MR. J. C. DYER ON STEAM NAVIGATION. 285 



matters in dispute. Tlie ' Margery ^ was built at Dumbar- 

 ton by the late Mr. William Denny, for Mr. W. Ander- 

 son, merchant, Glasgow, and when launched was christ- 

 ened the ' Margery,^ after his eldest daughter, who named 

 her, who is still alive, and a resident in London. At the 

 close of the year 1814, Captain Curtis was sent by a Lon- 

 don Company to Glasgow to negotiate with Mr. Ander- 

 son for the purchase of the ' Margery,' which was effected, 

 the only stipulation made by Mr. Anderson being that 

 the name of the steamer should at no future period be 

 chajiged ; this Captain Curtis • agreed to, and the promise 

 was faithfully kept. Captain Curtis took the ' Margery ' 

 through the Forth and Clyde Canal, and invited a large 

 party of Mr, Anderson's friends to accompany him while 

 passing through the canal. There remain but two of this 

 party now alive, viz. the lady after whom the steamer 

 w^as named, and a clergyman a friend of Mr. Anderson's. 

 The writer of the article in the ^Dumbarton Herald' is 

 quite correct in his statement of the fear and wonder 

 which the appearance of the ^Margery' excited on the 

 coast while on her passage to England, as well as among 

 the English fleet ; in most cases she was supposed to be a 

 vessel on fire. The ' Margery ' was the first steam-ship 

 that ever sailed in Enghsh waters, and made her first trip 

 to Milton, below Gravesend, on the 23rd January 18 15. 

 She was ultimately taken to Paris, where not many years 

 ago her timbers were still lying on the banks of the Seine. 

 Mr. Anderson was therefore owner of the first steamer 

 that was ever seen in London, and also the first in Paris. 

 He also owned the first that ever crossed from Scotland 

 to Ireland (namely the ^ Greenock,' built soon after the 

 ' Margery'), which he took to Belfast." 



Considering that fifty- five years have passed since the 

 first successful application of steam power to navigation 

 was clearly established, and witnessed by myriads of people 



