Charles Almond Trusson - Trafalgar Roll - Polyphemus

[gw]

Hello

I am researching an ancestor listed in the MacKenzie Trafalgar Roll on Polyphemus.

His name was Charles Almond Trusson, 2nd Lt RM.
Commissioned 1804.
1st Lt 1807.

Then the curious bit …

He appeared to change his name in 1809/1810 to Charles Almond Whiting.

I have much evidence to confirm this, which is too long-winded to explain in an intial post, suffice to say we have some of the original commision certificates from him and his sons, passed down in the family, and I have also researched some of the Navy Lists and commission lists at Kew.

If you look in the Navy List records you will see Charles Almond Whiting listed after 1810 and Charles Almond Trusson before 1810 - but not vice versa. In the Navy List (after 1810) Charles Almond Whiting is shown as receiving his RM 1st Lt commission in 1807, but if you look at the RM 1st Lt commision lists for that year only Charles Almond Trusson is shown.

That, plus other evidence, leads me to conclude with certainty these are one and the same person.

Charles Almond Whiting was on Solebay 1811 as 1st Lt. "Discharged 20 Aug 1812. What reason: Horatio" - What does that mean?

Commission cert 31st Dec 1830 RM Captain - "Rank from 3 nov 1827" - why backdated?

Death 20th June 1837 (Obituary Navy List, for which I've lost the original).


If anyone can help explain the mystery of why he should have changed his surname I would be profoundly grateful. One theory is that it was connected with his second marriage, or for an inheritance (first m. 1805 wife died, 2nd m. 1809).

Additionally I am also looking for any other information anyone may have on Charles Almond Trusson / Charles Almond Whiting.

Many thanks!

[PMarione]

gw,

I have moved this post from the "hints and tips" as it belongs more here.

I have not a lot of info on RM officers but for the RN commissioned officers, I can say that "name changing" seems to have been a national sport (probably before the invention of the football) probably just to confuse the researcher (like Monthy Python confused cats).

As you said, I have found all those who changed their name was for reason of inheritance (to avoid that a name or title became extinct) or marriage (also linked to some estates).

What I have seen the most often is "assuming an additional surname" like Admiral Sir Edward Chetham who assumed the additional surname of Strode on inheriting the estates of his brother-in-law, Colonel John Strode, in 1845, and was then kown as Admiral Sir Edward Chetham Strode.

I believe that they had to obtain a King's patent to be able to change their name.

This is valid for "upper class" people like officers. For common people, they apparently changed their name on a whim.
It's a real curse to try to track crew people in muster books.

@+P

[gw]

Thanks for that reply PMarione. Good to hear I am not alone in being frustrated by this crazy name-changery. One of his sons did indeed keep the Trusson name as a second name - he was Charles Trusson Whiting - and was also in the Royal Marines, though only outlived his father by one year. Life was brutish and short in those days.

Since my original post I have discovered a little more of the naval career of Charles Almond Trusson/Whiting. He was made "Captain - Orion" though elsewhere I read that he wasn't commander - that was another Captain - so I guess there were two Captains on board?

And on 1st March 1807, I think (I've lost the year), he was dispatched in the boats of the Glatton, to capture a formerly French 18-gun corvette in Sigri, Turkey. They succeeded but the commanding officer Lt Watson died with 4 others of the boarding party killed and nine wounded.

I think I also tried looking though some records of petitions to the King for 1809/1810, without success, although I may well be misremembering as last time I was in Kew was many years ago. I even looked through a bunch of wills, thinking that maybe there would be a clue there somewhere but couldn't find anything.