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 Aaron Atkins
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 14/03/2010 17:17
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 New Member  Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
The photograph of Chief Boatman Aaron Atkins and his wife Frances in the photo gallery bowled me over, as she was my great-great aunt. I have never seen a picture of her or of her husband. Frances or Fanny Donovan was born in Seafield, Co. Clare, in 1825 or 1826. Her father, Thomas Donovan (1801-1868), was serving as a coastguard there, but in spite of his Irish name he was born in Deal, Kent. Around 1825, he married a young woman from Baltimore, Co. Cork, so he may have been at the coastguard station there as well. The family moved back to England before 1830. Thomas later served as a coastguard at Brownsea Island, Dorset, and Sheerness, Kent, where his daughter married Aaron Atkins in 1843. My great-grandfather Aaron Atkins Donovan (1844-1921) was named after his brother-in-law, who as Chief Boatman must have been a figure of some admiration among the coastguardmen at Sheerness. He certainly looks quite magnificent in his photograph. I would be very grateful for any information about the origin of the photograph, about the Atkins family or about the Seafield and Baltimore coastguard stations in the 1820s. Many thanks in advance. |
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| crimea1854 |
Posted on 15/03/2010 08:28
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 Administrator  Posts: 906 Joined: 09/07/2007 |
Hi Paul, and welcome to the Forum. I can certainly fill in some of the details of Thomas Donovan's early career. He was nominated to the CG Service on 26 Feb 1821 in Deal, with a first posting to the Preventative Station at Sherkin, Ireland. On the 7 Jan 1823 he was promoted to Commissioned Boatman and transferred to Glandore, from where on the 5 Feb 1824 he was removed to Dunny Cove. Both Sherkin and Glandore are in the Baltimore District. His next move was to Seafield on 31 Oct 1824, from where, on the 29 Feb 1828, he was transferred to England to serve at Crouch River CGS. I could have continued to trace his movements in England, but was not sure if you already have this information? You do not give his wifes maiden name, but it was not uncommon for CGs to marry the daughters of other CG men. I see from the GENUKI site that her first name was Elizabeth. If you know a surname I will check to see if this matches any men he was serving with around 1825. Regards Martin |
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 15/03/2010 14:15
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New Member Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
Dear Martin, Thank you so much for the information on Thomas Donovan--it was very kind of you to reply so quickly. I did not know anything about his two postings near Baltimore. I don't have specific dates for his postings in England, either; the little that I do know about the locations is derived from the birthplaces of his children (Brownsea Island, Minster on Sheppey and Sheerness). I would be delighted with whatever information you could supply about the dates and places of his service. As I do not know his wife's Elizabeth's surname either, any suggestions on that subject would be welcome as well. Could I also ask whether your information about the Irish postings is from the ADMIN records in the National Archives at Kew, or from the ADMIN records in Dublin? I live in the United States, but I use the National Archives at Kew quite often for professional (not usually genealogical) purposes. I have not yet done any coastguard research there, but this marvellous website has certainly aroused my interest! Many thanks again, Paul. |
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| crimea1854 |
Posted on 15/03/2010 17:39
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Administrator Posts: 906 Joined: 09/07/2007 |
Dear Paul The information on his postings came from the ADM/175 series of records that are available as free downloads from the National Archives website. However, one note of caution, if you do wish to consult these yourself they are all very large files, and Broadband and patience are essential!! Picking up on Thomas's career: On 13 Jan 1830 he was transferred from the Crouch River in Essex to Poole in Dorset, then, on 11 Dec 1834, to Kings Ferry following his promotion to Chief Boatman in Charge. From here it was next Rainham, Kent, on 29 June 1837. His next move, on 24 December 1838, was to Garrison Point, from where he was sent to Hensbrook on 4 Dec 43, then on 10 Sept 1844 back again to Garrison Point, from where he was discharged on a pension on 1 Aug 1851. From a search of the Birth, Deaths & Marriage Registers I found the registration of Aaron Atkins Donovan's birth in the July/Sept quarter, 1843, Sheppy, Kent (Vol 5, Page 409). If you were to order his birth certficate using this information, it should include details of his mothers maiden, which might help further research. All the best. Martin Edited by crimea1854 on 15/03/2010 23:30 |
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 16/03/2010 02:14
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New Member Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
Thanks again, Martin, for this information. I have in fact requested Aaron Donovans' birth certificate, and on your advice I am now downloading some of the ADM/175 files. Incidentally, I found the online instructions for this procedure to be pretty baffling at first. Unlike most of the National Archives site, the downloading page was hard to navigate as well as poorly explained. Once you get them, however, the downloads are super. Interestingly enough, Thomas Donovan was nominated as a coastguard 11 days after his father's funeral in Deal. I believe the father (also Thomas Donovan) may have served on a revenue cutter there, but the town has no sources for this. Do you know anything about records of the pre-coastguard customs service? Best wishes, Paul. |
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| crimea1854 |
Posted on 16/03/2010 08:32
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Administrator Posts: 906 Joined: 09/07/2007 |
