FAMILY TIES TO THE GREAT LAKES MAY BE FOUND ON NEW MARITIME PERSONNEL DATABASE: OH

Bowling Green State University project was funded by ODNR

BOWLING GREEN, OH - Ohioans may find links to their families’ histories on the new Great Lakes Maritime Personnel Online Database, part of the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green State University.

More than 200,000 entries on the lives of approximately 30,000 people who worked in the Great Lakes maritime trades, primarily as sailors, between 1836 and 2003 are recorded in the database. Preparation of the database was funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management.

Information used to create the database comes from a variety of sources, including membership directories of the International Ship Masters’ Association. Searches of the database involve typing in a name or the city the person claimed as home. The database, found at bgsu.edu/colleges/library/hcgl/ , also contains information on Great Lakes ports and vessels.

The Office of Coastal Management administers the Ohio Coastal Management Program and receives funding through the Coastal Zone Management Act, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Source: ODNR