Description: The official logbook often contains reports on crewmembers ability and seamanship. It may also contain noteworthy events of the voyage and the wages and effects of any seamen who died on the voyage. Log only, no other documents.
Lineage: Official logs were required from the 1850 Merchant Shipping Act and the MHA has a large collection of logbooks from 1863-1874. After 1876, most official logbooks were destroyed by the RGSS to save space. Some logbooks after 1874 were kept, usually when they contained important information such as births or deaths.