Alice asked "if my relative was a member of the British Navy where would I find records as far back as 1790's?" Alice, I see that you've gotten some replies to this, including Rachel's expert advice on records at Kew. I just recently was looking for info on someone who was in the Royal Navy in 1812, so close to the same time period you're looking for, and had bad luck. My guy was listed in an Ancestry database "Commissioned Officers in the Royal Navy" with a date (of promotion? it wasn't clear) and rank and I hoped I could use that info to access Kew records from afar (US). The online catalog just frustrated me (I don't have enough experience with it to figure out the organizational system), so I dealt with Kew by email. Unfortunately, the folks at Kew told me the only way to access Royal Navy records in that time period is to go to Kew personally, where you can search in some preliminary indexes (I forget now if they were books, cards, or what), which in turn will tell you what records to search. Assuming you aren't in the London area and/or aren't planning to be, you may be out of luck. I doubt that your records (20 years earlier than mine) are any easier to access from afar than mine were, but it's possible. Maybe you'll have better luck with their catalog than I did, too. Hope that helps (and isn't too depressing). May your luck be different from mine! Claire K.
Several years ago I tried to find information on my ancestor in "Queen Victoria's Navy", as family lore had it. This was in the time period around 1834. After rather extensive investigation, the upshot was that I should hire someone local to do the research for me. Haven't gotten around to do that, but had several recommendations sent to me. Marilyn Mills Hesse marilynhesse@comcast.net Windsor, CT, USA website at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mmhesse/ Researching HAMILTON in Co.Donegal, Co. Antrim, and Liverpool. ............................................. > Alice asked "if my relative was a member of the British Navy where would I find records as far back as 1790's?" > > Alice, > I see that you've gotten some replies to this, including Rachel's expert advice on records at Kew. I just recently was looking for info on someone who was in the Royal Navy in 1812, so close to the same time period you're looking for, and had bad luck. > > My guy was listed in an Ancestry database "Commissioned Officers in the Royal Navy" with a date (of promotion? it wasn't clear) and rank and I hoped I could use that info to access Kew records from afar (US). The online catalog just frustrated me (I don't have enough experience with it to figure out the organizational system), so I dealt with Kew by email. Unfortunately, the folks at Kew told me the only way to access Royal Navy records in that time period is to go to Kew personally, where you can search in some preliminary indexes (I forget now if they were books, cards, or what), which in turn will tell you what records to search. > > Assuming you aren't in the London area and/or aren't planning to be, you may be out of luck. I doubt that your records (20 years earlier than mine) are any easier to access from afar than mine were, but it's possible. Maybe you'll have better luck with their catalog than I did, too. Hope that helps (and isn't too depressing). May your luck be different from mine! > > Claire K.