Noeline, I have not heard the term "flatboat" before, but assuming your ancestor remained in the vicinity of Leftwich then I imagine this is another term for the flats used on the rivers Weaver and Mersey - there is a Wikipedia description here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersey_Flat These flats are single-masted sailing vessels. I did wonder if the term flatboat might instead refer to the horse-drawn canal boat, but a quick look around the internet seems to confirm that these were always known as "narrow boats". Flats were a well-known type of craft in the NW of England and were used in the estuaries of the Mersey and Ribble and in Morecambe Bay. They would travel on coastal passages, sometimes as far as Scotland, and with a crew of two, often a man and a boy, and sometimes were sailed single-handed. They did have a flat bottom, with a keel parallel to the waterline, this to allow them to ground in sandy estuaries. Michael Stammers, a former director of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, has written a book, "Mersey Flats and Flatmen" - there is a review on Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mersey-Flats-Flatmen-Michael-Stammers/dp/0861380991 I have another book, "Schooner Port" by H.F.Starkey, which is largely about the port of Runcorn, on the other side of the Mersey estauary from the Weaver, but has a good deal of information on Mersey and Weaver flats. It is also a properly referenced book, so has many sources for further information. This book states that Liverpool's pre-eminence as a port was founded on the export of salt, all of which came to Liverpool from the Cheshire mines by the river Weaver. This book states that in 1808 there were more than 250 single-masted flats operating out of Northwich, typically carrying 60 to 80 tons of coal or salt. In 1881 1.25 million tons of salt was carried on the river Weaver, though of course by then much would have been in steam-powered vessels. For further information on the area you could look at the website of the Salt Museum at Northwich http://www.weaverhallmuseum.org.uk/ or the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port http://www.nwm.org.uk/ Best Wishes, Tim Latham www.mightyseas.co.uk On 01/11/2011 7:14 AM, Leonard Heswall wrote: This is a new experience for me,and I have a lot to learn.I am trying to find occupation information about Thomas Allcock (Alcock) born 1814 in Leftwich.He is listed on the Census of 1851 as out on his flatboat;1861 as master of a flatboat;and 1871 as mariner retired.One of his five sons,John I think was on the 1871 census as mariner. I'm having trouble finding info about flatboats in general-were they called other names and what was their purpose? Looking forward to hearing from someone through this " new to me" method.Thanks Noeline ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message