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- New England, Register of Seaman's Protection Certificates
Records in this collection
- Book of Deeds of Manumissions of Slaves, 1774-1792 (Kent, Pennsylvania)
- New England, Register of Seaman's Protection Certificates
- Pennsylvania, Register of Mine Accidents
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire, expenses of the poor 1817-1838
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire, warnings out 1722-1769
- South Carolina, criminal court records
- United States, New York, Emigrant Savings Bank Registers
Discover your maritime ancestors with these lists of seamen created by New England customs officers from 1786 to1894. The lists include numerous names of seamen born outside of the United States. The lists were used to create certificates to protect seamen from British impressment.
The original Seaman Protection Certificates are held at the National Archives at Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts. The certificates were created in response to Britain’s practice of impressment, taking seamen by force into their naval force. The British Royal Navy had impressed thousands of sailors who claimed to be American citizens. They did not recognize American citizenship or claimed that these seamen were deserters. In 1796, Congress passed the ‘Act for the Relief and Protection of American Seamen’ in 1796. The Act required all customs collectors to keep a record of all US citizens serving on US ships. The seamen were given a Seaman’s Protection Certificate. Vouched for the citizenship of the person along with giving a physical description for identifying purposes.