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Crew lists and logbooks
In 1966 the National Archives in London [Public Record Office] took the decision to discard part of the “Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, the Agreements and Account of Crew and Official Logbooks” for British Empire vessels from 1861 to1913. The decision met with considerable opposition from archivists and maritime and labour historians; these records were considered to be a valuable and largely untapped source of information on seafaring labour and the shipping industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Eventually, through the co-operative effort of a number of individuals, the disposition of the Crew Agreements was settled, with the bulk of the records being transferred to Memorial University's Maritime History Archive (MHA).
However, a significant number of crew agreements remained in Britain. The National Archives took a random 10% sample as well as the collection relating to celebrated ships, BT100. The National Maritime Museum took the years 1861 and 1862, and a decadal sample of all the years ending in five, e.g., 1865, 1875, 1885 etc. And county record offices and other repositories in Britain and Ireland took advantage of the opportunity to acquire crew agreements which were of particular interest to their geographical area.
The crew agreements provide particulars of the vessel, including the
port of registry, tonnage, form of propulsion, owner and intended voyage.
The information relating to the individual crew members includes the person's
name, year and place of birth, capacity, previous vessel served on, and date
of signing on and off the vessel.
There are no nominal indexes to the crew lists. When looking for a particular
seafarer it is necessary to know the name or official number of the vessel
and the approximate years that a person served on a vessel in order for
us to search the agreements. Once we have located a person it is sometimes
possible to trace the career back through previous vessels.
For information on ordering copies of crew agreements from the Maritime History Archive please go to the Ordering Crew Agreements page.
The following series of crew lists and logbooks are held at the
Maritime History Archive
Great Britain. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen
Agreement and Account of Crew and Official Logbooks for British
Empire Vessels, 1863-1938, 1951-1976. Total of extent 6,439 metres of
textual material.
Since 1971 the Maritime History Archive has acquired approximately 70%
of the original documents which make up this series. The agreements are
filed by the year in which a voyage terminated at a UK port. Included are
crew lists for passenger, cargo and fishing vessels. They are arranged
chronologically and filed within each year by the official number of the
vessel. As well as particulars of the vessel and information relating to
individual crew members, the agreements also include accounts of the apprentices
on board as well as records of births, deaths and marriages of crew and
passengers. The agreements were endorsed by the British Consul at each
major port of call, and notations made of any changes of crew were noted
at that time. Official logbooks accompany many of the crew agreements up
to 1874, but thereafter they were mostly destroyed. The Official logbooks
contain information on medical and disciplinary matters.
The British Public Record Office at Kew has retained all surviving documents
prior to 1860, as well as a random sample in the 1863-1938 period. The
National
Maritime Museum at Greenwich, England holds records for 1861-1862 and the
years ending "5".
The Maritime History Archive maintains an on-line catalog of all crew agreements and accounts in its archives. These lists can be searched by Official Number.
Official Number Search of the Crew Agreements and Accounts
Types of Agreements and Accounts
Great Britain. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen
Agreement and Account of Crew of Commissioned Chartered
Ships,T124,
1914-1920. 23 metres of textual material.
Agreements of armed or unarmed hired vessels in H.M. service under the
Lords of the Admiralty for the period of World War, 1914-1918. Arranged
by vessel and indexed by official number and/or name of vessel.
Great Britain. Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen
Agreements and Crew Lists, Series 1 (BT 98): Colonial, 1846-1856.
58 reels of microfilm.
Agreements of colonial registered vessels, containing the names and addresses
of seamen, dates of engagement and discharge, name of previous vessel,
destined
voyage, etc. Arranged chronologically and indexed by vessel name and port
of registry.
Great Britain. Board of Trade
Dartmouth and Plymouth Muster Rolls, 1755-1808. 16 reels of
microfilm.
An early form of crew agreement. These give particulars of the vessel,
name of master and crew and destined voyage, date of departure and return
to port. Index by vessel name in progress.
Whaling logbooks, 1812-1860. 2 reels of microfilm.
A collection of logbooks for 28 whaling vessels registered in Hull, England,
from Hull City Library and Hull Museum.
Newfoundland. Mercantile Marine Office
Agreements and Account of Crew, 1919-1938. 18 reels of microfilm.
Surviving crew agreements of vessels registered in Newfoundland. Mostly
steamships. Indexed by vessel name.
Collector of Customs, New London, Connecticut
Crew Lists of Outgoing Vessels, 1815-1817, 1822-1829. 1 part
reel of microfilm.
Members of crew on board American vessels clearing the district of New
London and bound for foreign ports or whaling voyages. Includes name, place
of birth and residence, age and height, colour of hair and complexion and
the county of citizenship of each crew member. Also includes information
on the vessel.
Collector of Customs, New London, Connecticut
Crew lists Surrendered, 1792-1888. 1 reel of microfilm.
Members of crew on board American vessels arriving in the district of New
London from foreign ports or whaling voyages. Information similar to lists
for outgoing vessels, above.
Collector of Customs, Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts
Crew lists for the ports of Salem and Beverly, 1803-1899. 31
reels of microfilm.
Mostly copies of crew lists deposited with the Collector of Customs when
the vessel left on its voyage. Information as listed for New London (above).
Arranged by year and alphabetically by vessel name.
Essex Institute Marine Logbooks and Journals, 1750-1803.
4 reels of microfilm.
Microfilm copies of the logbooks in the Essex Institute collection, mostly
for fishing and trading voyages out of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts.
Indexed by vessel name.
France. Archives Maritimes, Port de Cherbourg
Roles d'armament et de desarmement des navires de Granville et de
Requeville, 1833-1856. 82 reels of microfilm.
Records of outfitting and paying off at the termination of a voyage. Vessels
involved in the coasting trade and the Newfoundland fishery. Lists crew
members, wages, details of the vessel and voyage.
Updated November, 2008
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