WEBB - died in Bombay

[Stuman]

I have a letter written to one of my ancestors telling of the death from Cholera in Bombay of another ancestor William WEBB. The letter was from one of the officers on the merchant ship on which he was serving at the time. As this was in the 1850s I would have expected to be able to find his death certificate at FRC in the overseas section but no such joy. Can anyone explain why there appears to be no death registered in these circumstances.

Is it maybe just in the log of the ship on which he was serving when he died?

[Geoffers]

I have a letter written to one of my ancestors telling of the death from Cholera in Bombay of another ancestor William WEBB. The letter was from one of the officers on the merchant ship on which he was serving at the time. As this was in the 1850s I would have expected to be able to find his death certificate at FRC in the overseas section but no such joy. Can anyone explain why there appears to be no death registered in these circumstances.

Is it maybe just in the log of the ship on which he was serving when he died?I presume that its the Indexes to Consular Registers of Births, and Marriages that you've tried. If so, births and marriages date from 1849, but deaths only commence in 1859, which is possibly why your chap is not recorded.

An alternative is to go to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.

The Seaman's Fund Winding Up Act 1851 required masters of UK ships to hand over to the Board of Trade, wages and effects of seamen who died whilst a ship was sailing on a voyage. The Registers are in class BT153 at TNA and include the following detail:

Name
Registered Ticket number
Date and place engaged on the ship
Date and cuase of death
Name and Port of ship
Master's Name
Date and place wages were paid
AMount of wages owed
Date sent to the Board of Trade

There is a nominal index to these registers in BT154 and an index to ships in BT155.

Also, there are monthly lists of dead seamen in BT156 - recording name, age, rating, nationality/birthplace, last address, cause and place of death.

[Stuman]

Thank you Geoffers.

Looks like Kew then.

[martync]

Hi,

If you didn't find anything at Kew it could be worth having a look at the India Office Records at the British library:

http://www.bl.uk/collections/orientaloffice.html

They held BMD records as well so if he was taken off the ship in Bombay and died there it is possible that he was in these records.

Good luck
Martyn