Merchant Navy in Britain pre 1863

[Dramagal27]

I am seeking information about my great-grandfather's experience in the British Merchant Navy prior to 1863 (by then, he was married and living in London).

Richard Smith (born 1834) was nine when he joined the navy (Mom told me this years ago). I have since learned that boys that young were not accepted into the British Navy, but instead went into the Merchant Navy. As well, evidently many of these boys came from poor circumstances (workhouses, for example).

What I know about him:

..He learned his shoemaker trade in the navy,
..His ship went to the Crimea.
..A ship he was on also stopped slave ships.

What I'd like to know:

..Where were most of these boys from in England?
..How many shoemakers were on board each ship? Would he have been one of several apprentices?
..Is there a list of apprentices who served in the Merchant Navy?.
..Would he have received a pension when he left?
..would he have received any medals? If so, which ones?
..Was leaving the Merchant Navy easy, or would he have had to buy his way out?

Any information you can provide about him and/or the life of a boy in the Merchant Navy at this time would be most helpful. Thanks.

Cheers,
Marianne

[lizdb]

Where was he born?

1861 has several Richard Smiths of the right sort of age on Vessels.

[Dramagal27]

This is the million dollar question. I used to think he was a Londoner since my grandfather, his son, was born in East end London; however, this was just an assumption on my part. With a name like "Richard Smith", you can imagine how many I am finding. I don't even know the last name of his first wife. Her first names were Anne Elizabeth (I suspect she went by "Annie", the same name as her daughter).  She died on route to Canada.

I thought that maybe identifying him by birth year and occupation might make things a little easier.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for trying.

[mazi]

"A ship he was on also stopped slave ships"
I wonder if he joined the Royal Navy as soon as he was old enough.

Mike

[lizdb]

When did they leave for Canada? Was it before the 1871 census? If not, hopefully you can find him and his family on that to get his place of birth.
Who was his father from his marriage cert? When and where did he marry? You say he was married "by 1863" - was it before 1861 census or not?
What children did he and Ann have - they might help locate the family in a census (unless they werent born till after departure to Canada of course) - AHh just noticed they had onein East End, so who was that and when and where was he born? Have you got his birth cert? That will give his mothers maiden name and lead you to the marriage.
What occupation is given on sons birth cert? Is that Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, or otherwise? And then when marriage is found you can see how his occupation is described there too.

[crimea1854]

I hope the following helps. Prior to 1873, when Continuous Service became compulsory in the Royal Navy, men were free to move between the merchant fleet and Royal Navy. This meant a man could enter the RN for the duration of a ships commission and when paid off look for alternative employment in either service. Continuous Service itself was first introduced in 1853, and if a man signed up he was paid an extra penny per day. Service records for those men who signed up for CS can be found on the National Archives (NA) website.

If you know the name of a RN ship served on then it is possible to use the Ship’s Description Book at the NA to find information on place of birth, age and previous RN ships served on. If you don’t know a ship, but believe he was awarded a medal, you could look at the medal rolls, find likely matches, then search each ship’s description book – for someone called Richard Smith this would be quite a task, but possible.

If he served during the Crimean War then there were two possible medals awarded, the Baltic Medal and the Crimean Medal, the latter could have ‘battle’ clasps, for the RN these might be Azoff, Inkerman, Balaklava and Sebastopol. Only men in the RN were awarded medals, not those merchant seamen who delivered war material.

Martin 

[Dramagal27]

Thanks Martin.

You have given me a good foundation of knowledge with which to work.

As you can imagine, with a name like Richard Smith, my task is rather daunting. I have recently registered with 23 and Me in the hopes that I may someday find his relatives through our mutual DNA rather than just through the traditional genealogy sites.

Cheers,
Marianne

[lizdb]

Have you followed basic Family History Research steps that I outlined in reply #4 ?

[Dramagal27]

Reply to # 4
Here's my problem. Btw: I have been at this (i.e., trying to find info on Richard Smith) for a while now, but I have come up against many dead ends. Perhaps you can help steer me in the right direction.

What I know:
My branch of the Smith family came in 1870 (Mom told me this, and cross-referencing tells me this is true.
Richard Smith's wife, my great-grandmother (Anne Elizabeth Smith) and an infant son died en route, it would seem, since they left England as a family of five (I thought my grandfather Richard - b. 1863 - was a twin, but family stories are always a little suspect. However, I definitely know that a younger brother died either as soon as they arrived or on board - see the following immigration record: http://interactive.ancestry.ca/1263/e003532481/203708?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.ca%2f%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3dCanadianPL%26h%3d203708%26ti%3d5543%26indiv%3dtry%26gss%3dpt%26ssrc%3dpt_t27033822_p12051610697_kpidz0q3d12051610697z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&ssrc=pt_t27033822_p12051610697_kpidz0q3d12051610697z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&backlabel=ReturnRecord

Also, although I know Richard Sr's first wife's name was Anne Elizabeth (probably went by Annie, like her daughter). I have no idea what her last name was. I have not found her in any cemetery or in any record of a marriage (incidentally, they would have been married or else they would not have been sponsored to come to Canada). A distant cousin tells me that she might be buried in someone else's plot, but not named on the headstone.

You may say, well look up a death certificate for Richard. Unfortunately, his mother's name is "unknown". However, the death certificate for his sister appears to list an "Annie" or "Hannah" Emons as the maiden name of her mother. Once again, I have not found a record of a marriage of Annie Emons and Richard Smith around 1860. See: http://search.ancestry.ca/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ontario_deaths&h=733540&ti=5543&indiv=try&gss=pt&ssrc=pt_t27033822_p12229314649_kpidz0q3d12229314649z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid

Re: The occupation for Richard Smith (b. 1834) - he was a shoemaker. He learned this trade in the "Navy".

So, now you know what I have been up against. I will find out eventually, but it will take time.

Thanks for whatever leads you can provide.