Genealogy Chat

Please could anyone tell me - (see below)

Where in the world would have necessitated a return voyage of approximately 3 years from the North-Eastern coast of England? CB >|<

I'd be interested in this too. My G/grandfather from Newcastle on Tyne went to sea as a boy and was away for years on his first voyage, during which time his mother died. Presumably cargo ships that chased the cargo wherever it was available. Sylvia

Sylvia, I had ancestors and their relatives sailing out of Sunderland and Whitby, and there seem to be recurrent 3-year gaps in family events, i e a child born and then not baptised for 3 years, a marriage allegation 3 years before the actual marriage, etc. I suppose it would be somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere or the West Coast of America, but I'd love to know from someone with maritime knowledge. CB >|<

CB are you sure the return journey wasn't by TRAIN that would take 3yrs...LOL ..MOE!

Until we had cheap air fares a seafarer would sign on a ships articles in the UK and they would last until the vessel returned to the UK. If the ship was a tramp, ie, she picked up and discharged at unscheduled ports around the world then the voyage could last for many years. If she was a liner, ie she had scheduled ports then the trips were usually shorter. The tea clippers for example would be 100 days +loading time +100days, or about 250 days on average. Even in the 1960's it was common for companies like Bank Line or Stag Line to run 2 year articles.

Voyages lasted up at least two years plus. After one year if the vessel was in a local port from where it it sailed from ,then a crew member could sign off ,but after that they had to see the trip through. my grt Gandad was on the sailing vessel Port logan That left Antwerp in Sept 1910, he was lost overboard in june 1911 after the vessel left australia on route back to Hambug wher it finally finished its voyage in Feb 1912. So a round trip of 18 months. Shirley

My own gggrandfather was away on a voyage of 4 years 8 months, starting out from Portsmouth around 1859. The ship he was on was apparently involved in a few skirmishes in the Pacific Station, spent time in Canada, and returned via the Cape Horn. So, if it were a Naval vessel at least, you went where the trouble was, and came back when you needed a refit at home base. And, if that is the case, the ship's log would be in the National Archives at Kew.... Not sure about Merchant vessels, though. Michael

My F-I-L was an old seaman, knowing he wouldn't be around to have his granchildren know him, (he had his family late in life) he wrote his life story to leave behind for them. He wrote of his early sea voyages, and how he would get a job on a schooner from Aust bound for West coast of USA, pay off there - work his way across the states doing odd jobs, sometimes with a circus, then sign onto another vessel on the East Coast for a trip, keeping him away from home for several years. He was a great journal keeper so we have his record of ships and dates and trips - he mentioned often a friend of those times Alan Villiers . . . I must read Alan's books when I get the chance. Happy hunting Laurie

'sigh' Laurie I wish my g/grandfather had been as thoughtful. I have nothing between his birth in 1872 and his marriage in 1905. The only reason I know about his mother dying on his 1st voyage is that my old aunt told me. She also told me that he hated his 1st Captain (???) Sylvia

CB What years are you talking about? The North East had a good trade with Canada during the Revolutionary war and sometimes even being caught up in the war. Some of mine went off from Whitby and Shields for 2-3 years at a time. Sheila

Thanks, folks - some interesting replies. Moe - LOL I know what you mean! Sheila, There's one Sunderland birth in May1804, baptism not till December 1806; another in October 1804, baptism not till September 1807; a third birth in November 1806, baptism not till January 1810 - which possibly suggest family involvement in the Napoleonic War Then there's a marriage allegation in 1828 and the marriage in 1831. I don't have too much info on births/baptisms around the time of the US War of Independence, but I have found the family name cropping up in Nova Scotia at various times. I'm only just starting to investigate the activities of the family mariners, so I haven't got too far with the detail yet. CB >|<