How to research German merchant marine prior to British enlistment

[Paul Manos]

Hello everyone,
I'm trying to piece together my great-uncle's merchant seaman career in and around 1906-07. I'm fortunate that a family member had kept his Continuous Certificate of Discharge booklet 1907-09. Using this, I was able to obtain from Cardiff Council a copy of the Agreement and Account of Crew from his first British ship, the Sir W J Lewis, which shows he joined the crew in September 1907 in Constantinople (he was born on the island of Marmara, in the Marmara Sea, nearby) after another crew member deserted the vessel at Sperzia.

The Crew Agreement records that my great-uncle's previous vessel was the "Marguerite" out of Hamburg. The Lloyds Register shows 7 vessels in 1906-07 with the name "Marguerite" or "Marguerite .... " but none show Hamburg as the Port of Registry. I've not been able to find online an archive attached to the Port of Hamburg and I'm at a loss as to where a German merchant naval archive might reside.

I'd be grateful for suggestions about how to track down this vessel, hoping, ultimately, there might be an earlier Crew Agreement or similar with additional information about my great-uncle's history.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Paul
As i have not used this before, it is possibly a lead to get what you are looking for?
You have to Register first , seems Free and the i guess you will be able to search the Ships Register in Hamburg! But as said i have not used this yet so??
Hope this may help .
Cheers

Ship Register - Help (hamburg.de)

Hamburg Ship Register - Online Service Entry Page - HamburgService

Can we please have his Full name and possible DOB. This will help us !
Thanks

I have a Pic of the Ship i think, its dated 1911. If you send me your Email i will forward it on, i cannot post it here as its CopyRight.
Reg Number 105051

Ship Marguerite , official number: 105051. When built: 1895. Registry closed: 1916. | The National Archives

Crew List Index Project

By looking at above seems that it may or may not be the Ship in Question?? Let me know please!

Crew List Index Search Results (mun.ca)

[Ivan Cloherty]

The Crew Agreement records that my great-uncle's previous vessel was the "Marguerite" out of Hamburg. The Lloyds Register shows 7 vessels in 1906-07 with the name "Marguerite" or "Marguerite .... " but none show Hamburg as the Port of Registry. I've not been able to find online an archive attached to the Port of Hamburg and I'm at a loss as to where a German merchant naval archive might reside.

.

Don't confuse 'Out of Hamburg' with 'Port of Registry'

A vessel could have London as a Port of Registry but her regular run may have been 'Out of Southampton'

Similarily thousands of vessels currently show their Port of Registry as Monrovia but 99.99% of them will have been no where near Liberia

[Doc Vernon]

• DCA - Port of Cardiff Crew Agreements and Official Logbooks - 1863-1913
  
  • 1907 - Crew lists for 1907 - 1907

Document reference	DCA/1907/109771
Level of description	Item
Title	Sir W. T. Lewis
Date	Feb-Nov 1907
Description	Owner: Wm. Jas. Tatem, Cardiff Master: Thos. Leitch Dodd, Whitels Bay 2 Eng 1 [2 voyages]
Extent	2 booklets

[Paul Manos]

Thank you for the suggestions. If ok, I'll combine replies.

My great-uncle was Prodromos Constantine. His first name was mis-spelt variously as Brothero or Prino. He was born 1885 Prokonnesos (now commonly known as Marmara Town), Marmara Island, Ottoman Territory (now Turkey). His second name was also spelt variously Constantinos or Constantinou.

Attached is the page from his Continuous Certificate of Discharge which, in reference to the "Marguerite", shows the heading "Ship in which he last served, and Year of Discharge therefrom" and the sub-heading "State Name and Official No. or Port she belonged to".

The fact that he was signed on to the "Sir W J Lewis" in Constantinople suggests to me that his early employment was in, around & through there, as I understand there was significant trade from the Black Sea Ports to the Mediterranean in those years pre-WW1. Possibly the "Marguerite" also sailed this route.(?)

(Once he completed his two month stint on the "Sir W J Lewis", he worked and most likely lived in or out of Cardiff for the next 2 years, as the next 5 vessels were all out of there, including three on the run to River Plate in South America.)

[Paul Manos]

Thank you for the Hamburg Port link. I registered for free and did a search but with no results.

I saw the entry from the National Archives. Possibly it may be that ship but I don't know what I should be looking for to confirm.

Attached is a screen snapshot from the Lloyds register which shows 5 "Marguerite's" and I can see the 1895 with the Official Lloyds Book No. entry of 369. The Owners in column 10 were Armitage's Steam Trawling Co. Ltd. Is there a way to track ship movements in the Mediterranean in a particular year to look for it?

[Doc Vernon]

Thanks Paul
It is a hard one this but i will try looking in other places for more info and possible Picture. I say this as a Pic i have i think is not the correct one after reading more on it, it it a Paddle Steamer. So the search continues
Cheers