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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: LouisaHills on Saturday 11 July 20 21:33 BST (UK)
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One of my ancestors, Edward Edwin Blythe was convicted of felony in 1832, and the conviction record mentions "about 7 years on board a king's ship" in the description of him. Does anyone know what this might refer to? Neither Ancestry nor Findmypast list any military records for him, and for most of his life he was a baker by trade. Between his numerous court appearances, the only gap long enough to be relevant is between 1821, when he went bankrupt in Liverpool, and 1827, when he was living in London and had his trousers stolen. There don't seem to have been any particular naval engagements at that time for which he could have been press-ganged. Can anyone suggest anywhere that I could look for further information? Many thanks.
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Perhaps as a result of his conviction he had to serve his sentence on a prison hulk.
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Deleted not him
Stan
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He was sentanced to transportation, but that appears on a different part of the document. This bit about the king's ship appears in the same part of the form as his physical description, education and trade, so I assume it relates to his history rather than his sentence.
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What about serving on the king's ship from when he was about 9 or 10 years old until he was about 17 years old - his job being in the galley learning how to cook.
Would that time frame fit?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_prison_hulks
prisons were overcrowded - so Hulk Ships were introduced -
look down the list for dates to match Edward Edwin Blythe and see if there is any info
I have just looked up Old Mersey Times - newspaper reports for the Liverpool area - you could have a look through that as well
http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/
good luck
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In this instance he was sent to the General Penitentiary at Millbank rather than a hulk, and he was only there for one year before he received a pardon. I guess he could have been on a prison ship earlier in life, although I would have thought that that would have been listed as 'previously imprisoned for ...'
I had not considered the possibility that he served as a boy/teenager - so thank you for that. I will check out the Old Mersey Times too. Any further suggestions? I'm curious to know if there is anything specific about a 'King's ship' rather than just 'about seven years on board a ship.'
Many thanks
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The "King's Ships" were the Royal Navy. HMS = His Majesty's Ship.
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Was that Millbank in Liverpool ??
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So if I'm looking for a HMS, that would just be navy or prison hulks - not a merchant ship - is that right?
His imprisonment 1832 to 1833 was Millbank in London. He lived everywhere from Hull to Westminster to Wrexham, which is impressive in a time before the railways, but makes him hard to track. I only know it's the same person each time because his insolvency records list all these different cities under the same name. Liverpool would have been the nearest port to his birthplace, it was where he was insolvent in 1821 and where he married in 1830, so it seems the best bet for this 'king's ship' clue.
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So if I'm looking for a HMS, that would just be navy or prison hulks - not a merchant ship - is that right?
There were two methods of knowing you were looking at a "king's ship". A King's ship" flew a white ensign flag (white duster) on its masthead and a merchant ship that transported goods had a red ensign duster (red flag) flying from its masthead.
There's a list of royal navy ships on wikipedia and I see that the first king's ship that carried the name HMS Achilles (named after the Greek hero Achilles) was built in 1747.
Depending on the era, privately owned merchant ships would have SS before the name of the ship. During the time of ships with sails "SS" meant "Sailing Ship", and Steam Ships with funnels and steam engines would have an SS before their given name.
I think you'd have a better chance of finding him if you knew the year of his birth, because from the details you've given, he obviously learnt a trade at sea when he was a youngster . You've given his name as Edward Edwin Blythe, but we doln't know which name he chose to use on the crew lists (was it Edwin, Edward, Ted, Eddy?). Unless you can discover what ship he sailed in I doubt you'll find his able seaman records.
I notice you list quite a few ports of call, if that was when he was a sailor, you could try a long shot and look in newspapers of the day which always listed all the ships arriving and departing the local port. The first two names will be the name of the ship and then the name of the ship's captain also given will be the port it left and the next port it will be sailing to..
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I thought that phrase meant served a 7 year apprenticeship.