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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: Stanwix England on Saturday 23 March 13 14:19 GMT (UK)

Title: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Stanwix England on Saturday 23 March 13 14:19 GMT (UK)
 :)Hello everyone,

I wonder if anyone can point me in the direction of finding out resources with information about a boat.

An ancestor of my husbands, Samuel England, was listed on the 1861 Census as being on the Naiad of Whitby.

There were 7 men on the boat, so it can't have been a massive vessel.

I'd love to know more about what the boat did. Anyone know where I can find out stuff about boats?

Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Kleftiwallah on Saturday 23 March 13 14:22 GMT (UK)

I think you can search for Whitby nautical heritage or at least Whitby museum.

Fingers crossed. :D  Cheers,  Tony.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Stanwix England on Saturday 23 March 13 14:25 GMT (UK)
I gave that a try before but I was out of luck. The National Archives also came up blank for me alas.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: stanmapstone on Saturday 23 March 13 14:58 GMT (UK)
If you go to http://www.archive.org/stream/lloydsregisters05unkngoog#page/n328/mode/2up there are five vessels named Naiad, the one with the same tonnage as the one Samuel England is on i.e. 177 tons is at number 9.

Stan
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Kleftiwallah on Saturday 23 March 13 15:55 GMT (UK)

If it was whitby there is a good chance it was a fishing boat.  These were (I believe) crewed by just two men and 'a lad'. So it may well have been a coaster.

I think my dad ran away to sea but nothinbg to go on, and you think you are having difficulties ;D

Cheers,   Tony.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: stanmapstone on Saturday 23 March 13 16:02 GMT (UK)
It was a coaster, as per the census entry.
Stan
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: stanmapstone on Saturday 23 March 13 16:35 GMT (UK)
If you go to http://www.archive.org/stream/lloydsregisters05unkngoog#page/n328/mode/2up there are five vessels named Naiad, the one with the same tonnage as the one Samuel England is on i.e. 177 tons is at number 9.

Stan

The master in the census is John Shaw, the same as in Lloyd's Register. The ship is not in the 1865 Register.
Stan
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Roobarb on Saturday 23 March 13 17:31 GMT (UK)
I'd suggest joining the Mariners Rootsweb mailing list:

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Occupations/MARINERS.html

There are some very knowledgeable and helpful people there, they've been invaluable in helping me trace the voyages of my ancestor who was a Mariner. They've also supplied information about the vessels I've found, including when and where registered, cargo, usual voyages etc etc.

Well worth a try.  :)
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Saturday 23 March 13 18:24 GMT (UK)
The Census was held 7 April 1861. The closest sighting of a possible Naiad for Samuel to this date I can find is

The Times, 12 April, 1861
Ship News
Dover, April 11
Passed down channel, 4pm - The Blanche - The Naiad, of Whitby, N R B Q - The Adonis, of Waterford - L M D R

Does N R B Q refer to "alphabetic single hoist flags"?
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Saturday 23 March 13 19:32 GMT (UK)
Possible sightings?

Shields Daily Gazette, 30 May 1861
SHIELDS SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE
Colliers arrived at Gravesend
Naiad, Shaw

A similar report appeared in the same paper, 15 Aug 1861

The Newcastle Courant ,Jun 22 1860 under "Marine Intelligence, Exports from Newcastle", reported
"Naiad, Shaw, Fecamp, 111 chs coals... H.Worms"
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Saturday 23 March 13 19:42 GMT (UK)
re "John Shaw, Naiad" 

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stormrhb/portrait4.htm
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Stanwix England on Saturday 23 March 13 19:47 GMT (UK)
Thank you very much everybody. This is very useful information.

I'm looking forward to sharing this with my family.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: seaweed on Saturday 23 March 13 20:00 GMT (UK)

Does N R B Q refer to "alphabetic single hoist flags"?
Yes.

The Brig NAIAD official number 23291 was built in 1844 at Southwick on Wear which is some one and a half miles from Sunderland. She was owned in 1861 by William Storm of Robin Hoods Bay.
Her Crew Agreements for 1861 are available from the National Archive. Search via O/N
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=C2477397
You may get lucky and find logbooks as well. I can find Crew Agrements for her up until 1884. The folowing link would suggest she was lost in January of that year

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stormrhb/lost.htm

I would have expected that her Principal cargo was coal outward and and general cargo inward. Trading to North Sea East Coast ports and the near Continent.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Stanwix England on Saturday 23 March 13 20:12 GMT (UK)
That's fantastic thank you. It's great to be able to get a sense of the sort of job he had.

Thank you also for the photographs hanes teulu. He looks very stern!
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Seoras on Saturday 23 March 13 22:14 GMT (UK)
seaweed, would she have looked something like the 'Isabella' on this link.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stormrhb/sailingvessels.htm
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Sunday 24 March 13 08:39 GMT (UK)
Seaweed,
Thanks for confirming the flags angle. I had checked the possibility and the Naiad appeared to be carrying dangerous cargo (B).
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Sunday 24 March 13 11:27 GMT (UK)
The Naiad sailed from Hartlepool on 21 Jan 1884 - "coal laden".

By 26 March 1884 reports were appearing in the "Shipping News'" sections of various papers of the Naiad, from Hartlepool, being "overdue"

Northern Echo, 4 April 1884 reported
A MISSING WHITBY VESSEL - The Naiad, Harrison, of Whitby, left Hartlepool for London with coal on 21 Jan and has not been since heard of.

The Morning Chronicle mentioned "...official no 23,291".

And then the trail goes cold
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: seaweed on Sunday 24 March 13 11:56 GMT (UK)
seaweed, would she have looked something like the 'Isabella' on this link.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stormrhb/sailingvessels.htm
Yes. The Brig was a two masted vessel square rigged on both masts. It is a simple and efficient sailing rig, and was still in use up to the very end of commercial sailing.

hanes teulu. I may have misslead you the letters N R B Q are her Commercial Code Signal. In the days before radio this was her individual identity signal displayed in flags.

Ilona Wheldale England
I have looked every where for a photograph. A post on the Whitby Yahoo board may give results.
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/thewhitbygroup/?tab=s
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: hanes teulu on Sunday 24 March 13 12:06 GMT (UK)
Seaweed,
Thanks for the clarification.
The message (my interpreting the 4 letters against a table of flags), didn't make much sense admittedly, but then I'm very much a landlubber

regards
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: seaweed on Sunday 24 March 13 14:32 GMT (UK)
There are some 26 records of 1881 Crew agreements for NAIAD O/N 23291 here
http://www.mun.ca/mha/1881/crewfindingaid1881.php
There is an incomplete database of Crew Agreements of British registered vessels 1881 here
http://www.mun.ca/mha/1881/crews1881.php
Works better if you include the ships official number.
Title: Re: How do you find out about a boat?
Post by: Stanwix England on Wednesday 27 March 13 20:37 GMT (UK)
Just wanted to thank everyone who helped with this. I have a much better picture now.

Thank you.