The name, and the inventions

Mary Celeste, not Marie Celeste.

The name of the vessel in the United States registers, from the American flag register of 31 December 1868 onwards, was Mary Celeste, not Marie Celeste.⁠¹ Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictitious “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement,” published in the 1880s, is riddled with factual inaccuracies that are still sometimes taken as fact, including the misspelling of the ship’s name as Marie Celeste.⁠² Conan Doyle’s story opens on the British ship Dei Gratia steering into Gibraltar, having in tow the derelict brigantine Marie Celeste.⁠³

What the testimony does not support

The testimony given before the Vice-Admiralty Court at Gibraltar affords no evidence that a cat was found on board, or that the fore-hatch was found upside down.⁠¹

Half-eaten breakfasts, steaming tea, a clock turning backwards and an oil phial balanced on a sewing machine are later retellings. They are not part of the found-aboard desk.