Merchant Seaman died on Board

[kidsmoke]

Hello, my third great grandfather, William Humphrey, died on board the Brig Wellington on 27 April 1834.

Some questions: will his death be registered anywhere?
If the ship set sail from London to Quebec on 9th of April and he died 27 April, will they have buried him at sea? And an article was published in July 1834 about it - is that because it took that long for them to get to Quebec and notify authorities / his wife?
Where or what is 'Gilham'? eg. The Brig Wellington, Gilham, etc. Was it a place?

I would dearly love to know his age when he died so I can locate a birth certificate for him. He was from the Yarmouth locality. Thank you.

[ShaunJ]

Gilham would be the name of the ship's captain.

[Jebber]

You won’t find a birth certificate as he as born before registration began in 1837. If you have any idea where he was born you will need to search the Paris Records.

[ShaunJ]

The Wellington arrived back in Yarmouth from Quebec on July 21st, the return trip having taken three months and eleven days. So either the news of Humphrey's death came back with the ship, or a letter sent from Quebec arrived earlier on a faster ship.

[ShaunJ]

Paris Records

Should that be parish records?

[AlanBoyd]

This family fits – all Great Yarmouth, but no direct link.

marriage
1828 William Humphrey m Rosetta King (age 19) with permission of her father Samuel King. One witness is Thomas Humphrey.

baptisms
1830 Thomas William (or William Thomas, records vary), son of William Humphrey and his wife Rosetta
1832 Rose Ann Sophie Turner daughter of William Humphrey, seaman, and his wife Rosetta

No other baptisms found for this couple.

[AlanBoyd]

this ties things together:

1841
Row 137, St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth
(all born in county)
Samuel King shipwright 30 [her brother?]
Susanna King 26
Rosetta Pye 30
Ann Humphrey 8

marriage 1836
Corton, Suffolk
Dennis Pye and Rosetta Humphrey

1851
Corton, Suffolk
High Street
Dennis Pye 40 fisherman born Corton, Suffolk
Rose do. wife 41 born Norfolk, Yarmouth
Ann Humphrey, step-daughter, 18, born Norfolk, Yarmouth

[ShaunJ]

If the ship set sail from London to Quebec on 9th of April and he died 27 April, will they have buried him at sea?

Very probably. Almost certainly.

[kidsmoke]

The Wellington arrived back in Yarmouth from Quebec on July 21st, the return trip having taken three months and eleven days. So either the news of Humphrey's death came back with the ship, or a letter sent from Quebec arrived earlier on a faster ship.

Great, thanks. It appeared in the Norfolk Chronicle on 19 July 1834.