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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Carla Elise on Thursday 14 August 08 11:01 BST (UK)
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Hello,
I feel silly for posting this here as it seems impossible but need help finding the identity of a man pictured in a photograph.
My Grandfather, Cyril John Hamilton Oakley was born in Tasmania, Australia in 1927. His mother, Sheilah Evelyn Ismay Oakley died in 1933 and he was raised by his grandparents. He was always told that his father was a Norwegian sailor.
After researching the family tree it was discovered that she had an affair with the sailor between marriages. When I searched for reasons why a Norwegian sailor would be in Tasmania at that time I discovered the Nielsen Alonso, a Norwegian whaling vessel called at Hobart during this time before proceeding to the Ross Sea, in the Antarctic.
I then stumbled upon a collection of photographs from this voyage and immediately spotted a man who looks remarkably like my Grandfather. My entire family is convinced and we've even "adopted" him as our own (my mother going as far as jokingly framing the photo and placing it with other ancestors!) We know that it's unlikely to be my Great Grandfather but finding the name of his father was extremely important to my Grandfather before he passed away and it is not included on his birth certificate.
I'm happy to accept that we'll never find out but thought I'd post here to see if anyone has any idea about possible sources for tracing the identity of this man.
Link to photo. He is on the left.
http://images.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/Exhibitions/Fullimage.asp?ExhibitID=00000002&ExhibitTitle=Nielsen+Alonso+Voyage&ID=00000124
Many thanks,
Carla
I have changed the subject line for this post as it's already on Google and including her name would provide better search results.
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Hi Carla!
I won't even pretend to know how to help you, but I'm at work and bored ;D
Just a thought - is there anyway of finding the names of the crew aboard the Nielsen Alonso? Perhaps there might be a tie with one of your grandfather's middle names, or are those passed down from previous ancestors?
Good luck!!
Lass x
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Hi Lass,
Thanks for your reply. I have tried finding the crew list without success. I have traced the Oakley side of the family tree and there's no record of any one named Hamilton. So I thought it could be his name but it's a long shot!
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You may have read this before Google Books - Nielsen Alonso (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hJPRiQFhCFIC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=Nielsen+Alonso&source=web&ots=V4swC1hxU0&sig=h7uhjPCdBnLws8gG2acZPLZ8LJE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA43,M1) which also makes reference to the number of Australians who shipped as crew aboard this ship on its whaling trips.
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Thanks so much Falkyrn. I've seen similar books on Google but not that one!
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Is there a Norwegian Archives like our National Archives in the UK, if so, then they may be able to help you, I too thought of a Ships crew list, I think I remember( from the depths somewhere) reading that crew lists were kept for insurance purposes as well? what about where the ship was registered, was it Norway? Do they have anything similar to Lloyds of London?
good luck
newbie
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I posted "norwegian whaling ship nielson alonso 1927" on Google, lots of info there. I live in Norway and will see if I can dig up any info for you, won,t be to-day as I,m going out. Maybe I can find the names of the crew.
Mary
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Thanks Newbie. I do recall reading about where the ship was registered but will have to search through the hundreds of bookmarks to find it or look for it again. I never thought of a Norwegian Archives, so I'll definitely give that a go.
Carla
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Thanks so much Mary - any help would be greatly appreciated :)
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Hi Carla.
I,ve sent a request off to the Whalers museum,in Sandefjord, Norway, asking for info about, and names of the Norwegian crew for the season 1926/27. Hope they can help in finding the names. Got my son to help me yesterday looking for info. and this was the best we could find so far. Keep your fingers crossed.
Mary
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Hi Mary,
Thank you so much - it is extremely generous of you. I'll keep my fingers crossed :)
Carla
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The owner of the Nielson Alonso was Hvalfangerselskap Polaris A/S. That means Whaleing Company Polaris. Think you,ll find it on the net.
Mary
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While googling yesterday I came across a piece of information saying that the museum had complete list,s of all the men who sailed on the Norwegian whaling vessels. Now all we have to do is wait for an answer, and maybe in time be able to connect a name to the picture. Exciting!!!
Mary.
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You're making progress, grandma, keep us informed :D
Lass x
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Ooh, I hope they reply, thats excellent news.
newbie ;D
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Just to let you all know I havn,t forgotten. Still waiting to hear from the museum. Will give them a few more days before I give them a nudge.
Mary
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Thanks so much Mary! :)
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Hi Carla.
Finally got a reply on Saturday, had to give them a reminder though.
The lady who answered, said she,d give my mail to the curator of the museum so hope to hear from him soon.
She did say however that it is not possible to provide full crew lists as it is classified as sensitive information, but could look for specific names in the archives. We,ll just have to wait and see what the curator has to say, before doing anything more.
It might be a good idea if you mailed him personally explaining the situation etc. with name and the picture of the man on the ship.
Lets wait a bit first and see if and how he replies.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Mary
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Hi Carla.
Don,t know if you read the last message
Are you interested in doing anymore. I heard nothing back from the curator but if you would like to mail the museum your self, I can send you the adr. It might help.
I can,t seem to forget this.
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Hi Mary,
Apologies for the delay in responding to your message - I've been experiencing computer problems recently and finally got it sorted.
I am definitely interested in pursuing this and would be keen to mail them. I will send a private message to you with my e-mail address.
Thanks again for all your help!
Carla
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I thought I'd post a photo here of my Grandfather next to the mystery sailor so everyone can see why I'm so convinced (or tell me that I'm just crazy!) :)
Carla
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Hi Carla.
Looks like father and son!!!
Have sent you the mail adr for the museum, do hope they can help you. Waiting in suspence. Let us know what happens.
Mary
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Hi Carla
I know your post was quite some time ago, back in 2008, however I am hoping that you will receive my reply.
Your great grandmother, Sheilah Evlyn Ismay Oakley, and my great grandmother, Joyce Oakley, were sisters. I read your post whilst I was searching the internet to find out what became of Cyril. I had not heard the story about the Norwegian sailor before, however our family knew it was not certain who his father was. We had been told he had gone to live with his grandparents, Clara & Percy Oakley after his mother's death, as did her daughter (Cyril's half sister) Cecily. Apparently Cecily and Cyril were close in childhood and I wonder if they kept in touch throughout their lives.
I would love to make contact with you and tell you what information I have about Sheilah and her family. I am also in contact with my great aunt who is a niece of Sheilah's and will be checking what information she might have.
I would love to know if you have tracked down anything further since 2008. Please let me know if you would like to get in touch.
Regards
Kathy
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Hi Kathy. I'm only just seeing your reply a year later as I've sparked interest in family history again and going back over unsolved mysteries. I've sent you a PM with my email address and would love to hear from you :)