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Archiver > Mariners > 2004-01 > 1073214418


From: "John Marshall" <>
Subject: Re: [Mar] Re: Passports for Sailors circa 1900
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2004 11:06:58 -0000
References: <00fd01c3d20b$0eeb9820$0d78893e@pbncomputer> <029601c3d24f$17b6a140$3e8b6751@pauline>


Hi Pauline,

Best of luck with your searches. I am afraid that Merchant Seamen are notoriously difficult to find. My grandfather changed his identity at some time and a few cousins and myself are trying to find out whether the family oral history of why he did it holds water, but we are going to need an awful lot of luck to do so. By chance I have found him under his original name, Hugh Forrester, in the 1891 census as an Ordinary Seaman on a Scottish brigantine which happened to be in an English port on census day, and I've also found him under his adopted name, John Stevenson, as an AB on a Canadian ship in 1900, after spending many hours wading through crew lists in the Liverpool Record Office. That at least limits the number of years we have to look at. In theory we should be able to trace him back from 1900 by noting what his previous ship was listed as on the crew lists, but first we have to find the crew lists, and they are scattered all over the world - and I suspect tha!
t the vast majority are missing. So we'll keep looking, and maybe one day luck will favour us once more, because there is no doubt that we've been extremely lucky to find out what we have done so far.

Regards
John


----- Original Message -----
Hi John
Thank you for this info. I seem to have hit a brick wall with several of my
ancestors who were either Royal or Merchant men. I know I shall have to
visit Kew some time soon and I was just trying to gather a little info
before I go. Unfortunately I have almost nothing on my father's father and
as my Dad was an only child there is no-one alive who can tell me anything
about him. All I have as FACTS are what is written on my father's marriage
certificate. Looks like I am going to have to do a lot more digging before I
go to Kew.
Thanks anyway
Pauline

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