Death At Sea?

[Alcluith]

Audrey,

Sorry we kind of hijacked your post with another thread.

The Southampton Archives Services have a Central Index Register of Seamen 1913 - 1941 which are a series of card indexes.

The cards are CR1 CR2 & CR10.
CR1 & CR2 give individual's details and of the ships they served on with dates of dicharge.
if you are lucky to get a CR10, only if they was serving in WW1, and sometimes has a photo but they are very rare so don't hold your hope out for one of them.

If you mail Andrew McGowan's details with a cheque for £5.00 to Southampton Archives Services
Southampton City Council,
Civic Centre,
Southampton
SO14 7LY
They will do a search for you and send you a copy of any cards.

I would email or phone them first.
email: city.archives@southampton.gov.uk
or phone Mrs Hill on 023 8083 2251, she is very helpful.

I was lucky in getting my Father-in-laws information from them for his time in late 20s early 30s.

This will likely not give you Andrew's Death details but it may narrow down the time he was at sea. If you narrow it down or find a ship then the records are easier to search.

Let me know how you get on or if you narrow it down I can look at the register in the Mitchell.

[ASGROOMBRIDGE]

Hi Drew,

Thank you so much, I will email them this weekend, it really is sad as I know next to nothing about my grandfather but have traced his family back to the 1600's.

Thanks again,
Audrey

[Alcluith]

Audrey,

Yes sometimes we wish we could go back and ask all those unanswered questions.
My Father-in-Law left Dublin at 11 in 1922 and we know nothing about him until he married in 1942, all we knew he was in the Merchant Navy.
I spend several years trying to find out about him but all I was able to get was his C1 & 2 cards which listed some of the ships he served on from 1927 to 35.
We cannot find anything about his time between 1922 and 27 or 1935 to 42 except prior to his marriage he was a cook at the YMCA in London. The search goes on.

[LesleyB]

Hi Drew
...and sorry Audrey - my fault for hijacking thread!

sorry but the information given is a condensed version of Marine Register

bother!!

Thanks for looking up the 1881 stuff and IGI - very familiar with it all I'm afraid. But yes, thats the Alexander I'm trying to prove IS or ISN'T the 1887 death. Since I can't seem to track the 1881 one forward - he seems to disappear (along with his brother Daniel, who also seems to have been abducted by aliens), I thought if I could come at it from another angle and trace the 1887 one backwards it may prove things one way or another, but I've hit a dead-end (whoops! wasn't meant to be a joke) with that idea.

Thanks anyway
Best wishes
Lesley

[ASGROOMBRIDGE]

No problem Lesley,

All information no matter who it is for is always welcome,

Audrey

[tishgibbons]

Hi Audrey,

I found an ancestor's death at sea amongst the minor records on Scotlands People although he died in the English Channel. I then found his will & testament on SP also and that confirmed he was mine in the first instance, but also gave me the name of his ship, the S.S. Deeside. Merchant navy also, I presume but I have never been able to find out any more either.

I'm watching these replies carefully!

Tish

[ASGROOMBRIDGE]

Hi Tish,

My problem is I have paid a researcher to try and find my grandfather Andrew McGowan's death and all he could say was that Andrew's death was never recorded in Scotland, he was last mentioned as a merchant seaman on my Aunts death cert in 1920. With only that to go on I can only assume he died at see far away from Scotland or that he jumped ship.

regards,
Audrey

[emanday]

Hi Audrey,

My Great Grandfather died at sea in the Bay of Biscay but his death is recorded in SP's Minor Records.

[ASGROOMBRIDGE]

Tried that one with no luck at all, thinking of a trip to Portsmouth though.

I am opting for the jumped ship scenerio!!!!!!!!!!!!

Audrey

[emanday]

Hi Audrey,

I found an ancestor's death at sea amongst the minor records on Scotlands People although he died in the English Channel. I then found his will & testament on SP also and that confirmed he was mine in the first instance, but also gave me the name of his ship, the S.S. Deeside. Merchant navy also, I presume but I have never been able to find out any more either.Tish

If you get the printed DC it should give you the ship's official number. With that it might be possible to get hold of the Crew List and maybe even log book for the period he served on the Deeside. I did that with mine and got a nice wee bit of information from a site in Newfoundland who seem to have the majority of these documents.