John Adams (176?–1829). In 1814, six years after Mayhew Folger’s rediscovery of Pitcairn, two Royal Navy ships called at the island. Adams, its patriarch, went aboard the ships and related the events of the mutiny and its aftermath to the naval captains. He described these in a manner that placed his own actions in as innocent a light as possible. But since he was the sole survivor of the mutiny, there was no one else left to gainsay his version of the events. Although technically still guilty of mutiny, in view of his ostensible piety and leadership of the island community, Adams was not arrested. In 1825 he married Mary, formerly Will McCoy’s woman. They had one son, named George. Adams’ marked grave lies alongside that of Mary, behind where his house was. Pitcairn’s one tiny township, Adamstown, commemorates him.
William Bligh (1754–1817). When Bligh returned to England in 1790, after his epic open-boat voyage, he was hailed as a hero. His version of the mutiny, A Narrative of the Mutiny on the Bounty, published in 1790, heightened his celebrity status, as did his second breadfruit voyage. However when the other men of the Bounty were returned to England in 1792, alternative accounts of the mutiny were made public. The influential Heywood and Christian families disputed Bligh’s version, and public opinion became much less favourable to him. Nevertheless, always fearless, he resumed his naval career and commanded Royal Navy ships with distinction in battles against the Dutch in 1797 and the Danish-Norwegian fleet in 1801. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1801, for services to navigation and exploration. In 1805 Bligh was appointed governor of the penal colony of New South Wales. Three years later he became embroiled in a mutiny in Sydney while attempting to break up the monopoly of the army, known as the Rum Corps. After being imprisoned for two years, he returned to England, where he was exonerated. He was promoted again, first to Rear Admiral of the Blue, then in 1814 to Vice Admiral of the Blue. He died aged sixty-three and is buried in Lambeth churchyard.
Ann Christian (1730–1820). Fletcher’s mother discovered what had happened to her youngest son after the story of the mutiny and Bligh’s voyage was made public, early in 1790. The anguish she must have felt when her son’s notoriety was publicised can be imagined. By the time the discovery of the Pitcairn community by Captain Folger was brought to the world’s attention in 1808, Fletcher had been dead for fourteen years and Ann was elderly. So she learned of but could never meet her Tahitian daughter-in-law and Fletcher and Mauatua’s three children. Ann had no other grandchildren. She was living with her son Charles in Douglas, on the Isle of Man, when she died in 1820, aged ninety.
Charles Christian (1762–1822). After studying medicine in Edinburgh, Charles joined the West Yorkshire Regiment as an assistant surgeon, and three years later studied again at Edinburgh and qualified as a surgeon. He then served in that capacity on the merchantman Middlesex. Horrified when he received news of the mutiny and his brother’s part in it, Charles attributed Fletcher’s actions to the extreme mental stress which can develop below decks on a sailing ship. In 1808 he joined his mother Ann on the Isle of Man, where he spent the rest of his life.
Edward Christian (1758–1823). After graduating from Cambridge University Edward was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1782. In 1788 he was appointed Downing Professor of the Laws of England and was Chief Justice of the Isle of Ely. He also ‘published some of the most respected papers and legal opinions of his time’ (Fragile Paradise, p435). At Edward’s urging, in 1794 Stephen Barney, counsel to Bounty mutineer William Muspratt, published the Minutes of the Bounty Court Martial. This included an Appendix, written by Edward. In it he did not excuse Fletcher’s conduct but recounted some of the excesses of Bligh, using as his source interviews with prominent people who had spoken to some of those who had witnessed the mutiny, such as Peter Heywood. The publication of Edward’s Appendix led to the tide of public opinion turning against Bligh and in Fletcher Christian’s favour. Bligh then published a rejoinder, which prompted Edward to publish A Short Reply to Capt. William Bligh’s Answer. Edward held the Downing College professorship until his death.
Thursday October Christian (1790–1831). The first child born on Pitcairn after the arrival of the mutineers and their Tahitian women, Thursday was only three when his father was killed. At the age of sixteen he married Teraura, also known as Susannah, formerly Ned Young’s consort, who was then about thirty. Tall young Thursday impressed the visitors on the ships that called at Pitcairn in 1808 and 1814. They admired his open countenance and respectful manner. During his brief visit to HMS Tagus in 1814, Thursday had his portrait drawn. In it he wears a straw hat decorated with rooster’s feathers. Tagus’s Captain Pipon described him as ‘a tall fine young Man about 6 feet high . . . with a great share of good humour & a disposition & willingness to oblige, we were very glad to trace in his benevolent countenance, all the features of an honest English face’. Thursday also spoke good English. Later informed that his father had not taken the loss of a day into account while sailing east on the Bounty, Thursday changed his Christian name to Friday. In 1831 a group of Pitcairners, including Thursday-Friday, sailed to Tahiti, where he died of an infectious disease. He and Susannah had six children. She died in 1850.
Isabella-Mauatua-Maumiti-Mainmast Christian (176?–1841). It is said that she remembered Cook’s last visit to Tahiti in 1777, which means that she was probably older than Fletcher. After his death she became the partner of Ned Young. She had two sons and a daughter by Fletcher and one son and two daughters by Young. She returned to Tahiti in 1831 with a party of Pitcairners, but found her homeland defiled by contacts with dissolute Europeans and went back to Pitcairn. White-haired in her old age, she was well-known for the stories she related to other members of her family.
Peter Heywood (1772–1831). Although he played no active role in the 1789 mutiny, Bligh cited Heywood as one of the mutineers. Now eighteen, he was arrested and taken back to England aboard Pandora to be court-martialled. Along with five others he was sentenced to death by hanging. However, after his influential family lobbied on his behalf, mercy was recommended and he was pardoned by King George III. Resuming his naval career, Heywood was given his first command at twenty-seven and made a post-captain at thirty-one. He remained in the navy until 1816, earning a reputation as a fine hydrographer. He married Frances Joliffe but they had no children. In his retirement Heywood published his dictionary of the Tahitian language.