| Notes |
- Selected sections from the Deposition:
“Having been summoned, Sören Peter Clausen, citizen and skipper, captain of the Hamburg brig Johanna, appeared before the undersigned.
“Upon being questioned, he deposed:
“On 22 April 1853 he sailed from Altona in his brig, heading to Lagueira [La Guaira, Venezuela] and Porto Cabello [Puerto Cabello, Venezuela]. Among his passengers was Peter Schrag, a farmer from the Bavarian Palatinate. He let him off at Lagueira and then sailed on to Porto Cabello, and then returned to Lagueira. There he met Schrag who informed him that he had become ill, could earn nothing, and therefore must return to Europe. The deponent then took him on board for his return voyage to Altona. On the return trip Peter Schrag became ill on 27 June, probably in consequence of the yellow fever that he had survived in Lagueira, and died on 9 July 1853. On the following day the body of Peter Schrag was committed to the waves.
“Thereupon the deponent produced the log book of the Hamburg brig Johanna for its voyages in the year 1853 and on page 55 there was the following entry:
“Sunday, 7 in the morning, the sick man named Peter Schrag died and had a good and calm death. Peace be with him. As far as we (the captain and first mate) could see, his illness was aggravated by misplaced hope.
“The people were observing Sunday. At 7 in the evening the body was sewn into sailcloth. A psalm was read and the body was put overboard. Then another psalm was read. Peace be with him.”
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From the deposition:
The clothes of the Schrag, which consisted of rags, had been kept by the deponent for about a year and then given away. The 40 dollars return passage remained unpaid except for7 dollars which Schrag still had. The diary of the Hamburg brig “Johanna” about her voyages in the year 1853 was then translated into Danish and the following entry was found on page 55: “Sunday at 7 o’clock in the morning the sick man named Peter Schrag died and had a good and quiet death.Peac be withhim. As the helmsman could see his illness was excited over failed hopes. On the following page 56 of the diary was the following entry in Danish. In German: The people held Sunday: At 7 o’clock in the afternoon the body was sewn in canvas. A chant was read and the body was placed overboard; then another chant was read, Peace be upon Him. The above excepts agree with the diary logbook.
Signature: S. P. Clausen
Confirmed the city of Hamburg with seal
Addendum from municipality of Contwig about the death of Peter Schrag:
In the year 1855 on 19 January at eight o’clock in the morning a death certificate of Peter Schrag of Contwig together with a German translation of the same was sent to us by Georg Jakob Guth, mayor of Contwig, civil registrar of the municipality of Contwig, canton Zweibrucken, district court Zweibrucken in the Palatinate of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Translation: “I, the undersigned leader of the brig “Johanna”, hereby certify that Peter Schrag from Contwig died on the voyage from Laquayra to Hamburg on July 9 and was buried in the sea on July 9 and was buried in the sea on July 10, 1853. As such was reported to the Harbor Commission upon my arrival in Cuxhafen.
Haamburg, November 18, 1854 S.P. Clausen
Correct translation Royal Danish Parliamentary Legation at Frankfurt December 12, 1854
signed. Lannz [2]
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1822 - 1853 (30 years)
