Birth at Sea - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Re: EDMONDSON birth at sea from England to the U.S.

Cooleygirl89 — 2013-03-26 21:45:26Z

Thank you. This search has been incredibly difficult because my Edmondson was married in 1842 in Ohio, so her name doesn't show up on any census records until after her marriage, and she disappears after 1860 in Minnesota, before deaths were recorded at the county level there. Your reply did give me few new idea to try, so I thank you very much for your help!

Re: EDMONDSON birth at sea from England to the U.S.

cyndi308 — 2013-03-26 00:09:41Z

This is going to be harder because of the time period. The information I have should work for people who arrived from about 1880-1930, but earlier records are harder to find or simply don't exist. But here are the steps anyway, you can give it a try.

Your best bet is to start with the census. 1840 or 1850 or 1860, if they are accessible. You need to find her parents' names. If you know her surname and the names of her siblings and a city, you should be able to match up the family. Once you know her parents' info, you can try to find their naturalization records. This will have the ship name and date, then you can look up the manifest.

My husband's grandfather was also born at sea in 1899. From what I can tell, this made him a US citizen by birth and he did not have to naturalize. Your gggma would undoubtedly also be American by birth, since laws got stricter with time, not more permissive.

Also try to find your gggma's marriage certificate and death certificate. These usually have parental names and sometimes the mother's maiden name or places of birth. Obituaries can be very helpful as well. Look for your gggma and for her siblings, if you know them.

This is doable but it will require some careful research. Even more importantly, careful record keeping, Every single little fact is potentially important, even if it seems too trivial to record. Also record where you got the information. Your sources are very important and will help you sort things out later (you will have a lot of facts that contradict each other and that's okay, just note them all).

Good luck!
Cyndi

EDMONDSON birth at sea from England to the U.S.

Cooleygirl89 — 2013-03-25 14:04:41Z

I am looking for information about my gggrandmother who was said to have been born at sea about 1823-24 enroot from England to the U.S. How would I go about searching for an arrival or birth record if I don't know the names of her parents, or what ship brought them here? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Re: Born at Sea

McComberdescendant — 2013-01-03 15:09:35Z

Eileen, you would have a better chance with this question if posted on the appropriate surname boards. It would be a very long shot for someone with information to see your message and get back to you. If you want to search on Ancestry, you might want to keep watch for one of the free 14-day trial offers, and see what you can find in that time (or sign up for just a month or two, if you need more time). If you do one of those, however, just be sure you follow the cancelation procedures so you don't have unwanted charges. Good luck with your search.

Re: Brit subjects born at sea.

mi2early — 2012-05-24 12:58:18Z

This may be his birth:

Henry McAlister
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1865
Registration district: Northampton
Inferred County: Northamptonshire
Volume: 3b

A copy of the certificate will tell you more.

Brit subjects born at sea.

McAlister45 — 2012-05-22 22:20:02Z

Is there any one out there that can tell me where I can find information on a person born at sea in 1865 between the Island of Saint Helena and Southhampton England. His Name was Henry(Harry) McAlister.

Re: Born at Sea

EileenOverturf — 2012-03-10 17:57:43Z

I am looking for a Marietta Marshall. She was my GG Grandmother. She married Amos Dyer Meacham. Do you have info on her and her family? I would love any and all info if you have it. I do not belong to Ancestry.

Re: A birth at sea? Alfred BENNETT b. 19 July 1877, baptized in 1878 in Hulme

lambuisman — 2012-02-21 19:43:19Z

Maybe the medicals at discharge were done by Netley doctors?
Someone had posted this (different board):

Times Wed 17 Jan 1876
The Jumna Indian Troopship ….arrived Portsmouth harbour yesterday morning ….from Bombay. The Jumna brought ….. (list of regiments) … 444 time-expired men and invalids, 53 women and 132 children, for conveyance to Netley.
(Naval and Military Intelligence)

I've got to see how I can get access to the Times archives online. Might have to wait until my next visit to England.

Loes

Re: A birth at sea? Alfred BENNETT b. 19 July 1877, baptized in 1878 in Hulme

halpark — 2012-02-21 19:24:59Z

Plenty on-line! You also may not know that "Netley" would inevitably mean the Netley Military Hospital. Netley itself was/is a dot on the map on the edge of Southampton Water which hardly existed until they built the hospital there specifically for the wounded from the Crimean War. The vast building, used by the Americans during WW2 was demolished some years ago but the records must be somewhere. I would guess either Hampshire County Archives or the Army Museum at Aldershot. It is possible that if he was in the hospital, either as patient or personnel, details of his family might be recorded.

Re: A birth at sea? Alfred BENNETT b. 19 July 1877, baptized in 1878 in Hulme

lambuisman — 2012-02-21 19:08:36Z

National Archives a bit too far, I don't live in UK.
I found out by now that Alfred's father must have been back in England by feb 1876. So this birth won't be Alfred's.
Thanks for your reply anyway
Loes

Re: A birth at sea? Alfred BENNETT b. 19 July 1877, baptized in 1878 in Hulme

halpark — 2012-02-21 18:54:44Z

If he was born on board ship the event wuld have to be recorded in the Captain's Log. Might be worth trying to trace that - National Archives.

A birth at sea? Alfred BENNETT b. 19 July 1877, baptized in 1878 in Hulme

lambuisman — 2012-01-24 14:07:16Z

From William Bennetts discharge papers:
- Regimental Board 108th Regt with service abraod, medals etc: dated 8 Nov 1875
- Detailed Statement of Services: until 7 feb 1876, "Further Service from 8 Feb 1876 - 22 Feb 1876 when finally discharged.
- The third page, medical report, nothing filled in, at the bottom: Discharged approved, Horse Guards 22 Feb 1876.
- Last page, details enlistment and final description: 1876, no date, Netley.

