Hello,My mysterious gt gt Grandfather Henry William DUNWOODY was baptised in Little Marlow in 1812, the son of John, (transcribed as William, but I have seen the original and it's Jno), and Sarah. He then disappears from view to reappear in the North West in 1851. On the censuses, he lists his birthplace as Hedsor, then Marlow and then Sunbury in Middlesex. This coupled with his stating his father's occupation as Master Mariner makes me wonder if his father was a bargeman. Dunwoody is a very unusual surname in the South of England and I have found a family in Wooburn, (very close to both Marlow and Hedsor) who may be related, but I cannot find a definate link to my Henry.On the 1841 census in Henley is a family of WOODEYS who have the middle name Dunn, (Henry Dunn WOODEY shows up repeatedly). The father Thomas is a bargeman. It may be coincidence, but leads are so thin with this ancestor that I would like to ask the board if they have info on bargemen in the South of England or Woodeys, Dunwoodys and all its variants.RegardsDiane

I think you might find that a bargeman would be called a Waterman or Lighterman and they would have passed through an apprenticeship to become a Waterman or Lighterman. Sunbury in Middlesex would be Sunbury on Thames, meaning that Sunbury is beside the River Thames. LIghtermen worked on the river Thames taking goods from the ships in the London docks etc., along the river to deliver where ever those goods were required. A lighterman, or bargeman as you have it noted, is a very different thing to a Master mariner. A Master mariner would also have to learn his craft but by sailing on various sea going ships until he had gained enough experience to then sit the exam which if he passed he would gain his Master Mariners Certificate. He would then be able to sign on for voyages either as the Master, or captain, or at times he might sign on as 1st. Mate, also called just Mate, under the Master. If the master was resting or fell ill then the Mate would take over command of the ship, having the same qualification as the Master. This is what my Gt. Grandfather, a Master Mariner, did throughout the year 1881-1882, one time he sailed as Mate another as Master on voyages on board the same vessel during that year. If you have a Master Mariner to research then the Mariners site, and the linked Mariners mailing list, a rootsweb list, will be of help to you. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/ My husband's Gt. grandfather was a Lighterman on the river Thames and I have obtained copies for when he was singed to a qualified Lighterman as an apprentice, his "Apprenticeship Binding". This page of the Parish Register site below will give you links to further information on tracing Watermen and Lightermen. This site offers a research service for a fee and helped me get the copies of the Apprentice binding that I mentioned above. http://www.parishregister.com/aboutstp.html I hope something in the above gives you something to work on. Regards Jenny DeAngelis << Hello,My mysterious gt gt Grandfather Henry William DUNWOODY was baptised in Little Marlow in 1812, the son of John, (transcribed as William, but I have seen the original and it's Jno), and Sarah. He then disappears from view to reappear in the North West in 1851. On the censuses, he lists his birthplace as Hedsor, then Marlow and then Sunbury in Middlesex. This coupled with his stating his father's occupation as Master Mariner makes me wonder if his father was a bargeman. Dunwoody is a very unusual surname in the South of England and I have found a family in Wooburn, (very close to both Marlow and Hedsor) who may be related, but I cannot find a definate link to my Henry.On the 1841 census in Henley is a family of WOODEYS who have the middle name Dunn, (Henry Dunn WOODEY shows up repeatedly). The father Thomas is a bargeman. It may be coincidence, but leads are so thin with this ancestor that I would like to ask the board if they have info on bargemen in the South of England or Woodeys, Dunwoodys and all its variants.RegardsDiane >>

Thank you so much for all of the help that I have been sent regarding this. I agree that it is unlikely that John Dunwoody was a Master Mariner, maybe Henry was talking his father's profession 'up' on his marriage certificate. I doubt that I will ever know for sure as Master Mariners did not register until about 1845, ( I think), and John Dunwoody would have been earlier than that.I have had a look at the register of watermen, (via findmypast) and there are no Dunwoodys or Woodeys on this. As I know that a Thomas Dunwoody was listed as a bargeman on the 1798 Posse list, I think that bargemen were not included in the register.Again, thank you for the help and if you come across any Dunwoodys in the South of England, please let me know.RegardsDiane > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2012 18:57:00 +0100 > Subject: [MDX] dunwoody or Dunn Woodey, bargemen > > > > > > Hello,My mysterious gt gt Grandfather Henry William DUNWOODY was baptised in Little Marlow in 1812, the son of John, (transcribed as William, but I have seen the original and it's Jno), and Sarah. He then disappears from view to reappear in the North West in 1851. On the censuses, he lists his birthplace as Hedsor, then Marlow and then Sunbury in Middlesex. This coupled with his stating his father's occupation as Master Mariner makes me wonder if his father was a bargeman. Dunwoody is a very unusual surname in the South of England and I have found a family in Wooburn, (very close to both Marlow and Hedsor) who may be related, but I cannot find a definate link to my Henry.On the 1841 census in Henley is a family of WOODEYS who have the middle name Dunn, (Henry Dunn WOODEY shows up repeatedly). The father Thomas is a bargeman. It may be coincidence, but leads are so thin with this ancestor that I would like to ask the board if they have info on bargemen in the South of Englan! > d or Woodeys, Dunwoodys and all its variants.RegardsDiane > ************************************** > Send your List messages using **PLAIN TEXT** and always **TRIM AWAY** superfluous old messages in replies. > > **MEANINGFUL Subject Lines - who, what, where, when, with SURNAMES in CAPITAL letters** > > List Admin can be contacted at: [email protected] > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message