interpretation of information on seaman's ticket

[Roobarb]

I tried before to find it from your post but without any success. Thanks anyway. 

[sjc204]

Hi Roo,
I found it from a link in FindMyPast but the pages you want to get are at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/merchant-seamen-interpret-voyage-masters.htm

..and you will need the related guides mentioned on the right of that page.

Actually the pictures they give you to help with the deciphering are pretty confusing, but I think I have got the basics!

The port numbers are in the Abbreviations listing:
 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/merchant-seamen-RGSS-register-abbreviations.htm

As far as I understand it, the ship numbers are unique to the port, e.g. 3006.64 is ship 3006 of 64 (London), and apparently there is no key to these "port rotation numbers".  I can't believe ALL the books would be lost if they were registering ships in every port, but that's what they say.  But they are different to the ON Official Numbers which identify unique ships on a national basis (I think).

We need an expert on here to sort this out (and write a better Guide)
Hope this helps!

[jcmac]

Hello folks,
The National Archives>A-Z>Research Guides>Merchant Navy>
Abbreviations in merchant seamen's records (112) and
Interpreting voyage details of merchant seamen in registers of seamen's tickets...(114).

4137 and 1794 (and 1751 ?) appear to be Port Rotation Numbers.
90 appears to be Southampton.
64 appears to be London.
72 appears to be Newport.
92 appears to be Sunderland.
As the details are not clear it is a bit of a guess.
jcmac.
Well done sjc204 - I think we are on the right track at last !!!  
 

[Roobarb]

Thanks both.

I had found the port numbers and some of them made sense - my man was from around Exeter and number 39 - Exeter cropped up a few times. I have a 3330 - 64 so sounds like it was ship 3330 and London port if I'm understanding this correctly? Confusing innit?!! I think I'll be up all night trying to understand it all. 

[Churchie]

Thanks everyone - it makes a little more sense now...
For me, the most interesting part was that 'my' fellow went to sea at the age of ten. His father was also a sailor, so I imagine he may have gone with him?

Was also amused that, in the later record I found, he spent two years sailing back and forth between Melbourne and Dunedin in 1855 and 1856, and we thought the first of our family arrived in New Zealand in 1968!

[Roobarb]

Mine first went to sea at age 12 - poor little boys! It's hard to believe now. I'm hoping to follow his seagoing career but the best information for me was his date and place of birth, I've been trying for years to find these out. At least I now know where to look for his parentage. It was also fascinating to read his description - one record shows his height at 5ft 3ins and the other says 5ft 2 and three quarter inches! At that short a stature I expect every quarter inch counted! His crewmates were all short too so I suppose it was the norm in those days.

Told you I'd be up all night, I must stop this! 

[Roobarb]

Just bumping this up the board a bit and hoping we'll get some help. 

[Churchie]

Well here's another related query from me:
My man also served 4 years in the Royal navy sometime between 1830 (when he was 10 years old) and 1845.

Any records available anywhere?

Caroline.

[Sarco]

I too have found birth details of an ancestor that had eluded me for more than 20 years in the new release on locatemypast.

I was just about to post a thread about deciphering the code when I found the foregoing.

Thank you to those that have posted links on how it is done.

I'm now off on the hunt

Darryl
Sydney Australia