PASCO, John
(1774-1853) - Captain

Royal Navy officer.

Born on 20 December 1774, eldest son of John Pasco, a shipwright of Plymouth Dock and Elizabeth (nee Banfield).

Pasco entered the Royal Navy on 4 June 1784, as a captain's servant on board the Druid. He was on active service in the West Indies and North America in 1786 as a gunner's servant; afterwards on various ships patrolling the English Channel, Mediterranean, Cape of Good Hope and West Indies stations. He was promoted to Lieutenant of HMS Beaulieu on 15 June 1795.

Served on board the Victory as the Signal Lieutenant under Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805 and had been the officer responsible for the transmission of the famous battle signal 'England expects that every man will do his duty'. Severely wounded in the right arm during the battle; and as a result of his wound he received a grant from the patriotic fund and allowed a pension of £250. However, despite the fact that he was promoted to the rank of Commander on 24 December 1805, he remained unemployed for almost three years afterwards.

Appointed to the command of the Hindostan for the voyage to New South Wales (1809-1810). He had married Rebecca (nee Penfold) (1785-1841) on 1 September 1805 and with a wife and growing family there would be a necessity to make provision for them. In time his wife would provide him with six sons, two of whom died in infancy, and three daughters. Rebecca Pasco accompanied her husband on the voyage to New South Wales on board the Hindostan along with their two young children, William (1807-) and Horatia (1808-). A third child, John (1810-), was born at sea (on 5 July 1810) on the return voyage, off the coast of Patogonia. Captain Pasco left HMS Hindostan on 24 November 1810.

In the period 1811-1815 he was captain (promoted 3 April 1811) of the Tartarus on the North America station; the frigate Rota on the Lisbon station; and between 1815-1818 in command of the Lee, a small frigate employed in the Channel for the suppression of smuggling. He retired from active service in September 1818 and he remained ashore for the next twenty-eight years. In 1846 he was appointed as captain of the Victory at Portsmouth, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral (Blue) on his retirement on 22 September 1847, followed by Rear-Admiral (White) on 9 October 1849; Rear-Admiral (Red) in 1852; and Vice-Admiral on 11 September 1854.

The complaint by Elizabeth Macquarie (and others) regarding Pasco's propensity to chase every strange sail sighted during the voyage to NSW in 1809 is linked directly to the fact that as'commodore' of the fleet Pasco would not have been receiving any extra pay for his current rank. The term 'Commodore' was an ad hoc rank, conferred on the commander of an expedition for the duration of a specific operation or cruise only: when that was completed, the holder normally reverted to plain Captain. Consequently, Pasco was no different to any other serving naval officer. He did not hold Flag rank at this stage - nor qualify for its financial benefits. 'Prize' was the only way that he could hope to improve his financial situation.

Pasco married a second time, on 22 July 1843, Eliza Weaver (widow of Captain John Weaver, Royal Navy).

Died: 16 November 1853 [aged 79] at East Stonehouse, Devon. There were nine (9) children from his first marriage to Rebecca Penfold: six sons and three daughters (though two sons died in infancy).

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References:
Primary Sources:
Naval Chronicle 24 (1810) p.437.
The Examiner (London, England), Saturday, November 19, 1853; Issue 2390.
'Will of John Pasco, Rear Admiral in the Navy of East Stonehouse, Devon. 6 December 1853.' PROB 11/2182. Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury Series. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Volume number: 18 Quire numbers: 851-900.

Secondary Sources:
Byrne, William R. A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: Murray, 1849 Vol. 2 pp.869-870.
Clarke, John D. The Men of the HMS Vistory at Trafalgar, including the Muster Roll, Casualties, Rewards and Medals. Uckfield: Vintage Naval Library, 1999 p.82.
The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815. (eds.) David Syrett and R.L. DiNardo. Aldershot, UK: Scolar Press, 1994 p.349.
Mackenzie, Robert H. The Trafalgar Roll. London: George Allen, 1913 pp.13-14.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004 Vol. 42 p.964.
Popham, Hugh. A Damned Cunning Fellow: the eventful life of Rear-Admiral Sir Home Popham 1762-1820. Old Ferry Press, 1991 pp.129-130.
Tracy, Nicholas. Who's Who in Nelson's Navy: 200 naval heroes. London: Chatham Publishing, 2006 pp.285-286.

Personal communication:
Warren Pasco - descendant (Williamstown, Victoria), supplied a copy [in September 2003] of Statutory Declaration by Pasco's parents asserting that he was born on 29 December 1771. This declaration is now believed to be false - to allow their son John to be the minimum age of 20 to sit for his Lieutenant's Certificate. [Additional information from Warren Pasco in September 2010]. Most published biographical sources claim he was born at Portsmouth on 20 December 1774.

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