Fouquet, Pierre (1729-1800), Afb 010094002940

John May Sr or Jan Maij (1694 – 1779) was an English shipwright from Chatham who served from 1758-1779 as Master Shipbuilder of the Amsterdam Admiralty.

Career

John May was hired in 1728 by the

Amsterdam Admiralty The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

. In 1727 this Admiralty, the largest of the five Dutch Admiralties, had hired

Charles Bentham Charles Bentham was an English shipwright. In 1727 the Amsterdam Admiralty The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was ...

and Thomas Davis to work for them in improving ship design. John May served as the assistant to Charles Bentam for three decades. May taught the art of shipbuilding, and after the death of Bentam in 1758, he was appointed Master Shipbuilder and would serve in the position for 21 years. In 1761, May was accused of belonging to a

camarilla A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the royal court but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape havi ...

with Count of Gronsveld which managed the Admiralty.

Family

In 1714 he married Rebecca Pensix (-1743) a spinster from Gillingham; the couple had five children who lived to adulthood: Job, John, William, Rebecca, and George. In 1762, he married Magteld Geertruy Kannegieter of Amsterdam. His son John May Jr or Johannes Maij (

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

(1724-1782) married Martha Naudin in March 1753; the couple had five daughters. At that time he lived at Reguliersgracht, but moved to Keizersgracht near Westerkerk. May traded in company with J.A. Crop on

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54, ...

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

, a decade later on the Caribbean. In March 1776, at the beginning of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

, they shipped weapons and horses from

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

to North-America. During the

Fourth Anglo-Dutch War The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Vierde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence (1775-1783), broke out ove ...

he was pro-British, and the company liquidated in 1782. Job May, also a shipwright, owned the shipyard ''Yhoek'' on Wittenburg, which John bought in 1767. In 1790 it was sold by (his son-in-law) Isaac ten Cate who took over his business and involved in setting up a training for sailors. In 1793 John's daughter Elisabeth married Paul Busti, a real estate agent, operating the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam who in 1792 and 1793 purchased the western two-thirds of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, an area that afterward was known as the Holland Purchase ...

in Philadelphia. William May (Maij) (Chatham 1725-1807), a captain and equipment master from 1780, devised various innovations in shipbuilding and cooperated with

Robert Seppings Sir Robert Seppings, FRS (11 December 176725 April 1840) was an English naval architect. His experiments with diagonal trusses in the construction of ships led to his appointment as Surveyor of the Navy in 1813, a position he held until 1835. Bi ...

. He played a role on 30 May 1787 when the Admiralty was occupied and his house was besieged during the Patriot revolt. He escaped with his family across the Y. In December 1787 he appointed as captain of a civic guard. William was the father of Job Seaborn May,

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

and

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Designs

John May, Sr's designs in alphabetical order are: #Admiraal de Ruyter, 3rd charter, on stocks at Amsterdam 22 July 1777, launched 13 November 1778, captured by British. Dimensions 167½ x 46 9/11 x 20½, 60-68 guns, 350-450 men.#Alarm, 7th charter, on stocks 14 August 1773, launched 22 July 1774, captured by British 1799? Dimensions (Amsterdam foot) 125 7/11 x 34 x 13 2/11, 24 guns, 150 men. #Alphen, 6th charter, 1766, exploded in battle 1778. Dimensions (Amsterdam foot) 139 8/11 (lower deck) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, 36 guns. # Argo, 5th charter, on stocks 14 December 1771, launched 9 December 1772, sold? 1785-1787 # Bellona, 6th charter, 1768, condemned 1796, dimensions (Amsterdam foot) 139 8/11 (lower deck) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, 36 guns, 230 men. # Beverwijk, 6th charter, 1767, sold 1784, dimensions 139 8/11 (lower deck) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, height between decks 7'2¾", 36 guns, 230 men. # Bloys van Treslong, 5th charter, 1754, sold 1782, dimensions 141 (lower deck) x 39 7/11 x 17 7/11, 44 guns. # Boreas, 7th charter 1768, last mentioned 1786, dimensions 123 4/11 (prow) x 33 7/11 x 12½, height between decks 6'6", 24 guns. # Erfprins, 4th charter 1770, wrecked 1783, dimensions 154½ x 43 x 20 guns, 52-56, 300 men. # Hof van Souburg, 6th charter 1761, condemned 1788, dimensions 139 8/11 (prow) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, 36 guns, 130 men. # Holland, 3rd charter, 1761, sunk 1781, dimensions 167½ (lower deck) x 45 8/11 x 20, 64-68 guns. # Kennemerland, 4th charter, 1761, burnt 1778, dimensions 153 (lower deck) x 43 x 20, 54 guns. # Leiden 3rd charter, on stocks at Amsterdam 17 september 1784, launched 26 july 1786, captured by British 1799, dimensions 167½ (lower deck) x 46 9/11 x 20½, 68 guns. # Mars, 5th charter, 1769, captured by British 1781, dimensions 139 8/11 (lower deck) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, 32-36 guns. # Nassau, 3rd charter, 1759, broken up 1784, dimensions 167½ (prow) x 45 8/11 x 20½, 64-68 guns, 450 men. # Nassau Weilburg, 4th charter, 1760, wrecked 1783, dimensions 153 (lower deck) x 43 x 20, 52-54 guns, 300 men. # Prinses Royaal, 2nd charter, 1759, stricken 1780, dimensions 182 3/11 (lower deck) x 49 5/11 x 20, 72-74 guns. # Valk, 7th charter 1770, captured 1799, dimensions 125 7/11 x 34 x 13 2/11, 24 guns, 158-163 men. # Venus, 7th charter 1768, captured by British 1796, dimensions 125 7/11 x 33 7/11 x 13 2/11, 24 guns, 156 men. # Waakzaamheid, 7th charter 1769, captured by French 1794, dimensions 125 7/11 x 34 x 13 2/11, 20-24 guns, 150-175 men. # Weststellingwerf, 7th charter 1755, stricken 1781, dimensions 122 x 14 x 12 8/11, 22-24 guns. # Zephier, 6th charter 1767, wrecked 1783, dimensions 139 8/11 (lower deck) x 37 8/11 x 15 8/11, 36 guns, 230 men. # Zwieten, 5th charter, 1759, last mentioned 1782, dimensions 141 (lower deck) x 39 7/11 x 17 7/11, 44 guns, 250 men.

References

External links

Portrait in Rijksmuseum
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, John 1694 births 1779 deaths English shipwrights Dutch shipbuilders 18th century in Amsterdam