Maine Maritime Museum

Portage Bill

Date: Dec. 4, 1875
Voyage: Merom (d. San Francisco - a. New Orleans)
Citation: MS-90 b134f8

Notes

None

Financial records

Mariner Rank Entry Date Entry Port Discharge Date Discharge Port Served P WPM WPR A S CA AA H SF F&F BD Notes
Bixby, J. C. Mate March 13, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 21 (days) 435.00 50.00 150.51 163.48 3.60 154.57 Advance at Liverpool converted from English pounds @ $5 per pound Some figures given in "gold"
Byrne, F. Cook April 5, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 29 (days) 366.37 40.00 179.47 3.20 91.70
Johnson, William Carpenter April 16, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 18 (days) 349.00 40.00 92.00 105.12 3.20 148.58
Lowell, W. Boy March 16, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 18 (days) 103.20 12.00 27.60 65.65 3.60 6.35
Rotter, John Boy March 16, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 18 (days) 177.10 18.00 64.98 3.60 108.52
Sprague, J. B. Third Mate March 16, 1875 San Francisco, CA - USA Dec. 4, 1875 New Orleans, LA - USA 18 (days) 247.25 25.00 71.10 3.60 172.55

Abbreviations: P – Payment, the total amount due the mariner for the voyage; WPM – Wages per month, the usual way seamen were paid; WPR – Wages per run: occasionally, mariners took a set amount for a run between two places; A – Advance, the amount the mariner received in advance of the voyage, for signing on; S – Slops, amount for goods purchased from the vessel’s store; CA – Creditor allotment, amount paid to creditors if so listed; AA – Advanced abroad, cash advances the mariner received while in foreign ports; H – Hospital money, a small monthly amount deducted to support the marine hospital service; SF – Shipping fees, paid to shipping agents for their services; F&F – Fines and forfeitures, if so listed, including prison fees; BD – Balance due, after all of the above

The information given in this database is entered here as it is on the document or documents in the Maine Maritime Museum collections. The spelling of the mariner’s name may be wrong, the arithmetic may be wrong, and some descriptions may be thoughtless or not politically correct, but they are shown as found. We have attempted to standardize the names and descriptions of vessels and the spelling of place names. We have tried to include in notes fields important information that does not fit in the standard fields.