Channel Islands
Maritime HistoryChannel Islands
Maritime HistoryAbout the Crew Lists Index
Q1. Which Crew Lists are included in this index ?
Q2. Where can I find the original Crew Lists ?
Q3. Do these Crew Lists include Passenger lists ?
Q4. How are the Crew Lists included here selected ?
Q7. Is there an equivalent site for Jersey Crew Lists or any other areas ?
Channel Islands Maritime History - General
Q8. Where can I find out more about Channel Islands Maritime History ?
Q9. Where might I find a picture of a Channel Islands ship ?
Q10. What other sites on the WWW that relate to Channel Islands Maritime History ?
Q11. Where can I find more information about how to trace a Channel Islands seafaring ancestor ?
Q1. Which Crew Lists are included in this index ?
A. Crew Lists that I have collected for the voyages of the following Guernsey-registered ships in the following years, and details of crew lists that have been sent to me (latest additions in bold red - see also What's New) :-
| Adolphus Yates | 1851 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Aurora | 1854-5 | |
| Casket | 1874-1875 | Thanks to Angela Radford |
| Castelia | 1891 | Thanks to David Hamilton |
| Charlotte | 1846 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Costa Rica Packet | 1875-1877 | |
| Courier | 1882 | Thanks to Chris Mobbs |
| Dispatch | 1849-52, 1854-63 | |
| Emma | 1855 | |
| Falcon | 1847, 1854, 1855 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Gem | 1843 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Golden Spur | 1866 | Thanks to Chris Mobbs |
| Harmony | 1840 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Herradura | 1871-74 | |
| Hostilina | 1841, 1844 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Jessie | 1846-48 | |
| Lady of the Lake | 1845, 1847, 1849, 1854, 1855 | |
| Madeira Pet | 1857 | |
| Martha | 1837, 1843, 1850-52 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Nancy | 1855, 1856-7 | |
| Princess Victoria | 1841 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Queen of the Isles | 1855 | |
| Queen Victoria | 1848-9 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Racer | 1852 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Sagitta | 1856 | |
| Sorciere | 1850 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| St George | 1855, 1856-7 | |
| Surprise | 1855 | |
| Swift | 1842, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1849, 1850 |
Thanks to Mike Day |
| Teazer | 1854-56 | |
| Tryphena | 1852-54, 1855 | |
| Ulysses | 1847 | Thanks to Mike Day |
| Water Witch | 1845, 1853-4, 1855 | |
| Wild Wave | 1854, 1855 | Thanks to Mike Day |
Q2. Where can I find the original Crew Lists ?
A. Crew Lists which survive can be found either in
The PRO hold all Crew Lists before 1861. In order to locate a particular crew list after that date, refer to the PRO guide "Merchant Shipping: Crew Lists and Agreements after 1861".
Q3. Do these Crew Lists include Passenger lists ?
A. No. These were for the most part trading vessels carrying cargo, not passengers. You may find useful links relating to Passenger lists at Cyndi's List : Ships, Passenger Lists & Immigration or at TheShipsList page.
Q4. How are the Crew Lists included here selected ?
A. They are Crew Lists that I just happen to have collected during my research - or that others have sent to me. I am happy to include any others that are sent to me in the same format as long as they relate to Guernsey-registered ships or other ships with Guernseymen aboard.
Q5. What does AB Seaman stand for ?
A. AB stands for Able Bodied. Boys joined a crew at the age of 15 or 16 as either "Boy" or "Apprentice". They would then work their way up to Ordinary Seaman, then Able Bodied Seaman. From then, they could take an examination for a Mate's certificate - before taking on the role of 2nd Mate or Mate on a voyage.
Q6. Why are some of the fields blank ?
A. Without going into lots of detail, there were several different forms which made up a Crew List. Different forms contain different levels of information, and not all the forms survive - so sometimes all you are left with is a list of names. Rather than leave them out, I have included them but with blanks where the information was not available.
Q7. Is there an equivalent site for Jersey Crew Lists or any other areas ?
A. The short answer for Jersey is No. The long answer is that the best way to trace a Jersey merchant seaman's career is through the records of the Jersey Merchant Seaman's Benefit Society - a pension fund to which contributions were compulsory. This gives details of all the voyages he made and is therefore effectively an index to Crew Lists for those mariners. There was no equivalent in Guernsey or the other Channel Islands.
There is a project CLIP "Crew Lists Indexing Project" which aims to build up a UK-wide index to Crew Lists. Other web sites with a regional focus include:-
Wales : Bob Sanders' web site has an index to Master Mariners in Cardiff Crew Agreements.
England : DataMarine has an index to Master Mariners based in Ramsgate, Kent.
Australia : Jenny Fawcett's Mariners Index for South West Victoria & Tasmania (link no longer working).
NEW It's also worth checking out Maritime History on the Internet (a guide to doing maritime history research online).
Q8. Where can I find out more about Channel Islands Maritime History ?
The standard reference book is "A People of the Sea - the Maritime History of the Channel Islands" edited by AG Jamieson, published by Metheun in 1986. It is unfortunately now out of print - but you might find it second hand at the Advanced Book Exchange.
NEW A new book on Channel Islands maritime history has just been published "From Sail to Steam" by Caroline Williams.
There are Maritime Museums in both Guernsey and Jersey:-
Q9. Where might I find a picture of a Channel Islands ship ?
Both Guernsey and Jersey Maritime Museums have a large collection of Maritime art. The Jersey Museum has a database of its collection. It is not available on the net, but can be accessed if you visit in person.
The National Maritime Museum also has a large collection of Maritime art, which includes some pictures that relate to the Channel Islands. You can search their Prints & Drawings catalogue online.
The Maritime History Virtual Archives has a welath of Maritime information. This includes details of a Guernsey ship, L'Invention, which was captured by an English privateer, and bought at auction by Carteret Priaulx, a Guernsey privateer, who went on to use her as a privateering ship.
Q10. What other sites on the WWW that relate to Channel Islands Maritime History ?
Here are a few that I have come across, please let me know if you find any more.
A new site has just been launched (early 2001) to provide a forum for those interested in Channel Islands Maritime History to share information, files, links, etc etc.
Q11. Where can I find more information about how to trace a Channel Islands seafaring ancestor ?
For Jersey seamen, the first stop should be Alex Glendinning's page describing the records of the Jersey Merchant Seaman's Benefit Society.
Otherwise, Channel Islands shipping and seaman were subject to the same record-keeping (shipping registration, crew lists, seaman's tickets, apprenticeship records, certificates of competency, etc) as other British ports. The PRO publication "Records of Merchant Shipping & Seamen" is the definitive guide on the subject.
Some sailors applied for a pension from Trinity House - a charitable foundation for sailors. These applications are known as Trinity House Petitions and copies are available on microfiche at the Society of Genealogists.
Online, Rootsweb's Mariners-L Mailing List is a good place to start, and regular FAQ postings can help you get started. Also the National Maritime Museum site has published a set of Research Guides at their web site. Another important source of information is Lloyd's Register of Shipping.