Chapter Six – concluded

M

Chapter Six – concluded

Merchant Navy Records

Unfortunately there are very few merchant marine records before the beginning of the nineteenth century. Prior to that date there are only a number of Muster Rolls for the ports of Shields, Dartmouth, Liverpool and Plymouth, the earliest dated 1747. These are kept at the Public Record Office at Kew. However, as many mariners may have also served in the Royal Navy, it is wise to examine their records for the period pre 1835, including Greenwich Hospital (see above).

As a result of The Merchant Shipping Act of 1835, Parliament ordered the registration of all merchant seamen with the aim of creating a reserve pool of men fit to serve in the Royal Navy. To facilitate this objective Registers of Merchant Seamens' Service were compiled from 1835 until 1857 and these can be examined at the Public Record Office, Kew. Apprentice Indentures were also kept from 1824 down to 1953, with a register of apprentices from all over England bound to fishermen in the south-east 1639 to 1664 and one for the port of Colchester 1794 to 1757 and 1804 to 44. However the survival rate of the apprentice indentures from 1824 is very patchy.

Agreement and Crew Lists have also survived from 1835. Post 1857 it is very difficult to trace Agreement and Crew Lists for merchant seaman, to determine what is available you should consult the Public Record Office, the National Maritime Museum, and the Memorial University of Newfoundland. An excellent book on what records are available for merchant seamen is "My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman" , by C.T. and M J Watts.

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