Widow's man

Widow's man

A Widows' Man is a fictitious seaman kept on the books of British ships in the Georgian era for accounting purposes. The wages of these men were paid to the widows of seamen who were killed, as such widows were often left destitute by the death of their husband.cite book
author=Wing, Robert and Newell, Gordon
title=Peter Puget: Lieutenant on the Vancouver Expedition, fighting British naval officer, the man for whom Puget Sound was named
publisher=Gray Beard Publishing
year=1979|id=ISBN 0-933686-00-5]

The number of widows' men on a ship was proportional to the ship's size. A 1st rate might have as many as eighteen, while a 6th rate might have only three. The ratio was reduced by Admiralty order on Oct 25, 1790.cite web
url=http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/features/pandora/story/06_story.asp
title=The Pandora's 135 crew|year=1791
accessdate=December 15|accessyear=2006
publisher=Queensland Museum]

The existence of widows' men served as an incentive for men to join the Royal Navy, rather than the Merchant Navy, as they knew that their wives would be provided for if they died.

This procedure can lead to some confusion to modern students of history. For example, the sloop Discovery carried 153 men on its voyage exploring Puget Sound, but the Widow's Man brings its official complement to 154.cite web
url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mymhiwe:@field(DOCID+@lit(mymhiwef897p9m4div13))
title=Muster Table of His Majesties Sloop The Discovery
year=1791
accessdate=December 15|accessyear=2006
publisher=Admiralty Records in the Public Record Office, U.K.] Reportedly, in 1738 the Sloop "Wolf" discharged its widow's man when the company was reduced, but whether this was an accident or an attempt to maintain crew strength is difficult to determine.cite web
url=http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/18uz.HTM
title=Ships of the 18th Century Royal Navy
accessdate=December 15|accessyear=2006
publisher=Maritime History and Naval Heritage Web Site]

References


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