The Face of the Sea
The dominance of steam power in the late 19th century changed the nature of a seafarer's job. Many family genealogists who visit the Maritime History Archive seek information about the age of sail, and it is true they well might discover that their grandfather or great-grandfather was a "sailor"—an Able and Ordinary Seamen on a deep sea merchant vessel, or possibly a specialist like a bos'un or carpenter. But, as steam gained prominence, there was a whole host of changes to the occupations that described seafarers. Many positions which were once essential to the running of a sailing vessel were phased out. Arguably, a seaman's skills and experience now bore closer resemblance to land-based industrial occupations. So, if your ancestor was a seafarer during this period, he may very well have been an engineer, firemen or coal trimmer, or she might have crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a passenger liner as a stewardess.
A seafarer's occupation might also link you to their background – have you thinking how they were connected to people on land. You are likely to find people whose lives had very little connection with the stereotypical Jack Tar. Some men and women, for example, came to seafaring because they were the children or spouses of sailors, or inshore fishermen. But did they part with the stereotype in other ways that are worth investigating? It is true bachelors men were a majority, but those with families were still numerous. For older and more experienced seafarers, jobs on steam vessels offered stability and regularity. Seafarers were not driven to sea by poverty. They were not the vagabonds and drunks to be caricatured as Jack Tar. Although there is no typical seafarer, perhaps historian Eric Sager had it right when he observed that the sea attracted men with "ambition to see the world, to acquire skills and share comradeship" (Sager 1989, 137). Women, too, might have gone to sea for some of those reasons.
