Burial at sea

By Nancy Battick

If you’ve ever wandered through old cemeteries along the coast of Maine, you may have come across a headstone with the inscription “lost at sea.” These stones memorialize men, women and sometimes entire families who set sail aboard wooden vessels and never returned. Sadly, in the age of sail this fate was not at all uncommon. Earning your living on the high seas was dangerous. 

The sea was the lifeblood of Maine and other coastal states. Our state seal depicts a farmer and a sailor, two crucial occupations for our survival. Many of our ancestors earned their livings at sea. Men went to sea knowing they might never return to their homes. They went down with the ships and in most cases the location of their deaths is unknown. 

But what would happen if a sailor were injured badly? It was all too common when men mounted the masts in storms to repair damage or to walk slick rope lines to furl sails. A fall to the deck or overboard was often fatal or meant a man was seriously injured and would die far from medical help. Ship captains had a medicine chest on board, and they knew basic first aid, but serious injuries such as a ruptured spleen were a death sentence.

The usual practice for those who died on board was burial at sea. The captain would enter the name, date of death and usually the cause into his logbook. There would be a ceremony, and the shrouded body was given up to the deep. The death would be reported to the nearest American authority at whatever port the vessel put into. Families would learn of the death months or even years after the event. 

But it wasn’t just sailors who died. Immigrants voyaging to this continent also died. Deaths on board were recorded in the ships’ log and again, the deceased was buried at sea. 

Where can a genealogist find records of a missing seafaring ancestor? Ship logs are primary sources, but not all survive. You can also often find mention of a deceased sailor in town records, but not always. Cemetery records do record the names listed on family plots even if the deceased isn’t buried there. Anecdotal records, such as diaries or letters that have been preserved, may also record the deaths of a family member or friend or just a fellow citizen. 

Look for nearby archives, maritime museum libraries, local libraries, historical societies, town or city vital records, notices in local newspapers, or ship owner business records.

In the case where an entire vessel went missing unless it had been “spoken,” that is sighted and communicated with another vessel, you will never know where your ancestor disappeared. 

I have some men in my family tree who set sail to the Caribbean and their vessel was never heard of again. Did they fall prey to a hurricane or pirates or did something in the ship go wrong? Sadly, I’ll never know when or where they died.

Columnist Nancy Battick of Dover-Foxcroft has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UM. Reader emails are welcome at nbattick@roadrunner.com.