British Merchant Seamen

Online Resources

 * 1747-1860 Muster rolls from Agreement & Crew Lists of seamen, 1747 to 1860.
 * 1824-1910 Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910 - provides name of apprentice, age, date of indenture, term, to whom bound, vessel and remarks.
 * 1835-1857 Merchant Seamen 1835-1857
 * 1861 1861 Census Ships at Sea Index
 * 1861-1913 Index to Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913 - 570,000 records with over 157,000 images
 * 1881 1881 Crew Lists Database at Maritime History Archive
 * 1918-1941 Merchant Seamen 1918-1941 - registers; 2.6 million entries
 * Wills of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel 1786-1882 at the National Archives
 * Welsh Mariner's Index

Helpful Websites

 * The British Mercantile Marine and Fishing Fleets: c.1835 - c.1972 with reference to the Seagoing Naval Reserves by Len Barnett.
 * Fishing Boat Heritage We have a rich heritage in our communities, families and boats which have committed to the UK fishing industry over the past 150 years. Significant records and recollections of the people and their boats exist today. Fishing Boat Heritage has been created to provide a single easily accessed archive before much of this is lost forever.
 * Commonwealth War Graves Commission
 * Mariners
 * Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section

History
A merchant seaman also known as merchant mariner worked aboard commercial or merchant vessels in the Merchant Navy. You may want to search merchant shipping records if you find one of the following terms in records about your ancestor: captain, mariner, seaman, mate, boatswain (bosun), or super cargo.

London-Based Mariners

Many mariners while serving in the merchant navy or, who lived in or near Greater London, attended one of the following greater London churches:


 * St Dunstan, Stepney
 * All Hallows, by the Tower (Barking) - a.k.a. Mariner's Chapel
 * St Dunstan in the East
 * St Anne, Limehouse
 * Poplar, All Saints
 * Greenwich St Alfege, Kent
 * Deptford St Paul, Kent
 * Deptford St Nicholas, Kent

Articles about Finding Merchant Marine Records

 * How to look for records of Merchant seamen serving since 1918 at the National Archives

Resources Available
The Board of Trade (BT), Registrar of Shipping and Seamen (RGSS) and the Register Office of Merchant Seamen kept merchant marine records. Some are discussed here. The National Archives classification numbers are added for convenience.

Ship’s Muster Rolls and Agreements and Crew Lists (BT 98). The ship master had to carry a written agreement with every crew member stating his wages, the capacity in which he was serving, and the nature of the voyage. These records were kept from 1747 to 1860. Pre-1854 records are arranged by port and ship number. Post-1854 records are arranged by ship number. Lloyd’s Marine Collection can provide the ship number.

Lloyd’s Marine Collection. This collection contains several types of records, including captains’ registers, 1869–1947. These show the captain’s birth date and place, certificate number, examination date and place, the vessels on which he served, and death date. More information about this collection is in:

Hall, Christopher A. A Guide to the Lloyd’s Marine Collection at the Guildhall Library. London, England: Guildhall Library, 1985. (FS Library book 942.1/L1 A3hc.)

Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910 This approximately 350,000 name database at Ancestry.co.uk provides names, ages, ports sailed to, and sea captains' names, and the dates of sailing, and is a significant finding tool for those who served aboard ships of Great Britain's maritime navy. Search this database and records of the Royal Navy (at The National Archives, UK) when you know an ancestry served in the Merchant Navy.

Register of Seamen (BT 112, 119, 120). These registers contain copies of the certificates issued to individuals authorizing them to serve on a ship. The registers exist for the years 1835 to 1856 and give the man’s age, birthplace, date of first going to sea, rank, service record, and the ship’s name. Those from 1844 to 1856 give a physical description of the man. The registers for some years are indexed.

Births, Deaths, and Marriages Occurring On Board British Merchant Vessels (BT 158–60). Shipboard events were recorded in a ship’s log. They cover the years 1854 to 1890. Some of these records are indexed.

Surname Index to the 1861 Census Returns of Ships. This is an alphabetical list (see FS Library fiche 6025598, eight fiche) of all people who were on board naval, merchant, and smaller vessels when the 1861 census was taken. These ships are not emigrant ships. The few passengers listed are usually family members of the crew. The information includes name, age, occupation, birthplace, name of the ship, and reference numbers for finding the records either in The National Archives (see England Archives and Libraries for the address) or in the FamilySearch Library.

Census returns for other years include lists of persons on board ships. They are filed with the returns of the port city where the ship was docked.

Trinity House Petitions. These appeals for relief from poverty-stricken merchant seamen or their widows exist for 1609 to 1950 and often include birth, marriage, and death information. There are several Trinity Houses in Great Britain. Some of the records are indexed. For an index to the petitions for the London hospital, see:

The Trinity House Petitions. London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1987. (FS Library book 942 U3tr).

To view some of the records available at the FamilySearch Library, see the.

Certificates of Competency and Service: Masters, Mates, and Engineers (BT 121–27, 139–42). If a man wanted to become a master or mate, he had to take an examination. A certificate showing the name, the date and place of birth, and the date and place the certificate was issued was given to the man after the examination. Registers were kept of these certificates. They start in 1845, but few were kept until compulsory registration in 1850.

Two valuable pamphlets on researching merchant marine records are:

Records of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. London, England: Public Record Office, 1983. (FS Library book 942.1/L1 A3pa no. 5.) Discusses records available at The National archives.

Watts, Christopher T., and Michael J. Watts. My Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman: How can I find out more about Him? London, England: Society of Genealogists, 1986. (FS Library book 942 U37w. BYU Harold B Lee library book CS 432 .M46 W38 1986.) This guide explains contents of a variety of records as they relate to the merchant seaman, including Lloyd’s Marine Collection.

Deaths at sea. For Marine deaths see BT or Board of Trade registers 158-160 (above); other records indicating records of seaman who died at sea are available in the Registration Records. The place where the seaman came from is often included. Additional records are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog and are found under:
 * England_Civil_Registration

FamilySearch Library
The FamilySearch Library has copies of the captains’ registers, Trinity House petitions, and all Board of Trade records discussed here except the Certificates of Competency and Service. The Board of Trade records are now housed in the The National Archives. Lloyd’s Marine Collection is in the Guildhall Library.
 * England Merchant Marine Resources: List of The merchant marine records in the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Great Britain Merchant Marine Resources: List of The merchant marine records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Shipwrecks
Articles about Shipwrecks:


 * [[Media:The Newcastle Weekly Courant-shipwrecd.pdf|Ulysse]] - 1887, transcript of article in The Newcastle Weekly Courant (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England); Friday, February 4, 1887: Issue 11064
 * Empress of Ireland - May 29, 1914