Fred(erick) Kay - deserted Campania in New York 1902

[cathnl]

I would appreciate any tips on tracking down Frederick Kay, born 1872 in Liverpool.  Son of William Kay and Sarah (nee Hill), he was baptised on 28 April 1872 (no middle name). He features in the 1881 Census at Langdale Street, and in 1891 in Roderick Street, Liverpool, working as a carter.   I thought he was totally lost, since he does not seem to feature again on UK records.  But I may now have found him on a crew list, recorded as deserting the Campania in New York in 1902. I would welcome suggestions on how to take this forward.  I have read separately that a number of Liverpool crew desertions were linked to the Klondike gold rush, but have no family gossip to back this up, or give other clues.  Thank you.

[knort33]

What is his middle name?  There are a few people in the US and in England/Ireland who have a similar name.

What is his date of birth?

Please show a link to the list you mentioned regarding his name on the crew list for the Carpathia, if you found it online.

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[cathnl]

Thank you for replying.  My Frederick has no recorded middle name, and his baptism record does not give his date of birth.   He does not feature on the 1871 census and the family seems to have been reasonably prompt with baptisms, so first quarter of 1872 would be a reasonable assumption.   Allthough there are quite a few Frederick Kay(e)s knocking about, I have not found another one in Liverpool dob 1872.  But perhaps that doesn't help for US records if they simply list England - sorry I am a novice on US data.  I found the Campania reference on Ancestry - shown in attachment.  I hope I am not breaching any rules!  If so, no doubt, someone will helpfully correct me.


Moderator:  Link to crew list - http://www.rootschat.com/links/01mbq/  Attachment removed.

[jorose]

I think his birth has been indexed in March quarter 1872, Liverpool district, on the GRO index as "Frederick Key" (mother's maiden name Hill).  The same spelling on freebmd. vol 8B page 217

So the earliest he was likely born was six weeks before January 1st 1872 (late registration but within time limits), and the latest was end of March 1872 (prompt registration).

The problem is that as a deserter he could have gone just about anywhere and possibly also used a different name. I cannot see an obvious match for him in the US census of 1910.

[cathnl]

Thank you JoRose.  Yes this will be him - his father appears in the census as Key, Hay, Kaye etc, which does not help the search!  So he might appear in US/Canada census with a 1871 yob (just) more likely 1872, as Kay or Key.  He "only"deserted from a merchant ship, not the army, so I am not sure he would have felt the need to change his name.  Or was there a similar stigma attached?  If the USA census does not help, could you possibly point me in the right direction for a Canada search?  Many thanks.