Death at seA

[buckhyne]

My g/g/uncle David Lawrie was lost overboard on the British Queen in the North Sea in January, 1891.
I cannot find him in FindMyPast but he is in the Minor Records in SP.
Just a one line, minimal amount Death Certificate.
Again I had to rely on a newspaper report regarding his death.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=460914.9
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=462324.9
(last post).

FindMyPast claims to have Merchant Seaman records.
Is it the way I search or are they telling porkies?

[seaweed]

Is it the way I search or are they telling porkies?

James Lawrie is recorded on FindMyPast but a direct search on there gives negative results.
Two men were killed in the incident the other being one Arthur Shearman ( as written in an earlier article  4/1/1866 in the Glasgow Herald)
A search of FindMyPast using this name comes up with A Sharman. Directly underneath is the entry for your man. The cause of death was given as the catch all, "Drowned at sea" He signed on MIRAMICHI 24/Aug/1865.
If you want total confirmation as to his cause of death (If you don't believe every thing you read in the newspapers) You should be able to get hold of a copy of the logbook record. Probably in her first 1866 logbook.
MIRAMICHI official number 32833.

https://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/viewcombinedcrews.php?Official_No=32833

David Lawrie is also on FindMyPast. Try using the search Laurie.

[buckhyne]

Is it the way I search or are they telling porkies?

James Lawrie is recorded on FindMyPast but a direct search on there gives negative results.
Two men were killed in the incident the other being one Arthur Shearman ( as written in an earlier article  4/1/1866 in the Glasgow Herald)
A search of FindMyPast using this name comes up with A Sharman. Directly underneath is the entry for your man. The cause of death was given as the catch all, "Drowned at sea" He signed on MIRAMICHI 24/Aug/1865.
If you want total confirmation as to his cause of death (If you don't believe every thing you read in the newspapers) You should be able to get hold of a copy of the logbook record. Probably in her first 1866 logbook.
MIRAMICHI official number 32833.

https://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/viewcombinedcrews.php?Official_No=32833

David Lawrie is also on FindMyPast. Try using the search Laurie.

Thanks for that but I'm still having problems searching FindMyPast.
I click education & work> merchant navy & maritime then enter David Laurie.
I have no idea what record set to pick so I leave that blank, click the search button and get lots of Lauries of various variants but none are him.

[seaweed]

Sorry. Maybe I was a little misleading. The records surrounding  the death of David Lawrie are recorded on FindMyPast.
The official line states he jumped over board (committed suicide) another catch all cause of death which meant no enquiry and no payouts to his dependants.
My  experience over the years suggests that this excuse was a common occurrence and I have known cases were  men was clearly murdered only to be recorded as suicide. Simple. No body, no case to answer.
I am not suggesting this happened to your man.  The sea can be a lonely place and people can suffer depression but it leaves a cloud over his demise.
The reason that you cannot discover his MN service on FindMyPast is that no central personal records were kept between 1857 and 1913, personal  records for the period of WW1 have been destroyed.
The only way is to try and back track via crew agreements and logbooks.

[buckhyne]

Sorry. Maybe I was a little misleading. The records surrounding  the death of David Lawrie are recorded on FindMyPast.
The official line states he jumped over board (committed suicide) another catch all cause of death which meant no enquiry and no payouts to his dependants.
My  experience over the years suggests that this excuse was a common occurrence and I have known cases were  men was clearly murdered only to be recorded as suicide. Simple. No body, no case to answer.
I am not suggesting this happened to your man.  The sea can be a lonely place and people can suffer depression but it leaves a cloud over his demise.
The reason that you cannot discover his MN service on FindMyPast is that no central personal records were kept between 1857 and 1913, personal  records for the period of WW1 have been destroyed.
The only way is to try and back track via crew agreements and logbooks.

I don't think crew agreements and logbooks are online - are they?
David Lawrie was engaged to his cousin Mary Ann Sime and the family believe he was murdered and thrown overboard.
His dad was the James Lawrie who died Christmas day, 1865 and his mum was Isabella Sime.
Of course there is no proof but apparently he was on his way home to Fife for his wedding.
He was supposedly carry a sum of money and several presents.

[LizzieW]

I transcribed crewlists for many years (the work has just finished) and there were many fights recorded in the masters' notes for the Shipping Office, many of the seamen were frequently drunk.  I only came across one recorded murder though.  Many others fell off the masts or rigging whilst working on them.

[Roobarb]

You're right buckhyne, crew agreements are not online, you have to look for them at the National Archives. Even then, only a small proportion are kept there, Seaweed can probably tell you the percentage.

[buckhyne]

I transcribed crewlists for many years (the work has just finished) and there were many fights recorded in the masters' notes for the Shipping Office, many of the seamen were frequently drunk.  I only came across one recorded murder though.  Many others fell off the masts or rigging whilst working on them.

My David Lawrie was a crewman on the SS Ardbeg but was travelling as a passenger on the British Queen.
His father, James Lawrie fell from the topsailyard of the Miramichi on Christmas day, 1865 in the Atlantic (according to newspaper report).

[buckhyne]

You're right buckhyne, crew agreements are not online, you have to look for them at the National Archives. Even then, only a small proportion are kept there, Seaweed can probably tell you the percentage.

Thanks Roobarb, just as I suspected.