Missing Mariner's??

[Ringoroses]

Maybe he was just qualified in a different area - but his daughter just didn't know how to describe it properly!   Again, I'm no expert in such matters, but it sounds like he may have gone away to sea early in his career (where he's described as a mariner/merchant seaman), then later stayed closer to shore, operating the local tugboats, which I understand were used in some ports to guide ships in to shore via the sometimes treacherous waterways.  I'm pretty sure they used them in may ports around the country and elewhere,  places like Cobh/Cork and such like.

[tigtag]

So do you think it would be possible to gain some "paperwork" from his possible early career (sorry fo so many questions - I have to ask, ask, ask until I know I'm sure of what I am doing)?

He definitely was closer to home when he was the tug boat captain and operated it in the Hull / Goole area.

Oh, for a time machine!!

Jo xx

[seaweed]

Jo
I can find a tug called SHAH official number 68529 She was register in London in 1874 but was registered at Goole from 1878 until 1914 when she was renamed DALESTHORPE. She was removed from the British register in 1928 Would these facts fit in with your other research?
If they do then she has some crew agreements in Newfoundland which may give you some info.
http://www.mun.ca/mha/holdings/viewcombinedcrews.php?Official_No=68529

[Ringoroses]

So do you think it would be possible to gain some "paperwork" from his possible early career (sorry fo so many questions - I have to ask, ask, ask until I know I'm sure of what I am doing)?

He definitely was closer to home when he was the tug boat captain and operated it in the Hull / Goole area.

Oh, for a time machine!!

Jo xx

The difficulty with mariners, as you've already found, is finding out the names of the vessels they were on. You can be lucky, and their names can pop up in newspaper articles, or police reports (if they were caught up in any wrongdoing, for instance) associated with a ship, and which can lead you elsewhere. Or, most often, it can be a very long, laborious, and expensive process - as I can testify myself with several elusive mariners in the family! But that doesn't mean it can't be done - in my experience you just have to keep chipping away -be patient, vigilant, and keep searching for clues, then follow them up. For instance, FindMyPast has just added new crew lists to their records, so I've just managed to find a bit more out about a couple of my lot, after such a long wait, which I'm delighted about.

When he appears in the census, where was he based? This will (probably) give you your first clue as to which port he was in - maybe there's a list somewhere of tugs that were based in that port at the local maritime archive? If he was working locally, he may appear in local newspapers, which are unlikely to be available online, but may be available through the local library.

Hope this helps,

Ann

[mickcee]

Hi, don't know if this is the right place to post this - my first time on the forum.
My wife's gg grandfather, WILLIAM JOSEPH LANGRISH, born 1841 in Tunbridge Wells. It is said he was lost at sea, but we can't find any records to prove this. We live in country New South Wales, and so are unable to search major archives other than those that are online.
     
He arrived in Sydney on ship “Wooloomooloo” from London  as Ordinary Seaman 26/10/1861 (Languish?)
Survived wreck of HMS Orpheus in Auckland Harbour 7/2/1863. Was he press-ganged? Survivors were either transferred to other ships or sent back to UK for the Inquiry.
Arrived Sydney from Otaga NZ on ship “Ashburton” as A.B. 28/1/1864 - no longer in the RN?
Married at St. Peters C. of E., Cooks River Rd. St. Peters, Sydney on 16/11/1866 to : Eliza Williams.
Son, William Joseph Langrish (2nd)  born 16/1/1868 and wife Eliza re-married 12/6/1871, so WJ (1st) was lost at sea between these dates, although, his death or being missing may not have been notified before his son was born, so maybe before Jan. 1868
Any help in finding maritime records would be greatly appreciated.
Mickcee

[Ringoroses]

Hi Mickcee,

I'd start a new thread with this one if I were you, to get the best response possible.  Keep it in this section, under special/occupation interests though.

In the mean time, what have you tried so far - any of the suggestions already in this thread?

Regards
Ann

[mickcee]

Hi Ann
Thanks for your advice re new posting - will do. I have tried numerous sites including Find My Past and Ancestry .com, also IGI without success. Unfortunately, records seem  unavailable unless you know what ship the sailor was on. As Australia was still a British colony, I have hopes that there will be something over there to explain WJ's disappearance.
Thanks again
Mickcee

[Tycki]

Thank you so much for publishing this crew list, it's given me some hope that I can find my elusive g.grandfather  -
 J. Mikkelson b.1849 Denmark
Is it possible to research this entry further please?  Thank you.

[jamcat95]

Hi Tycki,
If you can post more info on your J.Mikkelson I'll take a look in Denmark for you.

Ian