1861 Census Question- "British Ships In Home Ports" <Completed>

[Closed Account]

Can someone please advise what information is provided in an area of the 1861 Census called "British Ships in Home Ports"?  I came across someone on one of the free search sites that I am curious about, and this phrase appears as both the county and registration district.  I can see his name, age, gender, and birthplace, but would like to know what other information is generally noted here before I go out and pay money to one of the commerical sites for one record.  Was this something to do with the military, immigration/travel, commercial business, etc.?

[gortonboy]

hi,,,it it simply a record of the crew of the ship on census day,,,so the census will simply state thier name ..age,,occupation,,where born  etc...

[stanmapstone]

This is from the Ships Schedule Form A
Stan

[Closed Account]

Thank you both for this information.  It does not sound as if there's much else out there that could be of research value from these records.  Should I assume that these ships would have included all types of vessels including military, travel, and business?

[stanmapstone]

The enumeration of the merchant marine in the censuses is a very complex business. In "Making Sense of the Census" Edward Higgs takes four pages to cover the subject.
The instructions for the 1861 Census meant that only British Ships in the coasting or home trade which arrived in port within a certain period, or British ships in the foreign trade which were in port on census night, should have been issued with ships' schedules. British foreign-going ships in foreign waters before 8 April should not have been given schedules. Some ships which were in the Baltic and Mediterranean on census night and appear in the schedules were apparently foreign-going vessels which were mistakenly given schedules by the custom officers. The Royal Navy were issued with special naval schedules.

Stan

[osprey]

if you use a site that has the description of the enumeration district, which in this case will be the ship itself, you can get details of the ship - where it's registered, its number, tonnage, the master.

Would you like to give the person's details to see if we can help?

[Closed Account]

The man's name is Charles McLaughlin.  I can see that he's 23 years old and born in Glasgow.  I am researching a person of a similar name, age, and birthplace who was working as a chandler as of 1860 and seems to have joined the US Navy in 1862, and so seeing someone attached to a ship in the year in between is something I'd like to investigate.  The census process for the ships sounds a bit complex per Stan's feedback, and the information limited, and so if anyone can shed any additonal light on this record I'd appreciate it.  If not, then I'll consider the topic closed and flag it as completed.  Thank you all again for your assistance.

[osprey]

well, that Charles McLaughlin is single, a stoker 2nd class in the Royal Navy. Ship is the Cumberland with 24 guns enumerated at Sheerness, Kent RG9/4480 folio 61 pg 18. Captain is Charles H Schomberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Frederick_Schomberg

says that HMS Cumberland was the guardship of the steam reserve.

You probably know that McLaughlin has many variants.....

[Closed Account]

Hmm...  well, first, thank you for the lookup.  I doubt that the Charles I am looking for would have been in the Royal Navy in 1861 and the the US Navy a year later.  I know for a fact he was living in Brooklyn, New York working as a chandler in 1860.  I do have a gap for him from 1860-1880, and so it's possible that he was in one or the other naval service though I doubt both.  And yes, it's not the easiest of surnames to research due to the variants and commonness, and so the birthplace of Glasgow has been my main search criterion for him other than the name and approximate birth date. 

I guess that the only way to confirm him in either navy would be to order the military records from both countries and hope that they reference his family members or prove his discharge prior to 1880.  Regardless, I will mark this census-related topic completed.  Thanks again, all!