Patricia
I suggest that the most appropriate next step to seek this information is to
take the query to the Rootsweb Mariners' List where there are a number of
experts at tracing Navy careers. We know that he was based in Swansea during
the Napoleonic War. The 'Cambrian' reports seem to have him commanding a
tender called the 'Cleveland' which seems to have been involved in
recruiting extra seamen for the Navy, and several arrivals and departures of
the Cleveland are recorded, as also the birth of a daughter a few years
earlier in 1804. The 'Cleveland is also described as an 'armed brig'.
See my message to you and the list last week:
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GLAMORGAN/2012-10/1350595055
The Navy could have posted a junior officer from almost anywhere in the
United Kingdom or colonies to Swansea, but they did keep a lot of records.
If he was from Ireland then many relevant records may not survive.
You really need the help of someone who really knows their way around Royal
Navy records, and the mariners list is the best place to find them, apart
from contacting National Archives and employing someone on their list of
approved researchers.
The mariners list is at
http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Occupations/MARINERS.html
It is a very busy list so once you subscribe to it you will receive a lot of
emails about a wide variety of maritime topics.
The Cleveland seems to have been a barge (?) chartered in 1803 and
restored(?) in 1806 according to a Wikipedia article in Finnish translated
by Google, quoting a book in English
Winfield, Rif: British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 - Design,
Construction and Fates, p.82 Minnesota: Seaforth Publishing, 2005. ISBN
978-1-84415-717-4 . (in English) This is an expensive book but is probably
held in various maritime history museums. You might be able to get a
photocopy of the relevant page.
Bear in mind that your man only said his father was an admiral at his 3rd
marriage, a year or so before his death, so it may not have been strictly
accurate. Much better to try to trace his career as a young man at the rank
you know he had in 1804-1806.
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patricia Hipple" <patriciahipple(a)yahoo.com>
To: <GLAMORGAN(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 2:23 PM
Subject: [GLA] William Parker (Lieutenant)
Can anyone help me find my 3rd times great grandfather, William
Parker?
He would have been born about 1780 as his son, Robert Menzies Parker, my
2nd times great grandfather, was born in St Mary, Swansea, Glamorgan.
On Robert's baptism record, 1806, his father is given as William Parker,
Lieutenant, Royal Navy. No other information.
I am trying to find out where William came from, his wife's name and his
parents too. As he was a naval man he most probably moved around. Does
he
come from Wales or Devon or somewhere else? He may have died before the
official census' started. He is on record that he was William Parker,
Admiral (deceased) on the last marriage certificate of his son Robert
Menzies Parker in 1878.
I have searched the Ancestry records and whereas there is plenty of
information on Robert Menzies Parker, his father and mother are absent on
people's searches.
I hope someone can help.
Patricia Hipple