Trafalgar Ancestors

[elsinore]

TNA has the following in its Trafalgar Ancestors online database (ADM37/192):

Joseph BENNETT
HMS Thunderer
Private, Marine
From Plymouth Division
Ships Pay Book Number: (ML74)
25 May1805

I am not able to get to TNA in person. I don't mind paying for research if there is likely to be more information but can't afford open ended speculative research.

Can anybody please tell me if this transcription is all the information available or whether there may be more details either in ADM37 or elsewhere (eg HMS Thunderer records)?

Peter

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi Peter

This is not a direct answer to your question, but I have just found this interesting site for Bristol Family History: https://www.bristolfamilyhistory.co....nelson-s-navy/. The link should take you to the page that is the title of this post.

I noticed two Bennetts - Abraham, 17, on HMS Thunderer, and John, 23, on HMS Orion.

Then if you explore the site, click on Kingswood Index and select A-B and you will find the surname Bennett. (I have just been clicking through various letters for surnames of interest and was struck by the number of mining accidents, but there are notes of banns, marriages, inquests - all sorts, so it makes for interesting reading.)

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Me again...

Devonport Online looks useful: https://www.devonportonline.co.uk/his...algar_men.aspx.

Unfortunately, Joseph Bennett is not in the list. (Sorry!). BUT the researcher has posted the reply received from TNA when he enquired about the 'Trafalgar Ancestors' database. And that might start to answer the question you posed.

Off to roost.

Owl

[elsinore]

Hello Owl,

Interesting indeed but my interest is specific in Joseph Bennett as he may turn out to be a direct ancestor of mine. There is only one Joseph Bennett in the Trafalgar Ancestors. My great grandfather Joseph Bennett, also a mariner, had a mariner father called Joseph and this may be him.

Peter

[thewideeyedowl]

Good morning...

I take your point that you want to find your Joseph, and the one in the Trafalgar List would seem a good candidate for the shortlist.

Have just run a search in the new beta Discovery and this came up: https://beta.discovery.nationalarchiv...ls/r/C12196177. Perhaps this is the same Joseph as the one in the Trafalgar List?

Assuming that you know the area(s) of the country in which the Bennett family lived - at least in the time of your great-grandfather - then I suggest you run some searches for the Family History Society/Societies that cover the area. This might give some clues, and some have online databases. You could also try searching for (Bennett AND 1805) via Access to Archives - A2A for short - which you can get to via TNA. This will show holdings in archive offices, museums etc all over the country; but you could limit the search to the area you want. Most stuff isn't digitised, alas, but if you find something interesting and relevant then you might be able to arrange for it to be scanned and sent to you. You would have to pay, of course, so get a quote first. The same thing applies for the non-digitised records at TNA - get a quote first and then decide whether it is worth paying.

One last thought, have you found your Joseph great-grandfather on the IGI? This might lead to his parentage with a bit of vague info about his dad. Don't count on it! But the slightest crumb might help you discover a new lead.

All for now.

Owl

[Megan Roberts]

This guide from the National Archives might help you understand what may or may not be included in ADM 37 records:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/d...avy-rating.pdf

[elsinore]

Hi Megan and Owl, thank you both for your input.

Carer duties have kept me away from the forum for a while but I'll be following up on the leads you've provided as soon as possible.

I'll let you know if I find anything positive.

Peter

[thewideeyedowl]

Have just found this: https://www.isle-of-wight-memorials.o...h_lychgate.htm. There is a photograph of the timber on the lychgate at this little church at Totland. No names, so this is just of interest, that is all.

There is no certainty that this timber is from the Napoleonic HMS Thunderer that saw action at Trafalgar, but it is a nice story and a nice photo.

There is then a link through to the archive reference at IWCRO.

Sorry that this does not progress your search for Joseph Bennett (but he might - just might - have touched this wood!).

Owl

[emmteeyess]

TNA has the following in its Trafalgar Ancestors online database (ADM37/192):

Joseph BENNETT
HMS Thunderer
Private, Marine
From Plymouth Division
Ships Pay Book Number: (ML74)
25 May1805

I am not able to get to TNA in person. I don't mind paying for research if there is likely to be more information but can't afford open ended speculative research.

Can anybody please tell me if this transcription is all the information available or whether there may be more details either in ADM37 or elsewhere (eg HMS Thunderer records)?

Peter

Hi Peter -

I've just spent a day at TNA researching an Naval ancestor and in the time I was waiting for my 'records' to be retrieved I had a quick look for your Jos. Bennett and the pay book, with some success. Sadly there was very little additional information written down in the docs I saw. (Bear in mind I had very little spare time between my own searches and I will not have looked at everything available for JB - sorry).
The ADM37 doc was quite sparse with no personal details and even the ship's muster for Thunderer had no personal details for the Marines, unlike the details given for the sailors.

However here's a couple of clips that at least show Joseph by name - If you pm me an email address for you I can send you fuller pics, and info from my limited, but growing, experience of Musters and life in Nelson's Navy.
These are from Thunderer's Musters a couple of months before Trafalgar. note between 105 - 109 marines on board from a compliment of 590








It really would be worth taking a short London break and going to The NA yourself. If you go well prepared with what you want to see there is nothing like the feel of the original books and writings.
I was looking at ship's musters from around 1800, ie over 200yr old, and the feel and smell of them was unique - and a tremendous thought that they were written on the same ship at the same time that my ggg.grandfather was aboard. Priceless.

Cheers, MTS

[thewideeyedowl]

Hello again...

Though Joseph isn't mentioned here, The Gazette, Issue No 15858, 6 November 1805, makes interesting reading. It is a two-page report, pp1365-1366, and on that second page you will see that HMS Thunderer was one of the ships in the rear line:
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/.../1365/data.pdf.

Hope the link works - (having a few probs with cut/paste on this iPad) - but if it doesn't, just run a search for the page.

Owl