Margaret Bennie COULSON - merchant seaman?

[Jang]

I've just stumbled across a mysterious entry in the FindMyPast indexes:

Coulson, Margaret Bennie 
Born 1899 
Event 1921 
Record set Britain, merchant seamen, 1918-1941 
Location Great Britain 

I've never come across a female entry in these indexes before.

I know from her death certificate that Margaret was married to Edward Taylor, master mariner, but have never been able to find a marriage in either Scotland (where she lived and died) or England. If she's listed under her maiden name in 1921, I'm guessing that this is when she married but where?

Any leads gratefully received :-)

Jan

[ShaunJ]

Looks like she was employed as a stenographer on a ship (the Minnedosa?) in 1928 (not 1921).

[amondg]

For marriage try Scotlands people website, requires registration

[Jang]

Ah, thanks, ShaunJ, that would explain how she met her husband.

So she was still unmarried in 1928. I wonder if she was married at sea? :-) There is a marriage for a Margaret Coulson to a Matthew (not Edward) Taylor in June qtr 1934 South Shields ...

amondg - I have searched on Scotlandspeople - no marriage       :-(

[Jang]

Hmm, just checked the passenger list for the Minnedosa in 1928 Glasgow to Canada - Margt Coulson was an infant, accompanying Marjory Coulson. Doesn't seem to match up with the FindMyPast entry.

[ShaunJ]

Hmm, just checked the passenger list for the Minnedosa in 1928 Glasgow to Canada - Margt Coulson was an infant, accompanying Marjory Coulson. Doesn't seem to match up with the FindMyPast entry.

Margaret Bennie Coulson would have been a crew member. I don't think crew are listed on the UK or Canadian passenger manifests.

[Jang]

Oh, of course, I should have realised she would be crew.

But what are the odds of 2 Margaret Coulsons on the same voyage - one a passenger and the other crew!

[seaweed]

She was still known as COULSON in 1933 when she was on board MELITA official number 136367 in 1933. All the vessels she worked on were owned by Canadian Pacific. Usually employed on the UK/Canada/UK route
MONTCALM O/N 145903
EMPRESS OF JAPAN O/N 161430
MINNEDOSA O/N 142717

Just as a guess but it seems to me that she was not employed full time in a seagoing capacity.

I have searched British Overseas marriages and marriages at sea. Nothing there. Likewise searching using Margaret Taylor.

I would start with him by getting hold of his seagoing records in Lloyd's Captains Register from London Metropolitan Archives.

 https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Documents/50-lloyds-of-London-captains-registers-and-related-sources.pdf

They do have a  pay for research service if you cannot attend yourself.
I don't know if LCR is available on line, may be someone will tell us.
Once you have this detail you can then look at crew agreements and logbooks to see if there are any clues (such as addresses, NOK, etc,) there.

[Jang]

Thanks for the info, Seaweed, especially the names of the ships. I'm beginning to wonder if I have the right Margaret Coulson. Was her name given as Margaret Coulson or Margaret Bennie Coulson? Is there a year of birth for her?

My Margaret Bennie Coulson was born in 1891, yet the FindMyPast index says 1899. She had a son, George Coulson Taylor about 1923 (he was killed in WW2 in 1944 aged 21) in Glasgow but I can't find his birth on Scotlandspeople, although there is one possible birth of a George Coulson in 1922. She also had another son, Edward - again I can't find a birth for him.  If she had small children, I agree with you that she wasn't employed full time in a seagoing capacity.

Thanks also for checking for a marriage - I'm wondering if the mysterious Edward Taylor, master mariner, even existed at all!

Jan