Who wants to play Where's Wally?

[Ann In the UK]

Hey,

The wife of my 2x great grandfather (the Scottish sea captain who died en route to San Francisco) was pregnant when he disappeared. Their son, Walter (Carrick), was born in Dec 1882, one week before his father was declared 'probably drowned'. Must have been terrible times.

Anyway, although not exactly Scottish himself (he was born in Liverpool), I am struggling to find him and wondered if anyone had any ideas.

The family legend is he went 'away' after his mother's death in 1901. But no one knows where to. Canada, say some. Zimbabwe, says another. No, it was definitely Oz...or maybe New Zealand.... The truth is, no one really knows. All we know is, he's not here, in the UK. His two other brothers, William and James, remained in Liverpool, each working as mariners for many years. It's possible Walter did the same. Perhaps he met the same fate as his father.

There is a potential Walter Carrick on Ancestry, bouncing back and forth on the Cunard ships to New York. But I have no way of knowing whether this is him - and besides, that guy's birth date is consistantly several years out.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated as I'm out of ideas.

Regards,
Ann

[trish58]

Hi Ann

Did you find Walter on ther 1901 census? if so what was his occupation,

I checked on the"passenger list" years 1901-1910, there are only 2 with initial W. One was with his parents, the other was on his own going to Portugal.


Name; W Carrick
Date of Dept; 19 March 1910
Port of departure Liverpool
Passenger destination port; Porto, Portual
Pasenger destiation; Port, Portugal.
Date of birth -----
Age; -------
Marital status; Single.
Sex; Male.
Occupation; -------

Ship ANSELM.
Official Number 120834
Masters Name; A McKenzie.
Steamship Line; Booth Line
Where Bound; Brazil
Registered tonnage 3213
Passengers on Voyage; 39.

Not sure if this helps.

Trish

[Ann In the UK]

Hi Trish,

He's only in one census - the 1891 one. By 1901 he'd be about 18. His mother had also died by then, and he's not living with his aunt (who his mother appears to have been very close to - he was born at her house, and his mother died there), who lived nearby. Can't find him here in 1911 either.

I have no idea what his occupation was, it's just idle speculation on my part that he probably followed in his father's, uncle's and brother's and nephew's footsteps and became a mariner. Of course, it's entirely possible he may not have done.

Thanks for taking the time to look for me. It's a shame there isn't a little more info to go on in that passenger list - an age would have been good, or a date of birth. I'll certainly file it under 'possibile sightings'!
Regards,
Ann

[trish58]

Hi Ann

Sorry I didn't mention that his age did show up as 1882, I entered 1882 +-
2 years, and it came up as born 1882.

Sorry I was't more helpful.
Good Luck
Trish

[Ann In the UK]

Hi,

Ah, well that does make him very interesting!

Portugal, huh?

Talk about a needle in a haystack!

Thanks a lot. I'll try Portugal!

Regards,
Ann

[garibaldired]

Ann,

Reading the entry it looks like he was on his way to Brazil.
Have you tried www.bisa.btinternet.co.uk which has a useful idatabase about Britons in South America. Couldn't find a reference to a Walter Carrick but there was mention of an enquiry made by a Percy William Carrick in Buenos Aires in 1930.......... Any connection?
Might be worth a look.

Best wishes,
Meg

[Ann In the UK]

Hi Meg,
That was a fantastic link. Sadly, it didn't lead me to Walter (yet) but it did lead me to loads of links, including this

http://www.pricegen.com/english_genealogy.html
which I thought was an excellent resouce.

Tons more links here:
http://www.pricegen.com/resources.htm

And there were even more here
http://www.bisa.btinternet.co.uk/layout.htm

Thought they may be of use to others.

Regards,
Ann