Edmund Howard Pace

Royal Naval officer, one of a group of co-awardees for 10 enslaved people in Westmoreland Jamaica. No clear path to ownership has been established.

1. Edmund Howard Pace was born 12/06/1796 and baptised 23/08/1796 in Salcombe Regis, Devon; his parents were William Pace and Charlotte. Emma Louisa Pace, daughter of Edmund Howard Pace and Louisa was baptised 06/10/1835 at Gravesend, Kent, followed by a son Arthur 18/06/1841 and another daughter Ellen Louisa Robert 18/06/1845.

2. In 1851 Edmund Howard Pace, Lieutenant RN aged 53 born Sidmouth Devon was living at Brotton in Yorkshire with wife Louisa aged 44 born Hungerford Berks., and daughters Charlotte (20) born Jersey, Nora (12) and Ellen (6), both born Gravesend Kent. Death of Edmund Howard Pace registered Guisborough Yorkshire Q2 1864.

3. His entry in O'Byrne's Naval biographical dictionary: "This officer entered the Navy, in Sept. 1809, as Fst-cl. Vol., on board the FREIJA 38, commanded in the West Indies by his uncle Capt. John Hayes; and was next, from Sept. 1810 to Nov. 1815, employed on the Home and North American stations as Midshipman, in the VENGEUR 74, flag-ship of Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke, BULWARK 74, bearing the broad pendant of Sir Rich. King, LOIRE 38, Capt. Thos. Brown, MAJESTIC 56, Capt. John Hayes, and FLY and MUSQUITO sloops, Capts. John Baldwin, Robt. Tomlinson and Geo. Brine.In the FREIJA he served at the reduction of Guadeloupe in Feb. 1810; he escorted, in the VENGEUR, a large body of troops intended as a reinforcement to the Duke of Wellington’s army in Portugal; and in the MAJESTIC, previously to witnessing the surrender of the American ship PRESIDENT, he assisted at the capture, 3 Feb. 1814, after a running action of two hours and a half, of the Terpsichore French frigate of 44 guns. In the FLY he was present, 18 July, 1815, at the cuttin g-out of several vessels from the harbour of Corrijon – an exploit more fully alluded to in our history of Sir Chas. Malcolm. Between Feb. 1816 and May, 1821, Mr. Pace became in succession attached as Admiralty Midshipman -, on the Home, Mediterranean, West India, and St. Helena stations to the GANYMEDE 26, Capt. Wm. McCulloch, GLASGOW 40, Capt. Hon. Anthony Maitland (part of the force engaged at the battle of Algiers) HERON 18, Capt. Herbert Brace Powell, TIGRIS 36, Capt. Robt. Henderson, SPARTAN 38, Capt. Wm. Furlong Wise, and VIGO 74, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Robt. Lambert. He then returned to England as Master’s Mate of a store-ship, Master-Commander Thompson; and in Aug. of the same year, 1821, took up a commission bearing date 29 of the proceeding Jan. His next appointment was, 2 June 1824, to the CHAMPION 18, Capt. John Fitzgerald Studdert, fitting to the East Indies; whence, in 1826, he came home at First-Lieutenant of the ARACHNE 18, Capt. And. Baird. With the exception of a short period passed in the Coast Guard, about 1831, he has since been on half-pay. AGENTS – Messrs. Ommanney."

4. In his service on the Glasgow, Pace took part in the Bombardment of Algiers in 1816 where a joint Anglo-Dutch force attacked Algerian vessels and the Algerian coast. As a result, the Dey of Algiers signed a treaty to put an end to the North African slave trade, freed 1803 Christian slaves and returned the ransom money.

T71/871 Westmoreland No. 755A-G.

For an account of Pace's naval career see http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pace/edmund.html [accessed 14/05/2013].

1. Familysearch batch nos. C05159-1, C13502-3 and I02210-5.

2. 1851 census online; FreeUKGen, England and Wales Free BMD Database, Deaths, 1837-1983 [database online].

3. William R. O'Bryne, A Naval Biographical Dictionary (London, John Murray, 1849) p. 848.

4. See http://www.sailingwarship.com/bombardment-of-algiers-by-anglo-dutch-forces-on-august-26-27-1816.html [accessed 14/05/2013].

We are grateful to Dr Tony Nicholson for his assistance in compiling this entry.