Genealogy Chat

because i have an ancestor in 1861 on board the ship Neptune

Hiya, I contacted Kew gardens through the uk online census site. Apparently all services records are there now. I got royal naval records for the ww1 via a researcher, which cost me £20.00. Alternatively you can drive down there. Good luck! Bev

thanks :D

Could you give me more details Beverley?

Louise, Royal Navy ships' logs are often held at the National Archives in Kew. If you go to the NA electronic catalogue and search on 'Neptune' you should find a lot of entries against the various years for which they hold logs. These books are essentially a record of position, weather conditions and events (eg loading of food!) - they don't tell much about your actual ancestor, but I found it interesting to look at where mine went and how he got there. In 1861, I'm not too sure how you go about finding the man's personnel records - I've only 'done' soldiers before. However, there will be an 'information leaflet' about the Royal Navy on the NA website - they have all sorts of subject and they're really helpful. Good luck with your search. Regs Jane

hi louise,google search hms neptune lots of info on, battleships cruisers [.]co[.]uk plus photos good site.tony ,

Louise, Am working my way through all the HMS Neptunes .... found one which participated at Trafalgar, but that was broken up in 1818 ... and another which went thru' WW1, but where-oh-where is the 1861 version...?? Jane

thanks all this info guys :D

Uh-oh Louise! Gave up googling and went to the NA catalogue .... looks like in 1820 the Neptune was a prison hulk! There is a break in the chronology of ships' logs which makes me suspicious, but there is a log for 1861. Also, they are showing a holding of an 1857 Ship's Muster - presumably a list of all those on board. However, Neptune comes under a strange category - Coastguard and Revenue Cruisers. What else do you know about the ancestor you are researching?? I'm hooked now .... Regs Jane

i think the ship was haboured in malta during the 1861 census

Phew! That's a relief ... for a moment there I thought you might have had a criminal ancestor! Wonder what it was doing in Malta? Hmmm ... Regs Jane