Discoveries in the Coastguards’ Index on SoG Data Online

During recent research, I came across an 1861 census entry giving the occupation as Coast Guardsman. Knowing that there is a Coastguards’ Index on SoG Data Online, I logged into my account and searched for Joseph Wale using the advanced search. Four entries appeared for Joseph Wale, all giving a date of birth of 1826 which aligned with the census data.

Each entry in the Coastguards’ Index gave slightly different data for Joseph. There was information about his career during the Crimean War when coast guards had to serve in the Royal Navy. In addition, there was census information and transcripts of his children’s baptisms. The four entries are presented below.

The Coastguards’ Index was collated by Eileen Stage and recorded on index cards along with copies of various documents. The information was gathered from a number of sources including information gathered by a team of SoG volunteers. In more recent times, these index cards and documents have been scanned and indexed to allow easy access via SoG Data Online. The database can be searched by using the ‘Browse’ function and choosing ‘Occupations’ from the left hand list, then clicking on ‘Coastguards’. Click on the book symbol under Actions then the spreadsheet symbol then search by surname. For common surnames, it is better to search by first and surname using the Advanced Search feature then finding the Coastguard dataset in the list.

Although different entries do have different levels of information, this database can provide a wealth of additional information to add to your research.

I originally authored this blog for the Society of Genealogists and it was published in 2016. It is no longer accessible on their website so is reproduced here.