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One reason behind Amanda’s decision to delve into the secrets of her family’s past was that she knew nothing about a mysterious uncle, her mother’s brother called Cyril Herrington. Amanda’s immediate family knew very little about him, but did suggest that Cyril was probably the illegitimate son of Agnes Anne St Ledger Huxham. Agnes then married William George Herrington, a sergeant in the British army, and the family moved to India when William was posted there. The couple had several children on the sub-continent, including Amanda’s mother, but Cyril was sent back to England in disgrace to live in Cornwall with relatives, only to disappear from family knowledge.
A death certificate for Cyril was eventually located, which allowed Amanda to track down surviving members of Cyril’s family. In turn, they were able to provide more details of his life, including the fact that he was in the merchant navy. Important information about Cyril’s career was uncovered at The National Archives in his seaman’s pouch, including photographs and a deed poll recording his change of name to Herrington from Pillings, suggesting that this was the name under which he had been brought up and providing a tantalising clue as to his actual parentage.
By co-incidence, an earlier member of Amanda’s family had earned a living as the master of a vessel operating out of Falmouth. Her maternal great-great grandfather, James St Ledger, was the master of the Alma at the time of the 1881 census, and the crew list was found at The National Archives. This revealed that James St Ledger was born in New Ross, Ireland, in 1837, which led Amanda to start researching further back in time in Ireland.
Catalogue reference: BT 372/29/120
Selection of documents from Cyril Herrington’s seaman’s pouch, including photographs and a change of name by deed poll. His former surname, Pillings, may provide a clue as to the identity of his real father.
Catalogue reference: BT 99/1770
Section of the crew list for the ‘Alma’ from 1893. On board was James St Ledger, the master of the ship and Amanda Redman’s great-great-grandfather.
Further information on tracing merchant seamen can be found in our research guides. Other ships’ lists are housed at local record offices, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and at the Maritime History Archive, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
