Search BMDs at sea 1854 to 1887
Search Tips – Births, Marriages and Deaths at sea 1843 to 1890
This search allows you to view the original records of the registers in which details of births, marriages and deaths on board ships were compiled.
Searching is free, and you will be charged one unit (special introductory price) for each record that you choose to view from the search results.
To understand more about these records, read the section in help and advice
Step 1
Select an event (birth, marriage or death) and year range from the drop-down list.
If you’re interested in any occurrence of a name, you can choose to search across all events – births, deaths and marriages, across the full period covered, 1843 to 1891, or if you are looking for someone specific, narrow your search by event type, and/or period.
Step 2
You must type in the full surname that you are searching for. You cannot use wildcards on this search, but if you are looking for a name that can be spelt several ways click on the ‘Include variants’ box. This will ensure that if you’re looking for Brown you will also be shown anyone recorded as Browne, or Clark and Clarke, for example.
Tip: We recommend that you view the free search results, by clicking the Search button, before adding in other search criteria. You only need to complete the gender, forename or forename initial box if you see too many results. The search results will show you the gender, forename or initial to help you select the correct record to view.
Step 3
From the search results displayed, scroll through to find the entry you wish to view.
Step 4
Choose which entry you’d like to see and click on View, the original image will appear in a separate window. The credits will be deducted from your account.
To view the image you must already have registered and signed in to the site, downloaded the DjVu viewer and have credits in your findmypast.co.uk account.
You can return to image at any point during your current session, or save it to your hard disk to view at any time.
Births
As many of the children born at sea had not been given names by the time the birth was recorded, the forenames of children have not been indexed. Children are indexed by surname and gender only.
When you view the original record you will see any given forenames plus the names of the parents, sometimes including the mother’s maiden name (though occasionally the parents are referred to only as ‘Mr and Mrs Green’), the date of birth, and ship’s details.
If you know you’re looking for a male child or a female child, you can use the Gender box to narrow your search.
Marriages
Marriage records have been indexed with complete forenames and surnames when these are given, but in some cases only initials were used. If you search for John Smith, your results will also include anyone recorded as J Smith to ensure you don’t overlook a likely entry.
Although the original records vary, when you pay to view the record you will generally see the full forenames and surnames of the bride and groom, their age, place of birth, date of marriage, the name of the person who officiated and the name of the ship and destination.
Occasionally you will view a replica of all the information you would find on a marriage certificate, including marital status, occupations and name and occupations of the fathers of the bride and groom.
Tip: The year ranges offered in the search box are the dates of the registers themselves. Some events are listed in the registers as much as a year after they occurred. If your search was not successful, try searching the next available year range.
Deaths
Death records have been indexed with forename initial, though when you view the original record the full forename is given in many cases, as well as age, cause of death, date of death and occasionally place of birth. You therefore receive almost as much information as on a full death certificate, apart from details of the informant.
You can narrow your search by using the Gender box, so you can say if you’re looking for a male or a female, and you can also specify an initial. So if you’re looking for someone called Joseph Brown you should complete the following boxes: surname Brown, include variants, gender male, forename initial J.
Note: The details that were recorded varied with each voyage, depending on the whim of the captain and the person compiling the register, so some records will yield more information than others, but it is always worth viewing the original record.