Documents and manuscripts are increasingly being digitised and many subjects can now be easily researched online and downloaded for a small fee. If I am aware of a digitised version, I will always advise my clients of this before undertaking any research. My focus is on primary research of original manuscripts and I only carry out online research to support this, or where clients request it as part of a larger project.
The following list sets out a small sample of those records, now digitised, which relate to the most common enquiries I receive:
- GRO Birth, Marriage, Death Certificate Indexes
- Census records 1841-1911
- Certificates of Competency for Masters and Mates 1850-1927
- Merchant Navy Seamen 1835-1857 (Registers of Seamen’s Service Series I-III)
- Merchant Navy Seamen 1918-1941 (The Fourth Register of Seamen)
Please note that there was a gap in the registration of merchant seamen from 1857-1913 and only crew lists & agreements survive for this period. The Fourth Register was started in October 1913 and continued until 1941. Unfortunately the entries for 1913-1918 were destroyed, therefore the register covers 1918-1940. - Royal Naval Seamen 1853-1923 (Registers of Seamen’s Services ADM 188 and the Continuous Service engagement books ADM 139)
- Second World War Merchant Shipping Movement Cards
- Lloyds Register of Yachts 1902-1903
- Lloyds Register of Ships
- Deaths of Seamen – listing all Scots and other crew members serving on British registered vessels 1897-1974