Brushing up on merchant seamen ancestors.

[coombs]

I have several ancestors from Essex who were fishermen, and they appear in Merchant Navy lists, and the 1835-1857 records on FindMyPast are quite interesting. It has taken me some time to work out the abbreviations.

My ancestor Nathan Jackson Quilter is listed in the 1845 and 1846 register as going from 52 to 69, and it turns out they are port numbers. 52 is Hull and 69 is Maldon. UK port numbers go up to 161. So at least twice, NJ Quilter travelled from Maldon to Hull. So he would have sailed up the Norfolk coast, past Yarmouth then across to Humberside.

In 1836, Nathan and his father in law James Plumb are listed as going on The Reform in December 1836. 69/292 (292 is unknown).

Colonial port numbers start at 200 and end at 296, however I have found higher numbers, such as James Plumb listed in December 1842 on The Reform 69/419. 69 being Maldon, Essex. And I found Nathan Quilter on The Victoria 69/430 in December 1842.

Those records do not seem to give any additional info on The Reform ship, such as ship number etc.

I think The Reform may have been known as Peakes Reform. A Reform from Maldon was shipwrecked off Cromer, Norfolk in 1844.

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I had a lovely time a few years ago researching a branch of the family who left Kent for Norfolk in the early 1820s. The husband was in the Coast Guard/Preventive Service, and they lived in Caistor. Most of the sons became fishermen or merchant sailors of various types, which was a nice change from the ag. labs. I learned about the beachmen who had watchtowers to look for ships in distress and operated as an early form of lifeboat service (as well as claiming salvage!) Then there was the son who captained a barque carrying coal from Wales to South America, which was another thing I didn't know about.
   I told someone today that I spend too much time at the computer, but this hobby keeps the brain active, and it is no worse than sitting in front of the telly!

[coombs]

  I had a lovely time a few years ago researching a branch of the family who left Kent for Norfolk in the early 1820s. The husband was in the Coast Guard/Preventive Service, and they lived in Caistor. Most of the sons became fishermen or merchant sailors of various types, which was a nice change from the ag. labs. I learned about the beachmen who had watchtowers to look for ships in distress and operated as an early form of lifeboat service (as well as claiming salvage!) Then there was the son who captained a barque carrying coal from Wales to South America, which was another thing I didn't know about.
   I told someone today that I spend too much time at the computer, but this hobby keeps the brain active, and it is no worse than sitting in front of the telly!

Interesting story. Goes to show how our ancestors did move around a lot.

I wonder if any port number above 291 was a smaller UK or colonial port which was not in the main port list.

I do think The Reform that my ancestors used was the ship that sunk off Cromer in 1844. That ship was registered at Maldon, Essex, and my ancestors used that port to go to the Hull and Newcastle ports. Leigh On Sea harbour may not have been large enough to house the boats as I think The Reform was about 160 tons.

The Victoria was also about 160 tons and there was one also registered at Maldon.

[coombs]

Actually my ancestor NJ Quilter in the 1845 register of merchant seaman says 52/69 and I did think 52 was the port he sailed from (Hull) to 69 (Maldon, Essex).

However the guide to the 1845-1854 registers say that the first number before the slash was the port rotation number. As the 1845-1854 registers do not name the ship, I wonder if the port rotation number may give info on the port, or could it be any port?

Apparently there is no key yet to port rotation numbers in regards to what ship he sailed on.

The June 1845 and June 1846 info also is not the exact date of voyage but the end of the half year it took place in. Those merchant seamen registers can be quite hard to understand, hence why you need to brush up on how they work.

[seaweed]

Hello coombs,
I was a little confused when you first started this thread, not least because it was posted in "The Lighter Side"
You now seem to have worked out some of the questions posed yourself.
The information regards the name of the ship he sailed on in 1845/46 should be contained in TNA pieces BT98/727, BT98/728 and BT98/1023
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_srt=3&_ep=maldon&_cr=bt98&_dss=range&_sd=1845&_ed=1846&_ro=any&_st=adv
These records cannot be seen online, A trip to Kew is the only way to view.
With a little effort, you should be able to find your man and the vessel he sailed on, either by his name on the Crew Agreement or Port Rotation number.
The Port Rotaion number is usually attached to the Half Yearly Crew Agreement but I suspect that this was entirely down to the person who compiled them for forwarding to the BOT.

SW

[coombs]

I was not sure whether to post in The Lighter Side or not as it was also a general discussion about interpreting seaman's records.

Yes I will have to look at those books next time I go to Kew.