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Archiver > MDGEN > 2004-08 > 1091641603


From: "Bruce L. Nicholson" <>
Subject: Re: [MDGEN] Re: Passports or Other
Date: Wed, 04 Aug 2004 11:46:43 -0600
References: <200408041600.i74G0OGq029519@lists5.rootsweb.com><web-76766853@admin.suscom.net>
In-Reply-To: <web-76766853@admin.suscom.net>


Jane,

Are the boxed at the National Archives in any order by years?

I am looking for my great X3 grandfather, Captain James Madison Shackelford
of Baltimore. The time period was about 1820 to 1850. Is it possible to
sort out boxes covering this time period without having to start at the
beginning?

Thanks,

Bruce


At 12:28 PM 8/4/2004, Jane Thursby wrote:
>Mariners who worked on USA ships or who were in the military were not
>required to have passports until the early 1990's.
>
>I know this because my husband was in the Merchant Marines and because I
>have 6 generations of Cheapeake Bay pilots in my family.
>So what did they have before then....
>
>Seaman's Protection Certificates.
>
>Issued by the government from the late 1700's until about 1990 at any port
>of exit/entry into the USA including the Great Lakes.
>
>They are in the National Archives in DC. Starting in 1916, the
>certificate required a picture. That picture is with the certificate
>copy. I made a copy my grandfather's seaman's cert. with his picture.
>
>Most cities have indices. However, all do not. Baltimore does
>not. There are in the order of issue. I was lucky to find mine for my
>grandfather. It was in only the fourth box I searched. Baltimore has 450
>ft of boxes. I found it in the 2nd ft of boxes.
>
>I knew I would because as I said he was a Chesapeake Bay Pilot who at any
>time might "go to sea" with the ship when it reached Cape Henry. If the
>ship was late leaving and had a deadline, it wouldn't stop to let the
>pilot off. He went to sea and returned when ever he could--thus needing
>the Seaman's Protection Certificate to get back in the county.
>
>Now the interesting part---You didn't need to be a citizen to get a
>certificate. You just needed to be working on a USA ship. What you did
>need was proof of who you were. This might include a birth certificate,
>baptismal cert., letter from a prominent citizen, or even your own parent.
>It might even be your naturalization papers. All this is with the
>certificate at the Archives.
>
>Finally--this certificate was also used as declaring a person's intent to
>be naturalized and is some times titled slightly differently to reflect
>that purpose.
>
>All people regardless of sex, age, race had to have one of these...YES,
>women too who worked as maids on ships.
>
>Before pictures, the certificate required a very detailed physical
>description of the person and the first set of certificates requiring
>pictures also gave some detailed physical details like height, complexion,
>eye color, hair color and scars or marks on their body. I saw one that
>indicated a scar under left arm and another indicating a tatoo of his name
>on his hand. That was a good thing because this person was illiterate and
>didn't even know how to sign their name (yes..each is signed or X'ed)
>
>It probably took me longer than necessary to go through those 4 boxes
>because I kept reading all the material with each. A genealogist's dream
>come true. Original documents. Many from other countries!
>
>I haven't gone back to look for my other relatives prior to the 1916
>reissue because Baltimore as I said is not indexed and I can't imagine how
>many boxes/feet there are of the ones before 1916.
>
>Anyway, I didn't find what I was looking for because it turned out my
>great-grandfather had already stopped working by 1916. My grandfather,
>his son, was there but not him. I knew when I found my grandfather, I
>wouldn't find my great-grandfather by looking further. I had found in
>those first 4 boxes just about all the pilots in Baltimore. They were the
>first to get theirs.
>
>
>
>==== MDGEN Mailing List ====
>List Admin.: Christopher T. Smithson;

Bruce L. Nicholson, Ph.D.
Professor (Fall Semesters Only - Semi-retired)
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology
University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469
Tel: 207-581-2800
Fax: 207-581-2801
Email:

Home: Gold Canyon, Arizona

Personal Web Page: www.geocities.com/brucelnicholson


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