My question: Is there a record of a Norwegian Ship Captained by Hans Helmer Leth with cabin boy Jorgen Emil Leth which sailed from Norway to Australia between 1860 and 1884.
My Great Grandfather Jorgen Emil Leth was born 25-10-1854 to ships carpenter Samuel Nikolai Leth ( or Hansen ). Samuel was born at Birkeland on 27/11/1824 but is believed to have lived his life on Tromoy with a family named Hansen.
After his father's death at Varmekrogen Stromsboe on 28/04/1864, Jorgen became a cabin boy on a ship captained by his grandfather, Hans Helmer Leth but he told stories that he escaped the ship several times but was caught until he was successful aged 16 in approx 1870 at Port Adelaide Australia
I've tried to find a ship captained by Hans Helmer Leth without success and can't find any record of Jorgen on any ships crews in Australian Ports between 1864 and 1884. His first child was born in Australia in 1885 but there are no records of his life between then and the 1865 census which shows Jorgen at home in Ostre Moland with his mother Maren Leth and his brothers Hans and Jens. can anyone help with the name of a ship. My late mother remembered a painting of a large 4 masted ship on his wall when she was a child and he made mention of the wheat races ???
The Norsk Maritime Museum search engine found one listing of an owner of a ship with the last name Leth. It was Isaac Leth.
You could also try at www.genealogybank.com in their historical newspapers section. They have an index category called "shipping news" and you may be able to find Leth associated with a ship there. One bad thing is its based on OCR and Leth is often confused with Leith.
You've already looked at the Australian newspaper site?
It seems this is a dead end and I will go to another forum to try and trace my Grandfather Jorgen Emil Leth's early life to discover where and when he last sailed from Norway before arriving in Australia illegally. Thanks again.
Ships to Australia
Posted - 27/01/2012 : 12:07:04
