Carl Adolph Lindberg (seaman, buried in Singapore 1842)

[mikkelee]

I'm trying to find out more information about Carl Adolph Lindberg.

He was born May 16, 1821 in Roskilde, Denmark. The last record I have of him is his lutheran confirmation on October 2, 1836 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is not recorded in the 1840 census of Denmark (his parents and siblings are), and I have not found him dead in the Danish records 1836-1840, so my current assumption is that he left the country.

I have discovered that a Carl Adolph Lindberg was buried in Singapore on May 22, 1842. He was 21 years old, so born circa 1821. He was a "1st seaman" on the ship "Bombay". The ship was built in Bombay 1809 and in 1842, it was owned by Pirie & Co. and the captain was J. Furley (according to LLoyd's Register of Ships). According to Singapore Free Press, the ship departed Singapore for China on May 21, 1842 (the day before the burial).

I would like to confirm whether this buried seaman is "my" Carl Adolph Lindberg, or merely a coincidence in name and age.

I have tried searching the merchant seaman registers at findmypast.co.uk without luck, though as far as I can tell, he ought to be registered there.

What are my options for further research? I am unfamiliar with the territory.

[seaweed]

Welcome to Rootschat.
There were three vessels with the name BOMBAY listed in Lloyds register for 1842 although I agree that the most likely one is the vessel captained by Furley.
She was registered in London. You could take a look at the crew agreements and logbooks of London registered vessels 1835-1844 to see if he was onboard before the date in question. If he was then there may be clues as to his identity.
For practical reasons, a visit to the National Archive at Kew would be your best option. Be warned that many crew agreements/logbooks have been lost or destroyed.
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C4064724

[mikkelee]

Thank you

That looks interesting. I live in Denmark, so unfortunately I am unable to visit Kew anytime soon. For now, I've requested an estimate for a copy. Naturally, I'd be interested in any other archival resources that might be useful.

[mikkelee]

In case others are interested:

I have found Carl Adolph Lindberg in the archives of the Sail, Flag, and Compass Makers Guild of Copenhagen. He apprenticed under master sailmaker Iver Jensen Weilbach (1805-1895) and became a journeyman sailmaker on October 16, 1841. Two days later, he went to sea with a Captain Christensen.

His guild dues have been struck from the records for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 1842, and a note says that money for his burial were paid out on January 16, 1843. So it appears that he indeed died overseas in the spring/summer of 1842, and that the news took about 6 months to reach home – it is definitely "my" Lindberg in Singapore.

Mikkel

[seaweed]

Well done!
I admire your tenacity.

[mikkelee]

Thanks! I don't dare counting the hours I put into finding some of these answers, but finally finding them makes it worth it