I am trying to discern the signature of the boarding agent on the last (3rd) page of the passenger list of the ship International, which arrived at the port of New Orleans on 1 May 1855.   I cannot tell exactly whether his name is "Wm. R. Knight" or something else.   I have the same question for the master's name.  Is the first initial M? - as in M. Searey?  Or does that letter stand for M. as in Mister?  Am I correct on his surname of Searey?  It appears that is his signature further into the document.   The passenger list of interest to me is: New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1945.  The name is Jean Deschamp and he and his family arrived at New Orleans on 1 May 1855.   http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7484&iid=LAM259_41-0890&fn=Jean&ln=Deschamp&st=r&ssrc=&pid=534819   If that link is too long or doesn't work, try: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7484   Where do I look for more information on the master/captain?   I appreciate any help you can give.  Thanks!   Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana

Cheryl -- Since the master's name appears twice in two different hands, I'm fairly sure his surname was Seavey. Other masters on other boats in this list often give first names, so M. is most likely his initial. The boarding officer signs his name again at image 18 (another passenger list), making me suspect that his last name might be Knecht. I would recommend paging on through the lists and getting more examples of it for closer comparison. Also, if he is a person of interest for any reason, it might be time to study up on exactly who employed "boarding officers" and under what laws. If they were federal employees, then he may be findable in the Official Register of the United States. Good luck! Harold On Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 3:54 PM, cmproctor1@frontier.com < cmproctor1@frontier.com> wrote: > I am trying to discern the signature of the boarding agent on the last > (3rd) page of the passenger list of the ship International, which arrived > at the port of New Orleans on 1 May 1855. > > I cannot tell exactly whether his name is "Wm. R. Knight" or something > else. > > I have the same question for the master's name. Is the first initial M? - > as in M. Searey? Or does that letter stand for M. as in Mister? Am I > correct on his surname of Searey? It appears that is his signature further > into the document. > > The passenger list of interest to me is: > New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1945. The name is Jean Deschamp and he > and his family arrived at New Orleans on 1 May 1855. > > > http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7484&iid=LAM259_41-0890&fn=Jean&ln=Deschamp&st=r&ssrc=&pid=534819 > > If that link is too long or doesn't work, try: > http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7484 > > Where do I look for more information on the master/captain? > > I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks! > > Cheryl Proctor > Southern Indiana > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Harold Henderson midwestroots.net Research, Writing, and Brickwall Dismantling from Northwest Indiana Regularly Researching at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Certified Genealogist (SM) No. 1029 Certified Genealogist and CG are proprietary service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® used by the Board to identify its program of genealogical competencyevaluation and used under license by the Board’s associates.

Hi Cheryl! It looks like William (WM) R. Krafts to me. At first glance, the surname looked like Knights. It will be interesting to see what other list members have to say. Elizabeth Banas > Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 13:54:01 -0800 > From: cmproctor1@frontier.com > To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com > Subject: [TGF] Help with signature > > I am trying to discern the signature of the boarding agent on the last (3rd) page of the passenger list of the ship International, which arrived at the port of New Orleans on 1 May 1855. > > I cannot tell exactly whether his name is "Wm. R. Knight" or something else. > > I have the same question for the master's name. Is the first initial M? - as in M. Searey? Or does that letter stand for M. as in Mister? Am I correct on his surname of Searey? It appears that is his signature further into the document. > > The passenger list of interest to me is: > New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1945. The name is Jean Deschamp and he and his family arrived at New Orleans on 1 May 1855. > > http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=7484&iid=LAM259_41-0890&fn=Jean&ln=Deschamp&st=r&ssrc=&pid=534819 > > If that link is too long or doesn't work, try: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7484 > > Where do I look for more information on the master/captain? > > I appreciate any help you can give. Thanks! > > Cheryl Proctor > Southern Indiana > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message