From the seventeenth to the early twentieth century, the navies of the larger countries needed a huge amount of men, so most of us will have ancestors who served on ships. They may have volunteered, were conscripted or even press-ganged. This is a roundup of some of the key resources available online for navy records, both free and paid for.
Findmypast
- Subscription
- Go to Findmypast
Findmypast has several British, Irish and Canadian Navy and Merchant Navy collections:
- Britain, Royal Navy, Navy Lists 1827-1945
- British India Office Army & Navy Pensions
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle Of Jutland 1916 Servicemen
- British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852
- British Royal Navy Personnel 1831
- British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924
- British Royal Navy, Ships’ Musters
- Canada, Royal Canadian Navy Ledger Sheets Index, 1910-1941
- England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913
- Ireland Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1863-1921
- London, Watermen In Royal Navy, 1803-1809
- Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919
Ancestry
- Subscription
- Go to Ancestry
Ancestry has several collections, mostly from the US, but also from the UK, Canada and Germany:
- Navy and Marine Corps Registries, 1814-1992
- Navy Support Books, 1901-1902, 1917-2010
- UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960
- UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910
- UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939
- Chelsea, Massachusetts, Navy General Register of Patients, 1872-1917
- Navy Burial Records, 1898-1932
- Canada, British Navy Ship Muster Rolls and Pay Lists, 1757-1836
- Navy Casualties Books, 1776-1941
- German Navy Crew Chronicle, 1891-1918 (in German)
- Germany, Navy Casualty Lists, 1914-1919 (in German)
- UK, Navy Lists, 1888-1970
- UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857
- World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949
- Navy Cruise Books, 1918-2009
- UK, Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919
- Massachusetts in the Army and Navy during the War of 1861-1865
- Navy Pensions Index, 1861-1910
- Revolutionary Soldiers in Kentucky: Also a Roster of the Virginia Navy
- Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-1900
- The History of Virginia’s Navy of the Revolution
- World War II Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945
- Massachusetts in the Army and Navy during the war of 1861-1865
- Record of service of Connecticut men in the army and navy of the United States during the War of the Rebellion
- Register of the commissioned and warrant officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps : January 1, 1931.
- Officers of the Army and Navy (volunteer) who served in the Civil War
- Register of the commissioned and warrant officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps : January 1, 1929.
- Register of the commissioned and warrant officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps : January 1, 1930.
- UK, Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660-1815
- Massachusetts Army & Navy, 1861-1865
The National Archives (England & Wales)
- Go to The National Archives
- Pay per view for most online records
The National Archives in London has a vast amount of naval records going back centuries. The best place to start is to look at the guides. Click here for links to the Navy guides explaining what records are held and how to use them.
Welsh Mariners
- Go to Welsh Mariners
- Free
Welsh Mariners contains a database of nearly 24,000 Welsh merchant seamen who held certificates of competency or service from 1845 onward as well as from some other sources like census returns. There is also a smaller database of over 3300 Welshmen who served in the Royal Navy during the time of the Battle of Trafalgar.
British Navy Lists
Hosted on archive.org, this is the digitized collection of British Navy Lists from the National Library of Scotland. The Navy Lists were published regularly from 1814 and contain details of officers in the service.
The Gazette
- Go to The Gazette
- Free
The Gazette newspapers (London Gazette, Edinburgh Gazette and Belfast Gazette) are the official publications of record of the British Government. The archive can be searched for free and contains over 350 years worth of valuable genealogical information. Military supplements are regularly published and can also be accessed in the archives. These supplements contain medals and awards information as well as deployment and promotion details.
For more information about this great free resource see An Amazing Free British Genealogy Resource: The Gazette
Naval History
- Go to Naval History
- Free
This site has a large collection of transcriptions of British naval records dating back to 1815 with recent records that include the Falklands War.
Australian War Memorial
- Go to AWM
- Free
This Australian Government website has lots of information relating to the conflicts involving the country including the role played by the Australian Navy.
Library and Archives Canada
- Go to LAC
- Free
Canadian Navy service records are not available online. However there is a useful guide describing the background of the 1910-1941 records which can be ordered. There are also links to some related online resources. Go to the Naval page here.
Family Search
- Go to Family Search
- Free
Finally, Family Search has a guide to US Navy records with links to some useful resources. See the guide here.
Happy researching!
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