Looking up civilian captains

[MacPanda]

I have just found out from my cousin in the Virgin Islands that my George Hunt wasn't in the Merchant Navy but that he was a civilian Captain......I have asked him questions about this before and my answer was I don't know anything about that......then last week in conversation with his wife he comes up with this little gem that his father had told him this...

What I hope you can help me with is do you research civilian Captains in TNA or would I have to look elsewhere please?

[Uncle John]

If he was a sea-captain and hadn't served in the Royal Navy, he must have been in some branch of the merchant navy.

[James]

Airplane captain?
Police Force?
Rangers?
Any Idea when?

[Christine in Herts]

I suspect there's some confusion about what "Navy" means. People often use the word as shorthand for "Royal Navy", but it really only means a lot of ships. There's nothing about the word itself that requires the ships to be non-civilian. That means that the Merchant Navy is the ships (plus the officers and crews) which support merchant activities - buying/selling.

Christine

[Just Barbara]

I wonder if they meant he captained a passenger line?

[Christine in Herts]

I wonder if they meant he captained a passenger line?

That sounds very possible, doesn't it!

Christine

[MacPanda]

Morning all

First of all thank you for your interest.

George Hunt's obituary said he spent 20 years in the Navy he had a Boston address as well as one around Liverpool which I will have to look up again (going out in a few mins so will do so when I get home again). He died whilst living in Portland Oregon and the Obituary was in the Oregon paper....I tell you this as I am not sure now if Navy was the correct word they should have used. My cousins father used the words Civilian Captain to my cousin. I have tried to find him through the s.s. Canada 1872 & 1873 which Night Owl kindly looked at papers at Kew but there was no mention of a Captain George Hunt in them. James my guess for period is 1860s to 1880s .. He was still at sea when my g grandmother (his daughter to his first marriage) came to Australia in 1882 and he seems to have lived in America full time from 1892 until his death in 1913 and he was retired by then. He was very active in the Masonic Lodge and if I have this right he was The Keeper of the Key...I don't really know what that means just repeating parrot fashion here. The Portland Masonic Lodge helped me as much as they could and found and photographed George's grave site for me before I found my surviving cousins in Oregon and the Virgin Island of St Thomas. I don't know if any of this helps you help me but I sure hope so as between George and my grandfather Gilbert ROY Campbell my FH motivation has stalled. When I meet them in the great beyond they are both getting a punch in the nose ... pmsl.

Thanks again for your interest Christine, Barbara, James and UJ

[RNM]

Try the mercantile navy list (link posted last week) for the period - finally tracked down my missing mariner there.

Roger

[RNM]

Here is the 1850 edition of the same book: THE MERCANTILE NAVY LIST. - Google Books

and the 1861 edition: THE MERCANTILE NAVY LIST AND ANNUAL ... - Google Books

and the 1867 edition: THE MERCANTILE NAVY LIST AND ... - Google Books

There are also "snippet views" of other editions.

[Cloggie]

Here's the thread Roger referred to: http://www.familytreeforum.com/resea...rs-1860-a.html

[MacPanda]

Thanks Roger and Sarah I will go look now.

[MacPanda]

It was taking so long to load I had to go to bed so have them loading up now.

[MacPanda]

After 1 and a half hours the pages were still loading and it seemed to be all ship names and it is the Captain's name I was looking for. I did find this Googling though but unfortunately it is all film and they don't do lookups for you and you have to get a paid researcher to do it for you.........eeeek....I don't have that sort of money available so back to the drawing board...lol

Research guide H3: Lloyd's: Lloyd's Captains' Registers : Lloyd's : Research guides : The Library : Researchers : NMM

Thanks for all your help guys.

[Cloggie]

Strange that it took so long to load. I didn't have any trouble with it the other day. Yes, there are ships' names, but also captains' names.

[MacPanda]

Yes I thought so as well Sarah but will try again .... out tomorrow so will try again Thursday. I'll open the 1867 one as soon as puter loads and leave it while I have brekkie and see how that goes.

[Cloggie]

I've just tried the 1867 one and it only took a few seconds to load.
I don't know if this link will be any better for you: THE MERCANTILE NAVY LIST AND ... - Google Books
That should take you to the "overview" page from where you can search within the book, or click to read the book online or download it as PDF.

[MacPanda]

Ok thanks heaps Sarah Ill try that.

[RNM]

Hi
I found it took a while to down load the pdf but 10 mins maximum......... try again
they're not the most logically ordered books ever created but if you find the alphabetically listed names - that gives you a number then the number gives you a ship (or in my case doesn't :( )
The number means that at least in theory you can find his records - Canadas are more easily available than the British ones ...........
The obituaries and awards are worth checking too
I'm surprised his lodge don't have more information on him have you tried the local paper archives - for a secret society most lodges get a lot of news coverage !!

Roger

PS Sarah how did you copy the link so it worked :(

[Cloggie]

I didn't download the books, just viewed them online. And I searched for names in the books using the search form on the left of the page (where it says "Search in this book").

To copy the link, I just copied the URL from the top of the page (the bit that starts with http://www)

[MacPanda]

Hi Roger & Sarah

Sarah I tried downloading the book and left it while we had dinner and it was still downloading when I came back then the Adobe window came up and a message "there is an error in this file download unsuccessful"........grrrrrr...lol I will try again though...

Roger I have a little notebook a page of which I put up in another thread which told me in 1872 and 1873 he was on the s.s. Canada I ended up getting the (memory gone here) thingy number and found documents at TNA for (oh butter memory gone)

All in here

http://www.familytreeforum.com/research-qs/54175-huge-request-if-someone-going-kew.html

page from his little journal on post 21

These are the papers Night Owl looked at for me and there was no mention of his name in them but I didn't know then he was a Captain.

With regard to the lodge, the Portland Oregon lodge bent over backward to help me but I didn't get an answer from the London one so I am not even sure which lodge he was affiliated with in the UK. In 1881 he was living in Stretford occupation Commission Agent so he was out of the Mercantile Navy then so I am working on the idea that when his father died in 1860 George left the family owned Measham Mills with his brother John and went to sea...maybe his father wouldn't let him go when he was alive... and the obituary said 20 years service. Anyway if he was in a local lodge I guess it would be Stretford or close wouldn't it? I don't seem to have the 1891 census printout but he was in USA for the 1900 census and that says immigration year 1892 so he should pop up somewhere in UK in 1891. Oh dear am I babbling again...lol...sorry, fingers are just following my thoughts here...lol.