Joseph Somes

Joseph Somes (9 December 1787 – 25 June 1845) was a British shipowner and Conservative politician. Family Born in Stepney, London, Somes was the youngest son of Samuel Somes (1758–1816) and Sarah née Green. In 1811, he married Mary Ann Daplyn, daughter of Thomas Daplyn of Stepney, and they had one surviving daughter. However, after her death in 1835, he remarried to Maria Saxton in 1837. Saxton was the daughter of Charles Saxton and sister of Charles Waring Saxton, an early migrant to New Zealand, and Somes' lawyer, Edward Saxton. Maritime career Somes' early life saw him apprenticed to his father as a lighterman and then, at the age of 15, sent to sea, working in the coal and coastal trades. At age 21, he became a captain of one of his father's ships, then remaining at sea until 1816 and developing his knowledge of worldwide shipping and navigation.