1841 Census for Mariners

[Jean Price]

Good afternoon,

John Gibson, born 1804, Scotland, was a pilot on the Irish sea. Would I find him anywhere in the 1841 and perhaps the 1851 census

Thank you,
Jean

[solidrock]

!851 census.    Barracks Lane, Fraserburgh, Buchan, Aberdeenshire
        John    Gibson.  born 1802, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire.  Seaman.

[Jean Price]

Thank you Solidrock, but I do feel that Aberdeen is a bit far away for him to go to work the next morning.

Jean

[Liviani]

Good afternoon,

John Gibson, born 1804, Scotland, was a pilot on the Irish sea. Would I find him anywhere in the 1841 and perhaps the 1851 census

Thank you,
Jean

According to SP there were 18 John Gibsons born in Scotland in 1804, do you happen to know where in Scotland he was born? This would help track down the correct one on the census. Either that or his parent(s) names to check against the index of births on SP to see where he was born.

Be aware that because he was a Mariner that it's entirely possible that he was at sea on the night of the censuses being taken. Which unfortunately means he won't be recorded at all if this is the case. If he was docked on board a ship in 1851 then it's possible he will appear under the port he was docked at at the time. Please see this link for more info on mariners in censuses; http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/UKCensuses.html

Added:  Was he in the military at any point? There is an approx 35 year old (they rounded ages in 1841) John Gibson appearing in the 1841 census at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, Kent. This is from the free weekend on FindMyPast.

First name(s)   John
Last name   Gibson
Gender   Male
Age   35
Birth year   1806
Birth county   -
Birth county as transcribed   SCOTLAND
Birth place (other)   Scotland
Street   Royal Artillery Barracks
Parish or township   Woolwich
City or borough   Greenwich
Town   -
County   London, Kent
Country   England
Registration district   Greenwich
Archive reference   HO107
Piece number   493
Book number   8
Folio number   35
Page number   3
Record set   1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census

[RJ_Paton]

Good afternoon,

John Gibson, born 1804, Scotland, was a pilot on the Irish sea. Would I find him anywhere in the 1841 and perhaps the 1851 census

Thank you,
Jean

Do you have confirmation that he was a Pilot on the Irish Sea - Pilots are highly specialised in their areas and normally are shore based in large or busy  Ports & larger River Mouth areas rather than at larger areas such as the Irish Sea.

It may be worth checking Ports on the West Coast to find if he was based on land at one of those.

Unfortunately Scotland did not record Merchant Mariners whether in Port or at sea until the 1861 census. (England started in 1851)

Another line of search  is the CLIP website at http://www.crewlist.org.uk/findingonindexes.html

[Jean Price]

My thanks to Liviani and Falkryn,

Liviani, I know so much about this man EXCEPT the names of his parents and his place of birth. (I am the proud owner of the Bible  that he gave to his second son.) That is what I am trying to do now - find another generation, so that I can go back another few years.

Falkryn, I am absolutely positive he was a pilot and a master mariner. Once he arrived in Tasmania he had a fleet of ships and also had some built for him. Both his sons had their pilot certificates for ports around Australia, and one son earnt his captain's certificate in 1857. One son's obit says his grandfather was a pilot in the Irish Sea. Thank you for the link to CLIP.

Regards,
Jean

[J11]

If you have the wife and children's names and dates of birth, it would be worth posting them as it is easier to find a family group than an individual.  The son who became a captain in 1857 should certainly feature on censuses in UK if they hadn't emigrated before 1841.

[ShaunJ]

Previous thread on this family http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=705034.0

[Jean Price]

Hello J11,

I have found his wife and children in Holm Street, Barony, Glasgow in the 1841 census.

Thank you,
Jean