RootsChat.Com
General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: tollypops1 on Saturday 10 March 12 09:45 GMT (UK)
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Hi
I wonder if anyone can help. I am searching my husband s ancestor who was in the Navy . We do not know if it was Royal or Merchant,he lived in Portesham or Abbotsbury near Weymouth. Born 1822. We know he jumped ship so he was a deserter. His name was James Hayne Haine or Hain. I have seen it spelt several ways.James joined the 41st Welsh Regiment in 1840. He was attested at Bristol. I know there are merchant seamen records 1835-1840 on find my past but I cannot find him. I dont know if this means he was not in the Merchant navy or the records are not complete. I would be very grateful for any clues. Many thanks
Donna Russell
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You say he jumped ship "so he was a deserter"
Could you tell us how you know this?
Do you have the name of the ship?
Was the word "Ran" or "Run" indicated anywhere?
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Hi Thank you for your reply. We know he was a deserter as the story has been passed down in the family that he jumped ship because of the terrible way in which they were treated. He also changed his name which I guess indicates fear of being found. He was never traced thankfully!!I am afraid I do not know which ship he was on but I am guessing it would have stopped somewhere in the south west as he joined the army in Bristol.Thanks again Donna
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The concept of desertion applied to both RN and merchant ships (crew failing to join a ship that that had signed up for could be jailed, one of the issues that Samuel Plimsoll fought about).
The National Archives has quite a bit on merchant seamen of this time but the way in to the records is by the ship's name and port of registry - with what info you have I fear it may be pretty tough going.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/merchantseamanbefore1857.htm
There is no comprehensive service record for RN ratings of this period - again you have to piece things together and a ship name is the key very often.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/ratingroyalnavybefore1853.htm
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/royal-navy-rating.htm
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By way of background information, when researching something totally different this morning I came across the statistic that in 1848 alone 14,000 deserted from merchant service, with 8,000 deserting in North America (presumably for a better life)