Hi Paul I'm pleased to hear that you managed to crack the download of the ADM 175 series of documents. I'm afraid I know very little about the earlier Customs/Revenue/Preventative Water Guard Service records and whats available. Had Thomas Donovan Snr. served a few more years, then you could have consulted the Revenue Cruiser Muster books in ADM 119. However, the other problem you could have is that this section of coast was controlled by the Coastal Blockade Service, administered by the Royal Navy, but again I do not know what information is available. Regards Martin |
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 16/03/2010 12:04
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New Member Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
No worries, Martin, I will figure it out. You are an extraordinary resource, and I am very grateful for your help. I have also realized, belatedly, that I was incorrect in thinking the gallery photo was of Aaron and my great-great aunt Fanny Atkins: in fact, it shows their son Forrest William Atkins (b. 1860) and his wife Jane. Aaron died in 1876 at age 55, and the photo is clearly from around 1900. Forest with one "r" was a middle name used by the Donovans; on at least one document, it was spelled Frost. A few more general questions for you (or anyone else out there), if you are willing and able: were early Irish (and English) coastguards lodged in barracks or billeted in local houses? At what point did they wear a uniform, and were they considered "ratings" from the start? When they confiscated a smuggling vessel, did they have a "prize right" to part of its value? And is it true that in Ireland they were also responsible for suppressing illegal whisky stills? I have been fishing around on this site, so the answers may already be here, but I have not found them yet. Any pointers are appreciated. Best wishes, Paul. |
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| Tony |
Posted on 16/03/2010 12:53
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 Administrator Posts: 136 Joined: 28/04/2007 |
Hello Paul A quick, but incomplete, answer to your queries. The Coastguards were started in the early 1820's and in general, were composed of Royal Navy Officers and men. They were under the charge of the Customs Service until the 1850's when the Admiralty took over. Uniforms were in general use. The "stations" were mostly local houses which were leased out. Boat -houses with overhead accommodation for a boatman-in-charge and his family were built. In the 1860's to reduce cost of leased housing the larger barracks type were built by the Office of Public Works to Admiralty specifcations. The Coastguards left Ireland in 1922. If a smuggling boat or contraband was seized the Officers and men shared in a reward (but only if the smugglers involved were captured and prosecuted) The job of suppressing illegal whiskey stills was the responsibility of the Customs Service and the Constabulary. Sometimes Coastguard men and their boats were used to help the Customs officers reach offshore illicit stills. Coastguards Officers and men were recruited from the Royal Navy. A seamn would have served seven years service in the Navy at least and on becoming a Coastguard would lose any rank attained. His first rank would become Boatman then Commissioned Boatman, then Boatman-in-Charge. I hope that the information on site will open up the life and activities of the Servive men and their families to you. Good look with your research. Tony |
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 17/03/2010 13:10
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New Member Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
Hello, Tony, and thank you very much for your reply. You are indeed a "super administrator" and this site is terrific. Regarding ADM 175, I downloaded vol. 74, the first register of nominations, and was interested to find that a half dozen men from Deal were nominated in the last week of February 1821. Two of them, including my great-great grandfather, were sent to Sherkin in Co. Cork, while the others were scattered around English stations. I wonder if there was a policy of sending English recruits of Irish ancestry to stations in Ireland, and if so, were they sent to places near where their families had originated? Also, does anybody know if the original nomination letters survive, perhaps in the Treasury or Customs papers? Best wishes, Paul. |
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| kilmeny |
Posted on 17/03/2010 20:51
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 Member  Posts: 37 Joined: 28/02/2009 |
Hello Paul, I don't suppose any of the men from Deal in 1821 had the surname OST ( or any phonetic variation of spelling ) did they ? I am still looking for a James Ost, and , as usual, just clutching at ANY straw ! Many thanks, kilmeny |
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| Paul Monod |
Posted on 18/03/2010 13:08
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New Member Posts: 11 Joined: 11/03/2010 |
Hello Kilmeny, I checked Admiralty 175/74, the first book of nominations, for men from Deal (it includes English, Scottish and Irish postings down to 1821, with some Irish postings for 1824). Nobody with the name Ost or anything close to it appears among them. Sorry about that! But this only includes men from Deal; your ancestor may have been from elsewhere in Kent. I was surprised at the number of men from certain small towns in southern England (Deal, St. Ives, Marazion in Cornwall), but I understand they were hard hit by the economic depression after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and the coastguard must have seemed like a promising career for young local men who knew about boats. They were all examined, according to the register; I wonder what that examination was like! Good luck, Paul. |
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| kilmeny |
Posted on 18/03/2010 16:29
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Member Posts: 37 Joined: 28/02/2009 |
Thank you for looking, Paul. However, please don't spend any more time on this man as I have explored every avenue I can think of , over years , and still not traced him. BUT, if you ever come across the name please remember me.....as OST is not that common a surname. Sooner or later the clue I need will come on-line, I am sure ! Thanks again, Kilmeny |
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