Crew list agreement - 'David Morrice'

[JenClark]

Hello All,

I am trying to solve a mystery regarding one of my master mariners. His name was John Lancefield and he was the Captain of the 'David Morrice' in the 1830's, I have several Lloyds Registers throughout this time which show him as Captain of this vessel, but what I would love to know is the whereabouts of the crew list agreement for the 1838 voyage from Black River, Jamaica to London.

There are several things I would like to check -

Firstly, the vessel is supposed to have run aground during this voyage as reported in the The Sailor's Magazine, and Naval Journal
By American Seamen's Friend Society – 1836 to 1838

"Barque David Morrice, left Black River Jamaica April 25th 1838, and ran on shore on the evening of May 10, near Castle Island. The Captain and Crew saved."

Secondly, my ancestor appears to have had a son named John baptised at Black River Jamaica on 11th Feb 1838, and I would dearly love to know if he was on board, or indeed any other family members. My Capt John Lancefield returned to England after this voyage and married for a second time on 4th July 1838 to Eliza Clayton.

I have attached the Lloyd's Register entry for 1837-38, showing the ships details.

If any one can point me in the right direction for accessing this crew list I would be very grateful 

Jenny

[GrahamSimons]

Hope this is useful:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/merchant-shipping-crewlists-agreements-1747-1860.htm

[JenClark]

Are the crew lists for London based ships from 1835-1860 at the National Archives then?

[GrahamSimons]

In the research guide (previous post) the ref is to the series BT98, yes. The link there takes you to

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=3&CATID=1569&SearchInit=4&SearchType=6&CATREF=BT+98

I've not followed one of these up myself but it looks like hard work!

[JenClark]

Thanks Graham, I've e-mailed them so we will see what they say.

Wish I could just pop in to the National Archives and have a look, but it is a long way from Australia 

Jenny

[seaweed]

If they have survived, the crew agreements for DAVID MORRICE 1835-1844 should be in this piece
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=4996735&CATLN=6&Highlight=%2CLONDON&accessmethod=0
I would use TNA research service. It would be a simple search given they have the piece number but if they come back with an astronomical quote, let me know and I will take a look next time Visit TNA.

[JenClark]

Thanks Seaweed!

I will wait till they e-mail back (which could take 10 days) and let you know how I went 

Jenny

[JenClark]

Well not so successful with the National Archives 

They have written back to say that I need to pay a researcher to locate the items to be copied before they can copy them, I gave them the piece number and everything like you suggested Seaweed.

Do you visit TNA often or should I ask elsewhere to see if someone can have a look for me?

Jenny

[BumbleB]

The other place where British crew records are kept is in Canada - www.mun.ca - but I don't know what years they cover. 

And very strange that on a crew list I have for a ship called Annie Archbell - luckily the ship was bound for Australia and so crew lists were published on the www.mariners.records.nsw.gov.au website - there is mention of a Mrs David Morrice being a passenger - arrived Sydney 30 October 1862.