David EVANS Master Mariner

[Beeonthebay]

Hello, I have David EVANS calling himself in the 1861 census for Liverpool a Master Mariner born about 1795 in Cardigan, Wales.  In 1871 he was an Annuitant.

On the 1851 he is not shown but his wife Ellen is and she calls herself a Mariners wife.

I have found a Masters and Mates certificate on Ancestry which would tie in beautifully his place and date of birth, except the record is for 1851 and shows the ship's ports as all in Wales except for one (London) and his address looks like Wales to me when it should have been in Liverpool with a wife and 3 or 4 children.......

Can somebody who is knowledgeable in ship's matters please take a look and advise whether this is my David or not.

[Glynm]

Checking on Welshmariners.co.uk there are five master mariners named David Hughes from Aberporth. However only one was born in 1795. Details provided are sketchy although it does provide his Certificate of Service Number 39029 which is missing from your certificate. He appears to be the master of a small smack Charming Nancy ON 16131 involved in Coastal trading and would probably visit Liverpool on a regular basis to visit his family, where was his wife born? However, I am not sure why he gave his address as Aberporth although my ancestors used addresses of convenience such as places where they regularly lodged when in a port or a relative's house.

Glyn     

[Beeonthebay]

Thank you Glyn, this is the first page of the record showing the same record number of 39029 but it's David EVANS not HUGHES.

His wife and all his children were born in Liverpool.  This is really fascinating to think he sailed to Liverpool to see them. 

Are there any other records I can use to establish if this is the right man?

[Glynm]

Apologises I had a senior moment I should of typed Evans not Hughes. From Welsh Mariners site there appears to be a further document at Kew detailing voyages in 1855/56 although it states it is too faint to read. From the Crewlist site it appears that David was master of Charming Nancy until at least 1863  which would tally with the 1861 Census which you say states Master rather than Retired Master Mariner. If he was docked in a port on the night of the 1851 Census there may be a record under the name of his ship.

Glyn

[Beeonthebay]

Thank you for bearing with me Glynn, I do appreciate your help as I sail  into unknown territories, it's been a bit of a hard slog today!!!  Anc had defaulted David's DOB to 1795 because on the 1871 census he said he was 76 years of age.  On spending some time today looking at the 1851 census where he was "missing" I found a David EVANS living in Aberporth with his wife and children, right age and says he was born in Aberporth as does the 32029 mariner but calls himself a Seaman not a Master Mariner however I do think this is our man 32029.

So it was back to the drawing board with a sinking feeling but luck was with me today    I spent more time looking at the 2 censuses I have him on and on the 1861 census on closer inspection he says he is 60!!  So that meant I had to knock 5 years or so off his age and manually adjust the default age.

Another search on the Mariners register and I came up trumps!!!  On the second page bottom right is his address and yes it's in the same street in Liverpool where his wife and family are in 1851.   

So this is definitely my David EVANS, I'd love to find our more about the ships he sailed on and the interesting voyages he seems to have had.  Any further information you can find from your sources would be fantastic!!!

[Beeonthebay]

In 1857 he lost or mislaid his ticket (very hard to read further than that) and is issued with a Renewed  No. 70196.

[Beeonthebay]

Sadly this man is NOT my ancestor.      I will leave this post here because if anybody is looking for him in the future, I can tell you more information I've found about him.