I am looking for info on my grandfather Charles Hamby. He served on the SS John W Griffiths and the SS William Grayson. I am looking for pictures or stories. He passed away in 86 and I haven't been able to find anything. Please help.
Re: SS John W Griffiths
Posted by Ron Carlson on April 6, 2010, 12:23 pm, in reply to "SS John W Griffiths"
Braden,
A search of the subscription website Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com), which is more commonly used for genealogical research, finds two records, either or both of which may be that of your grandfather. The second in particular seems to be a good match.
A Charles C. Hamby arrived in New York on 1 May 1944, aboard SS SEA PORPOISE, which had sailed from New Orleans. Charles C. Hamby was part of the Armed Guard crew aboard the ship, was a seaman first class (S1/c) and had the serial number 846-11-76.
There is another record, for a Charles Hamby, arriving in San Francisco on 25 September 1945, aboard SS JOHN W GRIFFITHS, which had sailed from Guam. Charles Hamby was a member of the Armed Guard crew and was listed as a gunners mate third class (GM/3c). There are no other identifying details in this record, but the name of the ship and the man's name match your information.
Was your grandfather named Charles C. Hamby and do you know whether he was in the U.S. Navy Armed Guard? If so, would you know his military serial number?
I cannot find a record for a Charles Hamby serving aboard SS WILLIAM GRAYSON nor, per your earlier message, SS CAPETOWN. (In fact I cannot find any vessel with the latter name. I can find STANVAC CAPETOWN, CITY OF CAPETOWN and CAPETOWN CASTLE, none of which list your grandfather as a crew member.) However, this is not to say your information is incorrect but may only suggest that information available to me is not comprehensive.
If your grandfather was in the military, you may be able to obtain his service record, which might give useful details about his service. See this page in the Armed Guard website: http://www.armed-guard.com/searchmil.html, in particular see section A.1. Records of Individuals - U.S. Military. This provides details about requesting a copy of your grandfather's service record. Since you are not next of kin to your grandfather, you may not be able to obtain his complete record. If a person who is next of kin (spouse, sibling, child) to your grandfather is available, you should make the request in that person's name so as to obtain the full military record. You can do the legwork, of course, but the request should be in the name of the next of kin.
I was able to get a lot of navy records of my mother's brother. His name was Glen Dale Norris, an Armed Guard that is MIA from March 10, 1943. He went down aboard the SS James Spront. To the knowledge of all his living relatives, he never married or has any children. Both of his parents and all of his siblings have passed.