Silk / Cunard Line

[LisElliot]

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? Many of my relatives from the Silk family worked for Cunard both as Master mariners and stewardesses.
Is there an accessible record of Cunard staff dating back to 1800s onwards?
Lis

[MaryA]

Thge National Museums site http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mari ... links.aspx mentions that staff lists are held in the University of Liverpool Library http://sca.lib.liv.ac.uk/collections/

[LisElliot]

Thank you so much. I will have a go there.

Lis

[Hilary]

Try the passenger lists on Ancestry, Ellis Island (Atlantic crossings) and Find my Past.

Hilary
Ed Officer

[LisElliot]

Thanks but have already done that and found my great aunts who were stewardesses mainly on the New York runs. I am trying to find James John Baillie Silk (surely there can only be one of them?) who was a master mariner. I have found him applying for naturalisation in Philadelphia but he then married back in this country a year later so what was all that about? I have been told that you need to know which ships they were on to find their mariners ticket so I thought the Cunard records might help.
His father was on the Australia runs and I have found a few bits of his journeys to Sydney and then one from New Zealand to Sydney as a passenger with his captain.

Sorry this is a bit long.
Lis

[philrob]

Hi LisElliot,

I had great success many years go by contacting the Southampton Council who held crew lists for most of the White Star and Cunard ships. They were able to supply me with a very early photograph of my father in 1920 as well as details of an aunt of mine who worked with Cunard. Let me know how you go after contacting the council.
The address for Southampton is.
Southampton Archives Services,
Southampton City Council,
Civic centre,
Southampton, SO 14 7LY. Tel. 023 8083 2251

Good Luck with your research!

[LisElliot]

Thanks for that PhilRob. I will certainly get in touch with them.

Would they have the info for the ships that sailed from Liverpool?

Lis

[Tina]

Birth from Anc##
James John Baillie Silk 1846 june
Stepney London Middlesex.
Marr James John B Silk june qtr 1873 Lpool Free BMD
vol 8b Page 36
Lancs BMD to Elizabeth Smith Lpool St Andrew
You will be able to find James in 1881 census free in familyhistory site.
He's an Marine Officer with wife listed as Elizth.M
30 Newark St with 3 kiddies

Birth George Baillie Silk dec qtr 1878 Lpool

Tina

[Tina]

Me again
All listed as SICK in 1891 census error sent to Anc##

Tina

[LisElliot]

Thanks Tina I have most of the family history it's more his marine history I was looking for. Most of the female side worked on the Cunard and so I am assuming rightly or wrongly that JJB got them all jobs but can't track his ships down.

Aunty Edith was the most prolific on the New York runs, along with Carlotta.

[philrob]

LisElliot

As regards what was in the Southampton archives - the most obvious item was his crew card complete with picture, plus details of his employee number, insurance number and a physical description of him as well. I already had his logbooks so I was able to create a super database of his travels throughouth the world from 1919 to 1939. He left Cunard the day after WW2 broke out having been shadowed by a submarine as his ship sailed into Liverpool Bay.

There was no photo of my Aunty available - she actually sailed on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary having been put in charge of the salons and beautician facilities etc.

Good Luck - please let me know how you go!

[LisElliot]

Thanks for that, I hope I get half the info you have. Will contact them today and will let you know how it goes.
Lis