See also
| Name: | James Attfield |
| Sex: | Male |
| Father: | James Attfield (1747-1825) |
| Mother: | Jane Boxall (1748-1785) |
| Birth | 1783 | Farnham, Surrey |
| Baptism | 26 Mar 1783 (age 0) | Farnham, Surrey |
| Occupation | 29 Dec 1800 (age 16-17) | Seaman, on his majesty's fire ship "Otter" (will, see notes) |
Seaman's will:
I, James Attfield, a seaman belonging to His Majesty's Fire Ship the Otter, No. on ship's books 288, do hereby make this my last Will and Testament ... I give and bequeath unto my Brother Richard Attfield of Farnham in the County of Surrey, saddler, all such wages etc due to me for my service on board the said ship or any other ship or vessel, and I hereby nominate the said Richard Attfield sole executor, and bequeath to him the rest and residue of my estate.
29 Dec 1800, witnessed by George McKinley, Captain & Peter Hasty, Lieut
Note: Seamen's wills were written as a matter of course and kept on file. They are no evidence that the testator actually died on or near the date mentioned.
The HMS Otter was a brig-rigged Fire ship at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Otter
The Otter was based in Portsmouth in 1800, see:
Naval Courts Martial, Portsmouth, October 13, 1800
Another Court-Martial was held on board the same ship, for the trial of Joseph WRIGHT, alias Marr, a Seaman belonging to his Majesty's fire-ship Otter, tor desertion, and on suspicion of running away with one of the ship's boats The prisoner was in part found guilty, and sentenced to receive 200 lashes, and to forfeit all his pay.
The Naval chronicle : containing a general and biographical history of the royal navy of the United Kingdom with a variety of original papers on nautical subjects", Vol IV, July to January 1801