This biography, written by Brenda Rosete, has been republished with permission from the Dangerous Women Project, created by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh.
Born: 11 June 1792, United Kingdom
Died: 12 May 1864
Country most active: International
Also known as: Elizabeth Miller
During the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, Elizabeth Miller achieved the distinction of being the only woman before or since entered as Captain of a merchant vessel in the Lloyd’s British Registry of Tonnage.
Her ship was the “Clytus”, a coaling brig made from the wreck of a French warship. “Betsy”, as she was known, began her career of Captain after her father died, mastering the ship for 22 years. She accomplished something almost unreachable for those times as life at sea was also not as easy for women; they were not allowed to enter a ship according to The British Admiralty officially in the 18th century. Also among sailors there was a long tradition of superstition, some say this is because women were considered bad luck and that having a woman on board a ship when it was sailing could anger the sea gods, bringing on horrible weather and rough water. Working on a ship was allowed just for men and boys, the only way women could work on a vessel was if they were disguised as men, or if they were the daughter of the Captain.
Despite on the limited insights about her life I created a story of my own combining existing facts with imaginary elements, incorporating my personal experiences within the place and some historical fragments; creating an alternative character to represent a fictional femininity encircled by a tough environment such as life at the sea, portraying the strength and courage as well as the delicacy and fragility of a woman.
According to written records of historians and local stories, Betsy was the eldest daughter of the Captain William Miller and his wife Mary. As a young child, Betsy accompanied her father on his journeys, that is how she gained a lot of knowledge about ships. When Betsy reached adulthood she worked for her father in charge of the finances of the company, while her brother Hugh was groomed to take over the company and run the ship trading cargoes of salt and coal. When her father passed away and her brother Hugh accidentally drowned at nearby Ardrossan, and “When she first got her capable hands on the wheel of “The Clytus”, the Miller family had a big debt;” this is the reason why Betsy decided to take charge of the ship and run the family business herself at the age of 46 years old and for over 20 years she mastered the brig, sometimes with the help of her sister Hannah, sailing to different ports in Ireland, Australia and America, and by the day of her retirement she was the wealthiest woman in Saltcoats.