Hi all, I'm new to this list, although not to genealogy. My great grandfather, Emmanuel Tester, was a merchant seaman most of his life and died in 1917 on the SS John Miles. I know a reasonable amount about him through censuses etc but am only just starting to explore his, and possibly his brothers', merchant navy connections. So far: Ocean Queen Apprenticed 5/11/1872 - 3 years Shoreham Wave Queen Day Star 11/11/1876 - 16/12/1876 Queen Plymouth Shamrock 13/01/1880 Southampton - 15/03/1880 South Shields Shamrock 16/03/1880 South Shields - 23/03/1880 South Shields (why just a week??) Targus Hark Away 01/07/1884 - 31/12/1884 - remained at end of voyage The apprenticeship record is from Ancestry and the remainder from West Sussex Records Office. As you can see there are gaps and nothing from 1885 to his death. He was a labourer in 1881, a 'mariner' in 1891, wasn't at home in 1901 and a 'ship's cook' in 1911. I may also have found apprenticeship records for 3 of his brothers - John b1844 on the Gazelle 17/03/1861 for 3 years (and aboard the Gazelle in the 1861 census) James b1846 on the Gazelle 16/06/1860 for 6 years William b1848 on the Hibernia 18/10/1865 for 3 years 6 months. What I don't have is concrete proof (if there is such a thing) that they are his brothers. Please can anyone point me in the right direction for any further records that may exist for these men? many thanks, Anne

Hello Anne, Erm ... The Mariners List concerns itself only with mariners. Whether any of John (1844) or James (1846) or William (1848) were brothers to your Emmanuel/Emanuel (1856?) is beyond the scope of this list. You will have to establish that or not through general genealogy sources. For researching mariners, I suggest that you "lurk" on this list for a while and skim all the posts. You'll pick up many sources and tips that way. That said, here are two bits: 1) A John Tester born 1844, Shoreham, was cook and seaman on the DARE of Portsmouth, ON (= Official Number) 35218, during the first 6 months of 1866. He had previously been on the JOHN SHARP of Shoreham.Source: CLIP Crew List Index http://www.crewlist.org.uk/crew/crew.php?target=tester&searchtype=Exact&initial=&dob=&submit=+Search+ 2) Your Emmanuel appears to have been on the JOHN MILES, ON 125659, for a few years. He made two voyages on her as cook and steward in 1915.Source: free online 1915 merchant navy crew lists  http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/first-world-war/search-merchant-navy-1915-crew-lists/?utm_source=The+National+Archives&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5900568_July+2015+enewsletter&utm_content=1915+Crew+Lists> Regards,Adi From: Anne Capewell via <mariners@rootsweb.com> To: "mariners@rootsweb.com" <mariners@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, September 3, 2015 6:30 PM Subject: [MAR] Testers from Shoreham Hi all, I'm new to this list, although not to genealogy. My great grandfather, Emmanuel Tester, was a merchant seaman most of his life and died in 1917 on the SS John Miles. I know a reasonable amount about him through censuses etc but am only just starting to explore his, and possibly his brothers', merchant navy connections. So far: Ocean Queen Apprenticed 5/11/1872 - 3 years Shoreham Wave Queen Day Star 11/11/1876 - 16/12/1876 Queen Plymouth Shamrock 13/01/1880 Southampton - 15/03/1880 South Shields Shamrock 16/03/1880 South Shields - 23/03/1880 South Shields (why just a week??) Targus Hark Away 01/07/1884 - 31/12/1884 - remained at end of voyage The apprenticeship record is from Ancestry and the remainder from West Sussex Records Office. As you can see there are gaps and nothing from 1885 to his death. He was a labourer in 1881, a 'mariner' in 1891, wasn't at home in 1901 and a 'ship's cook' in 1911. I may also have found apprenticeship records for 3 of his brothers - John b1844 on the Gazelle 17/03/1861 for 3 years (and aboard the Gazelle in the 1861 census) James b1846 on the Gazelle 16/06/1860 for 6 years William b1848 on the Hibernia 18/10/1865 for 3 years 6 months. What I don't have is concrete proof (if there is such a thing) that they are his brothers. Please can anyone point me in the right direction for any further records that may exist for these men? many thanks, Anne                         ------------------------------- 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

Aware that this is the Mariners list , in the 1861 census Emanuel b 1855 Southwick , Sussex , is living in New Shoreham with his parents Mathew and Ellen, his uncle John Downer, and brother William , Henry and sister Mary Ann. 10 years earlier Mathew and Ellen have John, James , William and Henry . -----Original Message----- From: Anne Capewell via Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 11:30 PM To: mariners@rootsweb.com Subject: [MAR] Testers from Shoreham Hi all, I'm new to this list, although not to genealogy. My great grandfather, Emmanuel Tester, was a merchant seaman most of his life and died in 1917 on the SS John Miles. I know a reasonable amount about him through censuses etc but am only just starting to explore his, and possibly his brothers', merchant navy connections. So far: Ocean Queen Apprenticed 5/11/1872 - 3 years Shoreham Wave Queen Day Star 11/11/1876 - 16/12/1876 Queen Plymouth Shamrock 13/01/1880 Southampton - 15/03/1880 South Shields Shamrock 16/03/1880 South Shields - 23/03/1880 South Shields (why just a week??) Targus Hark Away 01/07/1884 - 31/12/1884 - remained at end of voyage The apprenticeship record is from Ancestry and the remainder from West Sussex Records Office. As you can see there are gaps and nothing from 1885 to his death. He was a labourer in 1881, a 'mariner' in 1891, wasn't at home in 1901 and a 'ship's cook' in 1911. I may also have found apprenticeship records for 3 of his brothers - John b1844 on the Gazelle 17/03/1861 for 3 years (and aboard the Gazelle in the 1861 census) James b1846 on the Gazelle 16/06/1860 for 6 years William b1848 on the Hibernia 18/10/1865 for 3 years 6 months. What I don't have is concrete proof (if there is such a thing) that they are his brothers. Please can anyone point me in the right direction for any further records that may exist for these men? many thanks, Anne ------------------------------- 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 --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus