Ferry operators

[donna petrie]

HI; I have a strange question. Does anyone know if they kept records in the 1600s on the men who were ferry boat men in Covington? I'm thinking something like a list of men who held the job over the years. I know sometimes a guild would keep a list of members; it's just a shot in the dark. James Liverance was a ferry boat man in Covington around 1645 and I did find an article on ferries in the region but no specifics. thanks. Donna

[AndrewP]

Hi Donna,

Was this Covington, Lanarkshire? I am not sure that the River Clyde is likely to be deep enough there to have merited a ferry crossing. A rural river crossing that far upstream, if not a bridge, was more likely to have been a ford.

--> Map showing Covington, Lanarkshire <--

A google search for Covington Ferry leads you to across the Atlantic to Butler County, Ohio.

Unless of course you know differently.

All the best,

AndrewP

[donna petrie]

Hi Andrew: I am just repeating what was written on a birth entry for his daughter Lilias. I did find some information when I googled ferry at Covington Thankerton- that mentioned "Around this sweep of the river, many ancient places of transit can be traced : a ford, ferry, and bridge(1778) at Thankerton ; a ford near Covington ; the Black Pot ford."....so I just thought that if it were a business or government thing a list might have been kept. As I say it was a shot in the dark but you never know til you try!!

[trotterbeck]

Hi
http://www.old-maps.co.uk/indexmappage2.aspx shows that the group of buildings on the west bank of the river was known as Thankerton Boat.
Unless there is another Scots meaning I would have thought that a good indication that there used to be a ferry there.

In England there were often skiff/punt ferries to keep foot travellers dry shod, if they could afford it, while wagons and animals could ford the river along with those who w/couldn't pay for the ferry.

Maybe these ferries were private enterprise rather than government/official.

[Archiver]

I'd try contacting the local archive office for the area, as they may be able to shed some light on the subject.