Genealogy Chat

My 2xgt grandfather was a sailor in the Royal Navy and he died sometime in the 1850's. I have been unable to find his death so if he died at sea would there be any records of his death and if so where? Unfortunately I do not have his dob or any names of ships he may have served on or where he was born but I think it might be the East end of London. I understand this could be a bit of a tall order but ever the optimist!!
Although he is shown as being married I have been unable to locate his marriage certificate so I guess he wasn't. His name was George Edward Stacey m Ann(e) Stevens - this family has done their best to cover their tracks and succeeding.
Any advice is gratefully received.
Thanks
Jill

Have you checked the National Archives?

Found this but it might not be him:

Description
Name Stacey, George
Official Number: 59255
Place of Birth: Chichester, Sussex
Date 9 June 1834
Catalogue reference ADM 188/37links to the Catalogue
Dept Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Series Admiralty: Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services
Piece 59201 - 59800
Image contains 1 document of many for this catalogue reference

Number of image files: 1
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Format and Version

Part Number

Size (KB)

Number of Pages

Price (£)
55 / 54 PDF 1.2 1 94 1 3.50
Total Price (£) 3.50
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If you can find his RN record on there it's downloadable for £3.50.

Jill

Could he have married before 1837 when registration officially started?
Liz

Thank you for getting back to me. Jill it might be him but I am not sure where he was born, what sort of information would this record give me?
Liz, his wife was 33 when she died in 1859 and she was already a widow then. Some-one very kindly found an entry in 1851 for Ann which may be her but she was not married then and my gt grandfather was born in November 1851.
Thanks
Jill

The RN record would show what ships he served on, also should give a description of him.

I have only downloaded relatively recent ones and not any from that far back.

One of my RN gr gr gr uncles died at sea and it showed on his RN record although I've never managed to track a death cert for him. But that was in the 1860s.

Jill

Thank you Joan, I know I can use any left over credits to do more searches on th 1911 census I will give it a try.
Jill

Jill thank you for getting back with that information I will investigate and send away for it and hopefully it might be my George.
You are all so kind and it is lovely to be able to ask these sorts of questions and some-one nearly always manages to give an answer or suggestions.
Thank you all
Jill

There is a death on free bmd for a George Edward Stacey June l859, New Forest.?????
Have you a copy of your great grandfather's birth cert. in 1851 - I wondered if it might state if George had died before your great grandfather was born.
Liz

Hi Liz yes I have my gt grandfather's bith certificate and his father was definately alive then because they had another two children after he was born the last one I have found was born in1854. He cannot be found in 1851 census but if he was at sea at the time that would account for that. By the 1861 census all the children were in Shoreditch Industrial School. Unfortunately those records are not fit to be viewed.
On Ann's death certificate which was March 1859 she was already a widow so I don't think it can be my George - sadly, they were all living in Hoxton nr Shoreditch Essex.
Thank you anyway.
Regards
Jill

I have a Royal Navy ancestor in the same era. He put the name of his ship on his wedding certificate and a different one on a later birth certificate. This made it easier to find him at the National Archives, particularly as he also carried on after 1853 when the navy started better records.

There are records of seamens effects/applications for wages from next of kin at Kew. These are indexed in ADM 141 and held in ADM 44.

There are also wills in ADM 48, indexed by ADM 142.

My ancestor was called Stephens, probably in the same index as your Stacy. I will have a look in the wills section for both of them when I next go to Kew.

Please email me if you have any more information than is held here.

David