Mail

To avoid being captured the fishermen went in to mailservice.
The mail was important and should be intact on arrival.
So the ship and crew were regarded as neutral and were not captured.
Jeroen Vlieland had a mailservice Rotterdam -Topsham and advertised both in England and in Holland with his mailservice.
We know his brother Hendrik was captured with his ship the Young Elisabeth and those prizepapers are in Kew.
The letters on ships were important and always saved.It was a way of gathering information.But there was also regular mail.
In the National Archives in London are still thousands of those letters lying unread holding their information.
Think of the men at sea who were sailing to far away places and missed their wife and children for years .
Think of the wifes who had to deal with everything on their own.The money,the raising of their children,sickness ,death in the family.
Imagine not knowing what goes on in your family for a year.
The letters they wrote went back and forth with other ships.
Unless they were captured and never reached the crew or his family.
The letters where discovered some years ago in Kew and are now photographed in the National Archives and then in Holland translated and digitalised.
It sometimes breaks your hart reading them.
The sorrow,dispair and courage.
There are 3 books wich contain some letters.
But there our thousands waiting to be discovered.
The National Archives and the Sailing Letters project are working together in an effort to uncover the letters.
Maybe we learn more about Jeromes father or his uncles someday .

Series reference HCA 30
High Court of Admiralty, and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division ...

HCA Records of the High Court of Admiralty and colonial Vice-Admiralty courts
Division within HCA Records of the Admiralty Registrar and Admiralty Marshal
Record Summary
Title High Court of Admiralty, and Supreme Court of Judicature, High Court of Justice, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division: Admiralty Miscellanea
Scope and content This series consists of miscellaneous Admiralty papers.
In addition to papers relating to the jurisdiction of the courts, the series includes the following:
accounts in respect of ships detained under embargoes, 1806 to 1840
affidavits, 1662 to 1807
an apprentices' (fishermen) register, 1639 to 1644
letters of attorney (prize), 1700 to 1858
bail bonds (prize agents), 1803 to 1827
marked cause books, 1860 to 1868
correspondence register concerning appeals business before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1861 to 1902
records concerning droits, 1608 to 1833
proceedings in foreign courts or languages, c1550 to 1778
draft instruments etc, 1773 to 1855
intercepted mails and papers, 1652 to 1811
judges' order books, 1860 to 1880
list of records in Admiralty registry in 1878, keyed with current HCA references
naval prize account registers, 1855 to 1916
prize minute books, 1779 to 1827
notes by Sir John Nicholl and Dr James Henry Arnold on Admiralty etc cases, 1781 to 1838
precedents and papers relating to the office of Admiralty Marshal, 1772 to 1882
printed and unprinted case papers, 1856 to 1948
prize claims 1643 to 1703
prize commissions, c1660 to 1820
prize etc registers, 1854 to 1916
proctors' appointments and admissions 1727 to 1841, and certificates sent to them from Navy Pay Office to enable next of kin of seamen dying intestate to obtain letters of administration, 1795 to 1807
prohibitions from King's Bench and other courts against Admiralty jurisdiction, 1531 to 1645
registers and copies of instruments and documents exhibited, 1625 to 1776
registrar's draft reports and other records including precedents and office appointments, 1649 to 1926
ships' books and papers, 1624 to 1818
ships' logs, 1862 to 1888
slave trade papers and proceedings, 1805 to 1877
Vice-Admiralty courts' papers, 1740 to 1860
including some arising from the enquiries of the commissioners on fees, 1832
summaries of proceedings of the wreck commissioner, 1876 to 1880
warrants for appointments, 1604 to 1853
Pieces containing papers etc. from Dutch prizes 1652-1832 are catalogued in greater detail than those of other nationalities. This is because of research undertaken by the Royal Dutch Library in 2005, the results of which were kindly made available to The National Archives.
Covering dates 1530-1948
Related material See also the records of the High Court of Delegates in
DEL
additional finding aid ZBOX 1/92/1
additional finding aid ZBOX 1/91
See also Records of the Slave Trade Adviser in Division within HCA

Separated material Miscellaneous objects, artefacts and documents have been transferred from this and other series to HCA 65

Held by The National Archives, Kew