- Born: Abt 1872, Ireland 54,58,59
- Marriage: Helen (Nellie) Thompson Brown on 6 Jun 1901 in Leith, County of Edinburgh, Scotland 52,53
- Died: 16 Jul 1921, Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland aged about 49 3,59
 Cause of his death was Pulmonary Tuberculosis, 1 year.59
Research Notes:
Customs and Excise Officials and Tax Collectors , National Archives, KEW, London
Domestic Records Information 38
1. Records not in The National Archives
The departments of Customs, Excise and Revenue were at one time separated. After the Act of Union in 1707 a separate board for Scotland was established which ran until the 1823 when a United Kingdom board was established. Similarly in 1807 a separate board for Ireland was established which also lasted until 1823. As a result not all the records are held at The National Archives, Kew. The records for Scotland can be found at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh with some outport and excise records now held in local archives. Records about Scottish Customs staff following the Act of Union and up to 1822 can be found in the Scottish Customs Establishment Books (CE 3 and CE 12) as well as in some of the records at the National Archives, Kew. A research guide on Customs and Excise records as well as one on taxation is available online at www.nas.gov.uk <http://www.nas.gov.uk> <http://www.nas.gov.uk>
The surviving Irish records can be found at the National Archives of Ireland, Dublin and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast. Some of the records concerning places which are now part of the Irish Republic can be found in Belfast and some records for Northern Ireland can be found in Dublin, so a check of both archive offices is advisable. The National Archives of Ireland has, for example, an individual case from 1923 (FIN 1/3043) concerning the loss of a bicycle and trench coat during National Army service, but there may be others that are not yet available in their on-line catalogue. Records about Customs, Excise and Revenue men in Cornwall may be found in the Courtney Library at the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro or at the Cornwall Record Office, Truro, or from local newspapers.
2. Customs Officers
The first Customs officers to be appointed go back to 1294, and later on include Geoffrey Chaucer (of the Canterbury Tales fame) and information on the Medieval Customs' Accounts can be found in The National Archives research guide Domestic Records Information 8. A published list can be found in The English Customs Service 1307-43, A Study of Medieval Administration (Robert L Baker, The American Philosophical Society, 1961). In addition, HM Stationery Office published (1913) An Account of the Commissioners of Customs, Excise, Hearthmoney, and Inland Revenue, 1642-1913, with similar information. Both of these books are available in The National Archives' library, Kew.
Warrants appointing Customs officers, 1714-1797, are to be found in series C 208 , indexed by C 202/267 > to C 202/269 . The Customs Officers Patent Rolls can be found in series C 209 (1722-1798), with copies for the period 1816-1856 in CUST 39/186-187 . The Customs Board minute books, in CUST 28 , contain information on the first and later postings of Customs officers, with details of any praise or censure.
For Customs officials, there are pay lists and staff lists, arranged by place, in PRO 30/32/15 to PRO 30/32/29 (1673-1689), CUST 18 (1675-1813) and CUST 19 (1814-1829), CUST 39 (1671- 1970) and T 42 (1747-1847). There is a separate series within CUST 39 (pieces CUST 39/104-121 for 1860-1885) for Scotland (which is then continued in the Scotland and Ireland set in CUST 39/141-144 for 1885-1894. Additional records for 1714-1829 can be found in series T 43. Similar records for Ireland are to be found in CUST 20 (1684-1826) and CUST 39/122-140 for 1840; 1860-1885) then as part of the Scotland and Ireland set in CUST 39/141-144 for 1885-1894. (but this also includes some Excise men) However, in general these give little personal detail, although very occasionally details of marriage might be given. Some family details can be found in the pension records in CUST 39/145-151which cover 1803 to 1922. For Ireland, there are pension records covering 1785-1898 in CUST 39/161 and CUST 39/162 . The Scottish pension records can be found in CUST 39/160 . The most useful for family historians are, as always, the sections relating to widows' pensions, which give details of any children. Applications for pensions (as well as appointments and other material) can be found in series T 1 . These records can be found by using the Calendars of Treasury Books, Calendars of Treasury Papers and the Calendars of Treasury Books and Papers (up to 1745), with the records going back to 1660. There are also indexes in series T 2 and T 4 (which need to be ordered as original documents) and T 108 (available in the Research Enquiries Room, Kew but which start around the 1820s ending in May 1920). For more information on these records see research guide Domestic Records Information 39: Treasury Board: Letters and Papers, 1557-1920 . Additionally records about appointments, pay and discipline matters for the United Kingdom and Ireland can be found in series CUST 119 . Other family details can be found among the correspondence of the individual ports ('outports' in the Customs service) with the Customs Board. In addition Ham's Customs Year Book contain details of officers and are available in The National Archives library, although it is not a complete collection.
Smuggling cases may mention individual officers and an indication of date and place would be needed. Some of the cases may be held locally, rather than at The National Archives.
For details of disciplinary offences, promotion, leave and pensions of staff for the period 1831-1921 see series CUST 40 .
Noted events in his life were:
• Occupation: officer, HM Customs, 1901, Leith, County of Edinburgh, Scotland. 54
• Occupation: Exciseman. 3
• Occupation: Boatman, H M Customs, 1901, Leith, County of Edinburgh, Scotland. 58
• Residence: 96 Easter Road, 1901, Leith, County of Edinburgh, Scotland. 58
• Residence: 70 Lochend Road, 1902, Leith South, Edinburgh, Scotland. 61
• Residence: 67 Easter Road, 1903, South Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. 62
• Residence: 13 Piershill Place, 1921, Edinburgh. 59
• Occupation: Officer, Customs and Excise, 1921, Edinburgh. 59
William married Helen (Nellie) Thompson Brown, daughter of David Brown and Ann Miller, on 6 Jun 1901 in Leith, County of Edinburgh, Scotland 54.,61 (Helen (Nellie) Thompson Brown was born on 31 Mar 1875 in Edinburgh 54,58,63,64 and died on 19 Nov 1947 in Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh 65.) The cause of her death was Senile Myocardial Degeneration, Coronary Thrombosis.59
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