George Stoney

Posted by Pieter van der Merwe on Sunday 11th of March 2018 11:45

Newspapers inc. the 'Public Advertiser' of 4 Sept 1786 cite a ship-news letter from Portsmouth of 30 August including the arrival there of 'Flora' from the West Indies and that 'she was commanded by Captain Stoney, who died of a putrid fever on his passage: He was an Officer of exact discipline and order, and is a great loss to the service.' The National Trust, at Tredegar House, south Wales, holds a head-and-shoulders portrait by Violante Beatrice Siries still (March 2018) misidentified as Stoney, apparently for provenance reasons, though it was pointed out in 1978 that it is in fact of Captain (later Admirald Sir) Edward Hughes: it is a version of Siries' full-length of Hughes in the National Maritime Museum. Both are dated 1761 and show Hughes in the 1748-67 uniform, which Stoney (a captain of 1781) never wore.

Posted by Paul Martinovich on Friday 5th of June 2015 15:15

George Stoney apparently died while commanding HMS Flora; Schomberg indicates this and the death date from "Commissioned Sea Officers" (1784) also suggests that he didn't continue in command until 1786, as your summary indicates. Note that while Winfield often lists the deaths of commanding officers, he doesn't always do so.