I found a birth of a Male Bennett on board the Northern Monarch. No parents registered.

I'm trying to find out where his son Alfred was born. He was baptized in 1878 in Hulme, his date of birth 19 July 1877, which is very late for a RC baptism and in this family. He wasn't born in Hulme, which makes me believe he was born somewhere between India and Manchester.

So, given the dates and places in the service record, is it possible the family (William, wife, at least 3 children) were on the way back to England in 1877?
If so, it's worth ordering the certificate, I suppose the parents will be on it.

Loes

Re: Born at Sea

snorth65 — 2011-09-14 08:00:10Z

Yes my McDowell's were Scottish and I gave up along time ago looking for Isaiah McDowell born at sea. Thanks for your message and suggestion

Steve
Australia

Re: Born at Sea

smudgekitten — 2011-09-12 00:47:38Z

Hi Steve,
Were the McDowall's Scottish? I found my hair-pulling born at sea ancestor on scotlandspeople.gov.uk in the marine register. I'm not sure of the dates this register covers but it could be worth a look. Good luck

Re: Born at sea

halpark — 2011-02-19 17:40:49Z

If it was a British ship it would have to be recorded in the Captain's Log.

Re: Born at sea

geisten — 2011-02-09 04:25:08Z

The only place I have seen "born at sea" noted is on the ship manifest itself.

Sometimes it is entered on the last page of the manifests and may just reference a birth at sea...sometimes it is noted on the same line as the mother.

So, you need to locate the manifest listing your grandfather's mother...(sorry, but I am not familiar with the manifests of ships going from the US to UK.)

Virginia

Re: Born at Sea

marshakar56 — 2011-02-07 17:24:16Z

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your quick reply..at least I know I'm not alone with a hair pulling out brick wall. I am going to try to ask the admin at ancestry to see what they say. Maybe you just have to have a ball park age and see if they have a match close enough and try putting in the names and see what happens. Good luck with your search too. I'll try to get back to you if they happen to have an answer to the born at sea question.
Merry Christmas!
Karen

Re: Born at Sea

marshakar56 — 2011-02-07 17:24:02Z

Hi,
I have the same problem with researching my great grandmother Helen or Ellen Carey/Cary? Marshall. She was supposed to have been born on a ship coming to New York from Ireland. I know that she was born about 1830, so you would think it would be easy to find her immigration info...but I have been looking for 3 years. I found out that Ellis Island didn't exist until about 1880, and there was another immigration port in southern NY. I still haven't been able to locate her...because I don't know about her entry I can't find her parents names. So far the earliest record I can find about her and my great great grandfather are a birth/christening record for their oldest daughter Marietta..born 7 Dec 1851 in Buffalo, Erie, NY. If you ever figured out and found your relative, how did you accomplish it? I don't have unlimited money to spend getting all of the records for Ellen Carey/Cary's who were naturalized, and that is what seems to be the recommended step. Thanks for your help in advance! Karen marshakar56@aol.com

Born at sea

marsh12003 — 2011-02-06 21:33:29Z

I'm trying to find if my grandfathers birth,It is family say so that he was was born at sea but I cannot find any evidence.I would appreciate any help possible.

I think he may have been born coming from the USA to UK.

His name Charles Henry Gwilliam born 1876 +-1 year.

His mothers name was Mary Jane.

Re: Born at Sea

snorth65 — 2010-12-13 00:29:14Z

Hi Karen

I am sorry but I am unable to help you or even myself I finally gave up on the born at sea for now. I have put that in the two hard basket and started looking for siblings etc

Good luck
Steve

Re: Individuals born at sea

aikimarion — 2007-09-24 14:58:17Z

I have not yet found the ship info, so the manifest is out of reach for now. I'll keep the maritime law route in mind. Thanks very much for the suggestions, they are greatly appreciated!

Re: Individuals born at sea

lindalew — 2007-09-23 20:04:11Z

For the birth record itself, I'm 98% sure that you should look at the first port of call the ship made after the birth [for US births anyway; no clue how other countries handled this].

Depending on the law(s) at the time of birth and the crossing, I'm going to guess that the ship's registration played some part. For example, a US ship, Ireland-US via Canada, may have not "counted" the Canadian port for purposes of birth registration/record. I'm sure the law is quite specific but complicated by many factors [so what else is new, lol].

If you're lucky enough to locate the ship's manifest, it should show any births/deaths that took place at sea.

Someone familiar with maritime law [in the appropriate time frame] could probably answer this for you. Perhaps an email to a law library could be helpful. If you go that route, be sure to give them the date as the laws change constantly.

Best of luck. Post your findings if you get lucky!!

Individuals born at sea

aikimarion — 2007-09-21 18:08:53Z

Where would be the most best place to look for a birth record for a person born at sea?

The family story is that my great-grandfather, Richard Hughes, was born on the boat coming over from Ireland. Some Census records show birthplace as "Pennsylvania" but the 1920 Census shows "at sea Nova Scotia" and and I saw another that showed "Newfoundland". I'm a bit at a loss as to where to look first or where to concentrate my efforts.

Suggestions on where to search appreciated.

Born at Sea

snorth65 — 2007-01-03 09:31:21Z

My g.g.grandfather may have been born at sea. At least his son in a 1910 census reported that his father was "Born At Sea" His name was Isaiah Mcdowell and possibly born abt 1795. I am looking for his birth and parents.

How do you search for some one born at sea? Do you put the birth place as the country of orgin, the United States or does the ship they are on determine the birth place.

I could not find his birth in Pennsylvania and think this may be the reason.

Thanks Steve