Who would own a fishing boat?

[johnpritt]

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.

[busyglen]

Try the National Archives, here John, you might find some clues to help:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/s...rchButton.y=12

Glenys

[Peter Goodey]

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.

Something worth checking, I would have thought. If he was genuinely the owner of a boat, one would expect a grant of administration at the very least.

[johnpritt]

Glenys, Peter
Many thanks for your answers. It looks like I'm going to have to start planning another trip to England to spend some of my own time researching rather than surfing the web during my employer's time
John