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George Johns Coastguard RN
Ruth2020
Hi there

I am wondering if it is possible to get information on my GGG GF George Johns who I am currently researching. I am sure he joined the Navy from England possibly Devon area but was stationed on a ship in Cork when he married Mary Connelly in 1867. At this time he was either a sailor or a Tailor.

By the time his first daughter is born he has become a stoker and when my GG GF Thomas Johns is born he is a coastguard still stationed in Cork. He then goes on to have another five children who are all born in Donegal all different parishes as far as I can see not sure if this makes a difference or not. Inniscoo, Glentries, Dungloe, and Crowey. George Johns continues to be a Coastguard. I know for sure one of the children passed away in infancy and I am almost certain another one did also.

I would love to find out if there are any records of his time as a coastguard and to find out more about what his life would have been like in Ireland and when his RN service finished. As far as I can tell I think he brought the family back to England at some point. I think possibly by about 1885 to 1890. I know that his wife Mary Connelly passed away at some point before 1896 but not sure if this was before he left Ireland or not.

Edit to above post 9th June 2020

I have recently learned that George Johns full name was actually George Johns Hawton. There is a possibility that if there were any RN records for him they would be under the sir name Hawton rather than Johns. It has become apparent that he used both names at different times in his life. He remarried in East Stonehouse Devon in 1896 to an Elizabeth Salt. He was now a Royal Navy Pensioner but also owned a Fish and Chip shop in Devonport, Devon.

He was said to be a Commissioned Boatman on one of his daughters marriage certificates. Any help as to the likely hood of their being any navel records for this position would be greatly appreciated and the best place to find them.

He was stationed on Her Majesty's Gun Boat Highlander during his first marriage in Cork 1867.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Ruth
Edited by Ruth2020 on 09/06/2020 21:26
 
crimea1854
Ruth

According to the Navy List, HMS Highlander was a tender to HMS Black Prince. As a general rule the crew of tenders were normally carried on the Ships Books for the parent vessel. It is therefore possible that you will find your man in the Muster Books for Black Prince. Unfortunately these can only be inspected at the National Archives, Kew in person, for which you will need a Readers Ticket. Of those available it is best to search in the ADM 38 series with the suffix 'D'; the 'D' refers to 'Description Book'. These are particularly useful because they contain a physical description, date and place of birth and a list of previous ships served on up to that date.

As an example of the cat ref. look at ADM 38/7639, which is Black Prince's Description Book for the period 1 May 1866 to 30 June 1867. https://discovery.../r/C768107

Martin
 
Ruth2020
Hi Martin

Thank you very much for this information.

Is it possible to request a copy of the ADM 38 series, once Lock Down has ended of course or is this only possible through visiting the National Archives?

Is it possible that George Johns Hawton would have a different RN Record later on in his career if he was a Commisioned Boatman or Coastguard?

Thank you very much for giving the example of Black Prince's Description Book its a huge help to know where to look as there are so many ADM's available at the National Archives.

Ruth
 
crimea1854
Ruth

You can request a copy of any document at the NA, but this particular one will be very large and cost you a fortune! It is understandable that the NA will not do a search of the document and just copy and charge for any info found - they don't have the staff or the time. So it's either a visit to the NA in person or employing a specialist researcher such as Kevin Asplin.

If he was a CG his service would be included on any Navy Service Record. There are separate CG records in the ADM 175 series, but from what you say his GC service falls outside the time period covered by most of these.

Martin
 
Ruth2020
Thank you very much for your help Martin.

Very much appreciated.

Ruth
 
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