The Francis and Mary was built at Bowdoinham, Maine, in 1793 by Jonas Bowman as a 311 ton vessel and was armed with 8 guns. She was registered at Baltimore (N America). She, and her crew of 8, had been captured by a French privateer La Volney off Lisbon on June 16 1799 and taken to Cadiz. She later is reported as returning to Baltimore in October 1799 and as arriving at London in January 1800 after a 41 day passage from Baltimore, laden with tobacco.
An advert in March 1801 states that the fast sailing American ship, Francis and Mary, Captain Peter Spence, copper bottomed, 400 tons burthen, has excellent accommodation for passengers and freight to Baltimore and is lying in Kings Dock, Liverpool. There was a significant Welsh emigration to Pennsylvania and Baltimore would be a suitable port of entry.
On 6 April 1801, the Francis and Mary was reported as having returned to Liverpool [having left for Maryland on 2 April] after being on shore near the Skerries. Also as having lost her rudder. No casualties were reported.
A report (in Shipwrecks of North Wales by I. W. Jones) is of a vessel (un-named) taking about 300 emigrants, mainly from South Caernarvonshire, from Liverpool in early April 1801. She struck the Skerries (rocks off the NW corner of Anglesey) and suffered damage. A Liverpool bound brig took off the women and children aboard, while the men were left to work the pumps. She then returned to Liverpool but ran aground on the Hoyle Bank. She was subsequently refloated and got back to Liverpool. This report ties in with that of the Francis and Mary, as reported by contemporary newspapers (above).
She is reported as leaving Liverpool for Riga in July 1801 and returning to Liverpool from Riga with timber and hemp in October 1801. So she had been repaired by that date. Then she is reported as sailing from Liverpool to Maryland on 20 Dec 1801.