Hi Jennifer, The 1851 census was the first English/Welsh census to record Ships and their crew & passengers but only those ships that were in English/Welsh ports at midnight on census night, all those at sea or in foreign ports were ignored. Having said that the 1851 census on Ancestry, and no doubt on findmypast etc., does not include ships in port because the Nat. Archives don't seem to have either kept those schedules or they have not released the details from those schedules to the site owners to be included in their online censuses, I am not sure what the case is but the I do not believe that ships in port will be found in the 1851 online anywhere. If you find a man using Mariner as a keyword in a search of the 1851 my guess is that he will be at home and not on a ship in port. You should not only be searching using Mariner as a keyword but also use seaman as well as any other seagoing occupations you can think of. Personally I would not use such keywords in the 1851 as they may be stopping you finding your man simply because he could have used a word for his seagoing occupation that you haven't thought to use. With the 1861 census you can do better than just using the keyword mariner in your search if you can't find your mariner ancestor at home in this census. The 1861 census is the first census to include British registered ships that were in foreign ports and those at sea, each master being given his schedule before departing on the voyage that would take his ship away over census night. These images you should find on line on Ancestry, and maybe the other online census sites. You need to type in the persons name and in the Civil Parish box type Vessels rather than a place name. Once you find the person you seek in the 1861 on board a ship you will see along the top of the image, for example, "Vessels Eliza Jane" Eliza Jane would be the name of the ship and if there were more than one ship by that name then each is given a number to distinguish it by so remember any such number for the following move. Click on the name wording Vessel Eliza Jane and this will take you to a listing of ships names where you can look for Eliza Jane, plus any number your ship might have. Once you find the name in the list you will see two links, click on the right hand link which reads something like "View Description of Enumeration District" this will take you forward to where you can read the first page of that ships schedule which gives details of the vessel herself, her home port, her tonnage, her trade, where the master was handed the schedule and the date and including her position at midnight on census night, these can be compass points if she was at sea. You can print out or save this image just as you would an ordinary census image. This page and the image of the crew listing are what made up the two sides of the original schedule for that vessel so should be kept together in your files. If you find your man on board a ship then the mariners mailing list can be helpful at finding out more about her. The Mariners website gives information about finding records of mariners and also has the links for subscribing to the mariners list if you should want to join. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/ Regards Jenny DeAngelis. Spain. <<> My question to you is about the 1851 census, and I know someone on > this list will be able to help me with this. I am trying to locate a > "mariner" in the 1851 census. Is it possible to search this list with > that keyword on Ancestry? I know it is possible in 1861 census, but 1851 > comes up a blank. Any suggestions about how I might find this info?>>