Odds and ends from spur-of-moment TNA visit today...

[Christine in Herts]

If these are of use/interest to anyone, please le me know and I'll willingly pass on info if I have it...

• BT 99/3269 and BT 99/3270 Crew Lists and Agreements re Metagama (No. 136791) for crossings between Liverpool and Canada (Montreal / St John's) in 1916. Complete for earlier part of year; otherwise just the pages where the crew member was not on board for the home-bound trip.†
• HO 1/104/3774 Ellis BERG naturalization 11 Apr 1862
• BT 138/1 Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Indexes to Registers of Certificates of Competency and Service, Skippers and Mates of Fishing Boats; 1880-1917; Officers' Names A - F. Specifically BARRON and CHRISTMAS.

† Disappointingly, no trace identified for Errant Grandfather, who'd claimed to have crossed on the Metagama in May 1916 - neither straining my eyes to read the passenger lists, in time past, nor wading my way through these crew lists, today.

Christine

[Christine in Herts]

Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that I've done my bit for the publicity... or a bit of my bit, anyway!

I'd printed off one of the posters, and carried it around with me in my see-through carrier bag. I'd thought that, if there were some FTF person around - spur-of-the-moment, like me, perhaps - they might spot the poster and say hello.

In the event, it turned out to be useful differently... I'd done the things I'd hoped to do in the time that OH had allowed (he wanted to be back for the rugby internationals on TV), and was browsing on the computer... having another look at passenger lists, for a start. A lady sat next to me and was having some trouble, and asked me for help.

She was trying to find a death record for 1945-1960 for someone with the surname DARDENNE. The research helpdesk had suggested she use FreeBMD. I showed her the coverage pages to illustrate the fact that she wasn't going to get far in that date-range searching on FreeBMD. On the other hand, since it's an unusual name, I showed her that you could search with no other parameters for B, D and M events... there were a handful of Hits for each, and she was thrilled to bits.

I gave her my poster, and recommended she have a look next time she had the chance.

Christine

[Little Nell]

Well done Christine!

[Kit]

[*]BT 138/1 Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Indexes to Registers of Certificates of Competency and Service, Skippers and Mates of Fishing Boats; 1880-1917; Officers' Names A - F. Specifically BARRON and CHRISTMAS.[/LIST]

Well done on passing on the poster. My printer isn't working at the moment but I'm hoping OH will fix it by the time I next go to the library.

In regard to the above list do you only have Barron's and Christmas'? If not is there anything for a Joseph Bridges?

[Sand Dancer]

Sorry - I don't understand the thing about carrying a poster around.
I'm obviously missing/have missed something which sounds important, can you enlighten me please?

[Christine in Herts]

Sorry - I don't understand the thing about carrying a poster around.
I'm obviously missing/have missed something which sounds important, can you enlighten me please?

I can give you some useful links quickly about this...

http://www.familytreeforum.com/research-qs/59463-ftf-posters-publicity-material.html

Christine

[Christine in Herts]

Well done on passing on the poster. My printer isn't working at the moment but I'm hoping OH will fix it by the time I next go to the library.

In regard to the above list do you only have Barron's and Christmas'? If not is there anything for a Joseph Bridges?

Sorry - I photographed only the pages - parts of pages - with those names (for OH's, and my own trees)

Christine

[alld]

Metagama Crew Agreements

Christine
If you still have the Metagama crew agreements for 1916 you may be able to help me. There is a possibility that my grandfather was a crew member around that time( the Metagama is one of 3 ships that I am currently looking into). Here is the information I have on him:
George Davidson born 22 April 1891 in Aberdeen Scotland. I believe he worked as a mechanic/ mechanical engineer. He would have been married by 1916.
Hoping you can help me out.
alld

[Christine in Herts]

Alld

I have dozens of photos of the lists, though I stopped photographing whole agreements partway through the year. I could email you copies, but you'd need to PM me with an e-address. I'm afraid I can't face trawling through them all again at the moment for anyone else's names - I dare not get engrossed when I have too many other things I should be doing!

Christine

[naomiatt]

Hi Christine - re; HO 1/104/3774 Ellis BERG naturalization 11 Apr 1862
Did it show a longer initial surname, like Greenberg, Goldberg etc
Thanks.

[Christine in Herts]

Hi Naomi

I think I put all my Jewish naturalisation info on the British Jewry site - or I passed it over, anyway. There's no obvious trace of the name having been longer.

Christine

[Uncle John]

I have some passengers on the Metagama but no crew. I was pleased to find records on Ancestry for my great-uncle (still alive) who was a ship's engineer on various ships in the 1940s.

[Christine in Herts]

I have some passengers on the Metagama but no crew. I was pleased to find records on Ancestry for my great-uncle (still alive) who was a ship's engineer on various ships in the 1940s.

Presumably you've seen the Canadian Library & Archives online images of inbound passenger lists, then?

Christine

[naomiatt]

Hi Naomi

I think I put all my Jewish naturalisation info on the British Jewry site - or I passed it over, anyway. There's no obvious trace of the name having been longer.

Christine

Thanks :xmas_sign:

[Christine in Herts]

Alld - I've just sent you the first nine photos via my Yahoo e-address. If all's well, and you'd like more, just let me know, and I'll send another batch.

Christine

[Uncle John]

I have some passengers on the Metagama but no crew. I was pleased to find records on Ancestry for my great-uncle (still alive) who was a ship's engineer on various ships in the 1940s.

Presumably you've seen the Canadian Library & Archives online images of inbound passenger lists, then?

No, I've just been using what's available on Ancestry.

[Christine in Herts]

No, I've just been using what's available on Ancestry.

Then, if the dates are right, you'll want to have a look here:
Introduction - Passenger Lists, 1865-1922 - Library and Archives Canada

Introduction

Passenger lists (RG 76) were the official immigration documents from 1865 to 1935. The lists contain information such as the name, age, country of origin, occupation and destination of each passenger. The lists are organized by port and date of arrival. This database provides access to passenger lists for the following ports:

* Québec (1865-1921)
* Halifax (1881-1922)
* Saint John (1900-1922)
* North Sydney (1906-1922)
* Vancouver (1905-1922)
* Victoria (1905-1922)
* New York (1906-1922)
* Eastern American coast (1905-1922).

The lists themselves aren't indexed for passenger names, so you'd want to know already which ship - plus an approximate date (especially for a ship with a large passenger capacity). You can search by ship / date / port (incoming or departure).

Apparently (I read somewhere) these are very much WISYWIG/WIGIG: they photographed the passenger lists some years ago, and then decided that that would mean they didn't need the originals anymore! :xmas_eek:

Christine