U.S. Customs Service (Port Huron, Mich.) records

This collection documents the issuance of certificates and sale of vessels and other documents recorded at the Port Huron, Michigan, office of the US Customs Service for the years 1866-1960. The financial and legal files in this collection document a portion of the regulatory work of the U.S. Customs Service over nearly a century.

Document types:

Master carpenter's certificates: Contains district place, and date of issuance, name of master carpenter, place and year of build, vessel name and rig, owner, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, and building material.

Enrollments: Contains enrollment number, date, and district of issuance, owners, master, when and where built, most recent prior enrollment data and reason for surrender, vessel name, rig, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, and type of head and stern.

Certificates of Registry: Contains registry number, date, and district of issuance, owners, master, when and where vessel was built, most recent prior registry/enrollment data and reason for surrender, vessel name, rig, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, and type of head and stern. The document was issued to vessels engaged in foreign trade.

Licenses: Contains vessel rig, name, tonnage, license number and date of issuance, and where, when, and why surrendered.

Certificate of Record: Contains document number and issuance date, vessel builder, place and year of build, master, owner, number of decks, number of masts, type of head and stern dimensions, rig, and tonnage. Record was designed for ships built for foreign-flag interests.

Certificate of Ownership of Vessel: Contains date of document issuance, vessel rig, name, tonnage, type of documents issued and document numbers, owner, and mortgage/lien data.

Bills of Sale: Contains participants, amount of consideration, date, latest enrollment data, and the following vessel data: official number, rig, name, year and place of build, tonnage, dimensions, number of decks, number of masts, and type of head and stern.

Mortgages: Volumes contain name, rig, and tonnage of vessel, name of owners, place of residence, mortgage amount and conditions, relevant dates involved in completing transactions.

58 volumes, Reels 1-14

Series contains Bills of Sale, 37 volumes, 1866-1956; Bills of Sale, 8 volumes, 1878-1885; Enrollments, 9 volumes, 1866-1888; Consolidated Certificates, 2 volumes, 1912-1921;Index of Enrollments and Licenses, 2 volumes, 1903-1940.

31 volumes, Reels 14-22

Series contains Licenses, 17 volumes, 1868-1909; Index and Licenses for Vessels above 20 Tons, 10 volumes, 1866-1916; Licenses and Bills of Sale for Vessels under 20 Tons, 3 volumes, 1870-1882; Copies of Yacht Licenses, 1 volume, 1903-1910.

24 volumes, Reels 22-29

Conveyances and Indexes, 8 volumes, 1866-1942; Mortgages, 14 volumes, 1866-1941; Record of Endorsements, 2 volumes, 1869-1884, 1927-1941.

15 volumes, Reels 29-31

15 volumes, Reels 31-35

5 volumes, Reel 35

6 volumes, Reels 35-36

Annual Material for Merchant Vessels of US, 1917-1937; Record of Marine Documents Deposited, 1918-1958; Abstracts of Tonnage from Enrollment Records, 1919-1937; Documented Vessels, 1920-1926, 1928-1938; Wreck Reports, 1918-1942; Steamboat Inspector's Journal,Detroit, Michigan, 1867-1889