A Norwegian Manuscript Mystery

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Essential Information

Location	National Maritime Museum

27 Jul 2011

Colleagues in Norway have issued a request for help to solve a mystery dating back to 1816.

The Regional State Archives in Trondheim have in their collection a number of letters that were found, washed ashore in a box, at Orlandet. The box, which also contained clothes and books, had at one time been on board the British ship Mercator and belonged to John Lambeth and his son.

Aside from what little information can be gleaned from the manuscripts themselves, archivists in Norway know nothing further about the Lambeth family or the Mercator. It is now hoped that some genealogical sleuths will be able to shed fresh light on this intriguing collection of letters.

Readers of the blog can find further information, as well as some images of the documents, on the National Archives of Norway website.

Richard (Assistant Archivist)