johnpritt
20-09-2006, 03:44 PM
To elaborate a little on the question...
My g-g-g-father Thomas Reeves was the master of a fishing boat at the time of his death in 1844 in Whitehaven, Cumberland. Would he also have been the owner of the boat?
I don't know if he made a will -- he died aged 42 from typhus and assume that this would have happened fairly quickly. In other words, my assumption is that old men make wills, but not middle aged men.
I have often wondered if he did own the boat, and if my g-g-g-mother would have inherited it. She outlived four husbands -- all of them fishermen -- with her last marriage taking place when she was aged 62 and I wonder if she was "attractive" to fishermen since she owned the boat.
Of course, she could simply have married to ensure her own survival and preferred to stick with a life that she knew and that all this is pure conjecture.
I don't know the name of the boat, or its size. However, in a later census, my g-g-g-mother's second husband (John Weaver) is listed as master of the "Man", an 18 ton fishing smack.
Any ideas where I can begin? Any suggestions gratefully accepted.
My g-g-g-father Thomas Reeves was the master of a fishing boat at the time of his death in 1844 in Whitehaven, Cumberland. Would he also have been the owner of the boat?
I don't know if he made a will -- he died aged 42 from typhus and assume that this would have happened fairly quickly. In other words, my assumption is that old men make wills, but not middle aged men.
I have often wondered if he did own the boat, and if my g-g-g-mother would have inherited it. She outlived four husbands -- all of them fishermen -- with her last marriage taking place when she was aged 62 and I wonder if she was "attractive" to fishermen since she owned the boat.
Of course, she could simply have married to ensure her own survival and preferred to stick with a life that she knew and that all this is pure conjecture.
I don't know the name of the boat, or its size. However, in a later census, my g-g-g-mother's second husband (John Weaver) is listed as master of the "Man", an 18 ton fishing smack.
Any ideas where I can begin? Any suggestions gratefully accepted.