Hugh McDonald Ernest Mayer

[jean west]

Help please I have been searching for many years for the birth of Hugh Mayer supposed to have been born Middlesborough  1882 father John a mason mother Elsie Gordon he married 1902 South Shields to Mary Archer he was a seaman and ended up living in Australia I can not find any record of his birth the Hugh Mayer born in Wolstanton is not him that Hugh died an infant. When Hugh remarried in Aus he gave his fathers name as Joseph.
I am hoping someone may be able to find his birth I have been looking since 1978.
Many thanks
Jean West (Australia)

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Jean

Your Hugh Mayer seems a very difficult person to search for.  I have found his marriage to Mary Archer  in the Freebmd index (Marriages Jan-Mar 1902 S. Shields 10a 1021) but no other record.  I presume that you have got his father's name and occupation from this certificate and his mother's name from his Australian certificates. His address should be recorded on the 1902 certificate and this may be helpful in tracing him or his family in the 1901 census - do you have this address?

It's a bit of a long shot but it may be worthwhile looking at Mary Archer's family to see if there is any connection with Middlesborough in previous years and whether this points to a likely Hugh.  You should have the name of Mary's father and his occupation on the 1902 certificate.

I have not managed to trace a marriage between his parents, John/Joseph Mayer and Elsie Gordon, nor can I find a likely couple in the 1881 census.  do you have any additional information about this couple?

As a seaman, his name and next of kin should be recorded in the crew lists of the vessels on which he served.  If you have any idea of the name(s) of any of his ships you should be able to discover the ship's number and then find out if any of the archives hold the crew list.  The crew lists should also show the name of the previous vessel on whic he served so that you may be able to track him back to before 1902 and find who he is quoting as next of kin at that time.

His two middle names are interesting, particularly McDonald: what evidence do you have to support these?

All the best

Gobbo

[barryd]

I have also found nothing substantial about Hugh McDonald Ernest Mayer but there are about 25 births on Free BMD of children with first names of Hugh McDonald. Including a Hugh McDonald Kay (Kay is his last name) registered in Middlesborough 1880. No reference to Ernest on any of the 25.

familysearch.org has many references to Hugh McDonald Ernest Mayer and most give his birth year as 1880 - Middlesborough.

All give his father as John and mother Elsie Gordon and state that both father and mother are from Middlesbough also. No one has found an actual birth date (day/month/year).

[jean west]

thank you  gobbo for your help I have checked marriage certificate it states Hughs address as West Harton occupation seaman. I checked Mary Archers address 38 Bede St Westoe Durham no mention of Hugh.
I have discharge certificates for shipping federation for hugh 3/1905 89 Bede st  no mention of ship,3/7/05 discharged Sth Shields from ship Langdon in 1900 discharged from ship Black Boy and 24/101900 discharged from ss Sea Fisher in Aberdeen I am not aware of how to access ships crew lists could you please advise me how to do it.
Thanks again for your great effort Hugh is very frustrating.
Jean West

[jean west]

Dear Barryd, I to have looked at those names but could not make a connection the information of Family search was supplied by my mother in law from what the family had always been told Hugh was not consistant with his age on his army record it states born 26/8/1882 Middlesborough the family thought his birthday 24/8/1880 but even these years have been changed when he was a seaman he gave his year of birth as1881, 1879 one even has 1868 that must be an error  I think.
Thank you for researching Hugh is a mystery so far
Jean West

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Jean

You can get some information about the ships including the ID number from the Miramar index:

http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/

I have had a quick look and found the following, which may be relevant.

Year M discharged - Ship name - ID number - type of vessel - tonnage - year launched - shipyard
1900 - Sea Fisher - 1083992 - cargo - 274ton - 1883 - Belfast
1900 - Black Boy - 5611985 - cargo - 537ton - 1854 - Jarrow
1905 - Langdon - 1085122 - cargo - 1262ton - 1882 - S Shields

If you have his discharge certificates you should have a "Discharge Number" and I think this should be unique to him.

All this information should lead you to a good knowledge of his maritime experiences and also give some additional pointers to his age and origins.  It can be expensive to get copies of crew lists and I think you need advice from someone more experienced than me.

There is an informative Rootschat thread at

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,385954.0.html

Hmac, one of the contributors to that thread, is very knowledgeable and may be able to guide you in this maritime research.

All the best

Gobbo

[HMac]

Hello Jean,
Try and get hold of the crew list for BLACK BOY official number 30032. There is one at the British National Archive, Kew in piece BT 99/2123 here: http://www.rootschat.com/links/0714/

The cost for this file is £8.50 for up to 10 document pages sent direct to your email address within 1 working day on a no find no fee basis. Hit the link above then hit "request this" then take the digital express option and follow instructions. Ask for the crew agreement for BLACK BOY official number 30032 for the period of 1900 that you need. If you are not sure (bear in mind you get 10 document pages for your money) then take the request estimate option and ask them to search the agreements for 1900 for any mention of his name. This takes longer to process and is sent by mail.

Approx 70% of British crew agreements are held in Canada but cheaper and quicker if you can find one at the British archives.

Regards
Hugh

[jean west]

Thank you Gobbo and Hmac for your wealth of information I will persue that line it is such a strange thing to not be able to find any family connections.
Many thanks again
Jean (Australia)