England Census Records for Ships (National Institute)

Census Records for Ships
The master or person in charge of every vessel had to fill out three parts of the special ship census form given to him. If the vessel was out on a coasting or short foreign trip on census night he had to deliver it to a Custom House or to a collecting officer. The shipping forms were not rewritten into the enumerators’ books and hence the films show exactly what was written by the master. An example is shown below.

Census Shipping Schedule
CHART: Census Shipping Schedule 1871  St. Anne Limehouse, Stepney, Middlesex

Number of Persons belonging to the Vessel on Shore on the night of Sunday April 2nd

List of Officers, Crew, and Others on Board of the Ship or Vessel Named the Fairly on the Night of Sunday, April, 2nd 1871 (The seven columns are summarized here. Entries are given exactly as written by whomever filled it out. This person wrote ages as well as birth dates; marnes is deduced as meaning mariner)

I declare the foregoing to be a true Return, according to the best of my knowledge and belief. George Williams, master (signed X.)

In the 1881 census index for all of the British Isles except Ireland there is a small extra section after the four main index sorts for counties that lists the vessels tied up in port that night. They are alphabetical by vessel name, and give the census place and miscellaneous notes (ship’s number, port, master’s name, tonnage, description and trade) and the usual TNA and GSU references to enable the original to be found and photocopied. An example is shown in the chart below.

Extract from 1881 Census Index List of Vessels/Ships for Dorset (The seven columns are summarized here for convenience.)

There is also a special index for ships for the 1861 census which had been described. The 1861 and 1881 indexes are of particular use in tracing merchant officers who did not hold certificates.

Miscellaneous items of general interest for merchant seamen include the Trinity House Petitions, and Military and Mariner Miscellanea by Ross and Ross 1991 on 129 fiches.

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