle of Wight.
Documents unearthed by Waters, however, appear to indicate that things were not quite so straightforward. A letter from the coroner noted the man dead on the beach had not drowned. It was concluded that death had occurred once he had reached land. Yet, of greater significance is the fact that no proper identification may have taken place.
“Rather than using a more positive means of identification, such as by his crew or even his next of kin, it seems Cook’s greatcoat – which was wrapped around the body – was deemed sufficient,” Waters said. “No-one appears to have considered the possibility that it may not have been Cook who was found. It could have been a shipmate.”
These are not the only inconsistencies: research by Waters has also revealed a lack of records surrounding the event. “What’s also questionable is that Cook’s name has been virtually expunged from all official navy records. We have to ask why.”
With his death now thrown into doubt, the question turns to where Cook Jr may have gone if he did indeed survive. Waters believes that he returned home to his native Yorkshire, where he already had a wife and a son, Robert.
“Facts proving that Cook returned to Yorkshire to tell Robert he was legitimate are quite compelling,” Waters said. “Other local anecdotes suggest he returned to the area and changed his name before becoming a farmer.”
Many of those who have claimed Captain Cook as their ancestor are descended from Robert, including Commander Frank Wild, the Antarctic explorer. Each claimant says they are descended from Cook via his son James. –