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Thomas Scarrow, Master Mariner: Certificates and Claims
This section details the certificates, and claims for these certificates of Thomas Scarrow.
Apprentices Indenture
The indenture below, shows that Thomas's Apprenticeship ran from the 14th April 1857 and was for a term of four years. The agreement between Thomas, aged 15 at the time, and Thomas Grandage Edwards of Liverpool, was countersigned by John Garry and John Graham, and it was with the former the Thomas Scarrow learnt his trade. Thomas would be paid a total of £24 over the of four year period, starting with £4 in year one, and eight pounds in the final year.
On the 13th July 1861, at the end of the apprenticeship, Thomas Edwards wrote the following on the back of the indenture:
"I certify that Thomas Scarrow has completed the terms of this indenture to my entire satisfaction and he is steady, sober and industrious, attentive to his duties and a good sailor."
Second Mates Certificate of Competency
From 1850 onwards, any promotion to Mate or Master required the recipient to obtain a certicate which showed the relevant competency had been obtained. In this new scheme there were also two grades of Mate's certification (2nd followed by 1st) replacing the original single grade. The original Certificates of Service were produced in duplicate, one of which was retained by the mariner, and the other which kept by the ministry and today referred to as the office copy. The latter certificate is held by the National Maritime Museum, and digital copies can be viewed on ancestry.com. Thomas's certificate of Competency for 2nd Mate, obtained in 1861, is shown below:
First Mates Certificate of Competency
Thomas obtained his certificate of Competency for 1st Mate in the following year, 1862, and this has been reproduced below:
Master's Certificate of Competency
Thomas's Certificate of Competency for Master was obtained in 1864, and enabled him to take command of his late father's barque, Teesdale.
For each of the certificates of competency applied for, Thomas would have provided testimonials and given description of his voyages. Compiling this data was no doubt made easier by referral to a seaman's certificate of discharge and character, filled in by the master at the end of each voyage. For Thomas, it covers the period from the end of his apprenticeship, to the time he became a master himself, which was a mere four years (1861-1864). Thomas's certificate is shown below, and is one of a few original documents in our possession, and not readily available from public resources.
To read the next section on Thomas Scarrow, which is a transcription of a letter he wrote home to his mother in 1857 whilst serving as an apprentice, click here.
