Gloucester Lost at Sea register, full index

Every entry in the City of Gloucester's Lost at Sea register, 6,626 in all, with the name, date, vessel, category and memorial flag exactly as the city recorded them, each linked to its page in the city's PDF. Also the 185 Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea connections the register's wording suggests, marked as candidates to verify.

Type: Dataset (downloadable files)
Towns: Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea
Topics: History, Maritime, Remembrance, Fishing
Geographic coverage: People in the City of Gloucester's Lost at Sea register
Time coverage: 1633 to 2009, as recorded (register PDF dated July 29, 2010)
Version: Data release 1.0.0
Last released: 2026-10-05
Expected updates: When the city publishes a new edition of its register
Rights: A public City of Gloucester record. Its factual index is published in full at the editor's direction, with every row linked to the city's own page. Our transcription and added fields are offered under our Free Access and Attribution Policy.
Policy: Cape Ann Current Free Access and Attribution Policy, version 1.0

Preview of the data

First 8 rows of the entries table (6626 rows in all), first 6 columns.

Sample rows
record_id	year	date_as_recorded	date_parsed	date_precision	vessel_as_recorded
CITY-06096	1633	1633	1633	year	passenger ship
CITY-00200	1635	1635 Aug 12	1635-08-12	exact	pinnace
CITY-05943	1635	1635 Aug 12	1635-08-12	exact	pinnace
CITY-06151	1635	1635 Aug 12	1635-08-12	exact	pinnace
CITY-06154	1635	1635 Aug 12	1635-08-12	exact	pinnace
CITY-04156	1662	1662-pre	1662	year	--
CITY-04908	1662	1662-pre	1662	year	--
CITY-06240	1662	1662-pre	1662	year	--

Download

Before you download: This resource includes data from external sources. Reusers must comply with all applicable source licenses, terms of use, policies, attribution requirements, and redistribution restrictions. Cape Ann Current's reuse policy does not override those requirements or grant rights held by others. Credit Cape Ann Current as shown below. The README and NOTICE files travel with every format.

JSON (everything)CSV files (ZIP with notes)Excel workbook README (methods and fields)NOTICE (credit and source rules)Schema Changelog

Single CSV tables

entries.csv (6626 rows)
town_connection_candidates.csv (185 rows)
sources.csv (1 rows)

Each CSV is plain UTF-8 with one header row. Missing values are empty cells. Read README.txt for the fields and NOTICE.txt for credit and source rules; both are in the ZIP.

Stable addresses

Always the newest release: https://capeanncurrent.com/datasets/gloucester-register-index/latest/gloucester-register-index.json
Fixed version 1.0.0: https://capeanncurrent.com/datasets/gloucester-register-index/1.0.0/gloucester-register-index.json

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How to credit

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Source: Cape Ann Current. Link: https://capeanncurrent.com/data-tools/gloucester-register-index/

If you change it: Adapted from Cape Ann Current. Changes made by [organization name].

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<p>Source: <a href="https://capeanncurrent.com/data-tools/gloucester-register-index/">Cape Ann Current</a>.</p>

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Methodology

Transcribed from the city's 829-page PDF register. Each entry keeps the name, date, vessel, category, F (fishing), T (trading) or U (unknown) code, memorial flag and archival reference exactly as printed, with the PDF page and a direct link. We add a parsed date and its precision but never change the original. Entries the city marks with # are kept and flagged, because the city lists them; the city uses # for deaths not connected with fishing or the sea. Town connection candidates come from the register's own wording (for example b.&res.Rockport) and are not verified.

Definitions

date precision: exact, month, year or decade, from the date as recorded. A register date may be a sailing, last-seen or loss date.
not maritime marker: true when the city marks the entry with #: not connected with fishing or sea drowning.
fishing trading code: The register's code: F fishing, T trading, U unknown, with the city's question marks kept.
on memorial: The register's Y or N for whether the name is on the memorial cenotaph.
relationship candidate: Possible residence, birthplace or building place suggested by the register's wording. Verify before use; a wreck location never means residence.

Limitations

The city says its register is incomplete. It is a list of names, not a full crew list for each vessel.
Names, spellings and dates are as the city recorded them, including question marks, brackets and abbreviations.
The same person or vessel can appear more than once, and different people can share a name. Nothing is merged.
Town connection candidates are suggestions from the wording, not verified facts.
Our transcription may contain errors; please report them.

Sources and their rules

External sources. This resource includes data from external sources. Reusers must comply with all applicable source licenses, terms of use, policies, attribution requirements, and redistribution restrictions. Cape Ann Current's reuse policy does not override those requirements or grant rights held by others.

Our policy and each source's own conditions both apply. Where they differ, the source's conditions govern the source's material. Underlying facts are not owned by anyone; we never claim them.

Sources, rights and required credits
Source	Rights and terms	Required source credit	Not covered by our policy	Retrieved / rights reviewed
Lost at Sea register (PDF dated July 29, 2010) City of Gloucester, Mass. (compiled by the Gloucester Archives Committee)	public record Site footer: All content (c) 2006-2026 Gloucester, MA. All rights reserved. The PDF carries no separate license. The city says the register is incomplete. Source terms	City of Gloucester, Lost at Sea register	Copies of the city's PDF pages or images.	2026-10-05 2026-10-05

Not included: Down to Sea, downtosea.com (copyright R. Sheedy): research lead only, not cited as a source; Online Vessel List, Essex Shipbuilding Museum: permission required. These stay out of downloads, widgets, lessons and embeds until permission is documented.

Restricted components

Not included: names extracted from the private Down to Sea website and the Essex Shipbuilding Museum vessel list, which come from private sites with their own terms.

Rights and reuse

A public City of Gloucester record. Its factual index is published in full at the editor's direction, with every row linked to the city's own page. Our transcription and added fields are offered under our Free Access and Attribution Policy.

Free under our Free Access and Attribution Policy for websites, businesses, news organizations, government agencies, schools, libraries and nonprofits whose website or publication does not run a paywall for news or informational content. School systems that require logins for student privacy qualify.

Report a correction

See an error or have a record that adds to this? Send a correction or email [email protected].