Master Mariners

[ElizabethHerts]

Could someone refresh my memory about researching Master Mariners? I'm sure that someone had an index/list or something where you could look them up.

[Jackie H]

The Lloyd's Captains Registers are here but they're not complete

http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/capintro.htm

This section on the TNA site is quite useful

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/officermerchantnavy.htm?WT.lp=rg-3181

[ElizabethHerts]

Jackie, thanks for the links. No mention of my man, however.

I'm really puzzled that a chap with no seafaring connections ended up as a Master Mariner. His father was a shopkeeper in Stepney and his younger brother was a Coach Builder.

[samesizedfeet]

I've had zero luck on tracing my Master Mariners, but that's mainly because they were all before the introduction of the Seaman's Ticket.

If you can pinpoint his ticket it should give you a good record of what ships he was on and when, and possibly when he first became apprenticed.

It's also worth googling his name - the majority of information I have on my guys is from websites that record ships information (size, tonnage, journeys etc) which almost always includes the captain/masters name

[samesizedfeet]

The other thing worth knowing is that mariners were very aware of how dangerous their job is and even those with smaller jobs and less money made a Will of some kind.

[Uncle John]

I was very surprised that my ancestor died aged almost 46 (TB) having reached the dizzy heights of 2 or 3 round trips to Australia as well as a spell ferrying troops to India. Though oddly he is recorded in the census as aged 65 a year before he died. That doesn't stack up with his baptism record.

[ElizabethHerts]

This bloke is bugging me.

His name was Aaron Blackshaw.
parents Charles and Hannah Blackshaw
birth 24 Mar 1798
Christening 4 July 1798 Holy Trinity Chester Cheshire
Married Margaret Wharton 3 June 1834
Marriages from the Bishopwearmouth Registers (1832-1837)
4 Jun 1834 Aaron Blackshaw = Margaret Wharton (widow - born Margaret Cumsey)

This is one of his census entries:
1871 Census
RG10; 5006; 53; 23
18 Lawerence St Bishops Wearmouth Sunderland
Aaron Blackshaw Head Mar 72 Master Mariner Chester, Cheshire
Margaret Blackshaw Wife Mar 67 do wife Durham Mk Wearmouth

He is absent on some of them, presumably at sea.

In 1871 he witnessed the will of his brother William, who was living in SOmerset. He is again said to be a "Master Mariner".
Aaron died in Sep qr 1878 but no will found. I would have thought he would have made one.

Nothing shows up on Google. I do hope he wasn't exagerating!