GLMS 116 - U.S. Customs Service (Cleveland, Ohio)

Title	GLMS 116 - U.S. Customs Service (Cleveland, Ohio)
Introduction	The original volumes from which the ten rolls of microfilm in this collection were made were loaned to Bowling Green State University in 1982 by the US Coast Guard 9th District Commander, Rear Admiral James S. Gracey. The original volumes are housed in the Chicago branch of the National Archives. Copyright has been dedicated to the public and duplication from the microfilm is permitted for research purposes.
Agency History	The United States Customs Service, created by an act of July 31, 1789, became part of the Department of the Treasury when that Department was established in September of 1789. The service has been responsible for the enforcement of numerous laws and regulations pertaining to the import and export of merchandise, collection of tonnage taxes, control of the entrance and clearance of coastwise and fishing trades, and the protection of passengers. A Bureau of Customs was established March 3, 1927, to supervise these activities and in 1942 it assumed the responsibilities of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation relating to the registering, enrolling, licensing, and admeasurement of merchant vessels. This responsibility was assigned to the Coast Guard in 1967. The act that established the Customs Service in 1789 also provided for the creation of collection districts in various coastal, river, Great Lakes, and inland ports. A Collector of Customs in each district was responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations including the protection of American seamen and passengers and the forwarding of basic data on immigration, imports, and exports. A Naval officer in each district, coordinate in rank with the Collector, was required to keep separate accounts and copies of all manifests and entries and to countersign certain of the daily record of all vessel arrivals and clearances, and was assisted by inspectors, weighers, and gaugers in the collection and payment of bounty allowances and fees and the admeasurement of foreign vessels for tonnage duties.
Scope and Content	This collection of ten microfilm rolls documents the issuance of certificates and sale of vessels recorded at the Cleveland, Ohio office of the US Customs Service for the years 1871-1939. Certificate and License documentation can be found on rolls 1 and 2. Mortgage Information, Bills of Sale, and other sales documentation can be found on rolls 2 through 10. The financial and legal files in this collection document a portion of the regulatory work of the US Customs Service in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Order of Microfilming	Roll 1 1. Master Carpenter Certificates, 1 Vol., 1874-1907 Contains district, place and date of issuance, name of master carpenter, place and year of build, vessel name and rig, owner, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, and building material. 2. Index of Enrollments, 4 Vols., 1878-1921 Contains vessel rig, name, tonnage, type of enrollment, number and date of issuance, date of margin received, and where, when, and why surrendered. The overlapping volumes cover the following years: 1879-1901, 1889-1906, 1889-1912, 1902-1921. 3. Index of Registers, 1 Vol., 1918-1931 Contains vessel rig, name, tonnage, type of register, date of document issuance and number, date of margin received, and where, when, and why surrendered. 4. Certificates of Registry, 3 Vols., 1871-1918 Contains registry number, date and district of issuance, owners, master, when and where vessel was built, most recent prior registry/enrollment data and reason of surrender, vessel name, rig, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, and type of head and stern. The document was issued to vessels engaged in foreign trade. The unnumbered volumes cover the following years: 1871-1875, 1875-1878, 1908-1918. 5. Index of Licenses to Vessels Above 20 Tons, 1 Vol., 1893-1901 Contains vessel rig, name, document number and date of issuance, and where, when, and why surrendered. 6. Yacht Licenses, 2 Vols., 1989-1915 Contains License number and date of issuance, vessel rig, name, official number, place and year of build, dimensions, tonnage, owner, master, and data for last prior document. The volumes are included in reverse chronological order, covering the following years: 1906-1915 and 1898-1902. 7. Consolidated Certificate of Enrollment and Yacht Licenses, 1 Vol., 1913-1923 This record was created for regulation of yachts as per Circular No. 8 (August 29, 1912) of the Bureau of Navigation, Treasury Department Decision No. 32869 (October 19, 1912), and Amendments to Sections 4214 and 4218, Revised Statutes (Approved August 20, 1912). Under these regulations, yachts under sixteen gross tons were not required to report to the Customs House when returning from a foreign port unless having dutiable goods aboard. Yachts of sixteen gross tons or over were required to be documented, but were exempted from clearing for foreign ports. However, they were required to report to the Customs House upon arriving from a foreign port. Contains the vessels’ official number, name, rig, number of dicks, number of masts, dimensions, tonnage, type of head and stern, home port, owners, and date of license issuance. Roll 2 1. Certificate of Tonnage Readmeasurement, 1 Vol., 1907 Contains vessel rig, name, dimensions, home port, district of certificate issuance and date, measurement and products in feet and tenths of a foot, enclosed spaces above tonnage deck and spaces to be deducted, summary, and tonnages. 2. Records of Mortgages, 3 Vols., 1889-1900 Contains vessel name, rig, tonnage, owners, place of residence, mortgage amount and conditions, relevant dates involved in completing transactions. The following overlapping years are covered: 1889-1891, 1891-1904, 1895-1900. Roll 3 Records of Mortgages, 4 Vols., 1898-1907 The following overlapping years are covered: 1898-1902, 1902-1911, 1902-1920, 1906-1907. Roll 4 Records of Mortgages, 4 Vols., 1907-1925 The following overlapping years are covered: 1907-1915, 1910-1921, 1892-1925, 1915-1923. Roll 5 Records of Mortgates, 3 Vols., 1924-1930 The following overlapping years are covered: 1924-1925, 1925-1926, 1926-1930. Roll 6 1. Records of Mortgages, 3 Vols., 1928-1939 The following overlapping years are covered: 1928-1931, 1930-1936, 1935-1939. 2. Index to Conveyances of Vessels, 1 Vol., 1870-1894 Contains vessel rig, name, grantor/mortgager, grantee/mortgagee, type of conveyance, part conveyed, date received for record, book of record. 3. Miscellaneous Conveyances of Vessels, 1 Vol., 1898-1899 Contain full description of transactions, vessel rig and name, date and copies of miscellaneous instruments (discharge of mortgages, liens, lists of conveyances, etc.). Roll 7 Miscellaneous Conveyances of Vessels, 4 Vols., 1898-1910 The overlapping volumes cover the following years: 1898-1909, 1900-1922, 1902-1912, 1907-1910. Roll 8 Miscellaneous Conveyances of Vessels, 4 Vols., 1908-1924 The overlapping volumes cover the following years: 1908-1912, 1917-1925, 1916-1927, 1923-1924. Roll 9 1. Miscellaneous Conveyances of Vessels, 2 Vols., 1924-1938 The volumes cover the following years: 1937-1938, 1924. 2. Mortgages of Enrolled or Licensed Yachts, 1 Vol., 1932-1939 The record series was created as per Article 61, Customs Regulations of 1923. It contains vessel name, rig, tonnage, building material, year and place of build, official number, dimensions, number of decks, number of masts, last prior document data, current Consolidated Certificate of Enrollment and Yacht License (Under 20 Tons), mortgager, mortgagee, places of residences, sum of consideration, and date and conditions of mortgage/lien. 3. Bills of Sale, 3 Vols., 1882-1885 Contains participants, sum of consideration, date of transaction, last prior enrollment data, vessel official number, rig, name, year and place of build, tonnage, dimensions, number of decks, number of masts, and type of head and stern. Volumes cover the following years: 1882-1883, 1883-1885, 1885. Roll 10 1. Bills of Sale, 2 Vols., 1885-1939 Volumes cover the following years: 1885, 1938-1939 2. Index of Enrollments and Licenses for Enrolled Vessels, 1925-1939