Hello Here is a bit of info on Seaman of that time hope it will clear things up for you.
A great pity that Records for the Period were not kept,only a very few.
A pity too that we dont have at least just a start with one Ship name ,as that could lead us to find out a bit more.
I hope that somehow you may get more info ??
Merchant Seamen: Registers of Service, 1835-1857
Merchant Shipping: Crew Lists and Agreements After 1861
Merchant Seamen: Sea Service Records, 1913-1972
'In 1857 the Board of Trade abandoned the Seamen's register reasoning that the agreements and crew lists were sufficient to meet the needs of the department. So, from 1858 - 1913 no register of ordinary seamen's service was kept.'
'For the period 1858-1913 researchers interested in ordinary seamen, that is those not in possession of a certificate of competency or service, will need to use the Agreements and Crew Lists - see Merchant Shipping: Agreements and Crew Lists after 1861.'
'Agreement and Crew Lists 1861 - 1938 and 1950 - 1994
In BT 99 , The National Archives holds a random 10% sample of the Agreements and Crew Lists, for the periods 1861 to 1938 and again from 1950 to 1994. For the period 1861 to 1923, they can be searched for on the Catalogue (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue) using the ship's Official Number (obtainable from the Mercantile Navy Lists). After that date, the Catalogue gives ranges of ship's Official Numbers. See the separate section below on The National Archives' World War 2 holdings.
When the files were being selected for preservation a decision was taken on how to dispose of all those not taken by The National Archives. The National Maritime Museum took 10% and County Record Offices, took some for the period 1863-1913. The rest, approximately 70% of the Agreements and Crew Lists, 1863-1938 and 1951-1976, were transferred to the Maritime History Archive, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5S7 (www.mun.ca/mha/).'
Merchant Navy - Registers of Seamen/Service (Seamen)
