GLMS 124 - U.S. Customs Service (Muskegon, Michigan)
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Title | GLMS 124 - U.S. Customs Service (Muskegon, Michigan) |
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Introduction | The original volumes were loaned to Bowling Green State University for microfilming 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 five microfilm rolls documents the issuance of certificates and sale of vessels recorded at the Muskegon, MI office of the US Customs Service for the years 1916-1956. Certificates of Enrollment and Registry are found on rolls one through four. Roll 4 also contains a record of marine documents deposited from the Muskegon Customs office from 1936-1956. Bills of Sale can be found on rolls four and five. The financial and legal files in this collection document a portion of the regulatory work of the US Customs Service in twentieth century. |
Order of Microfilming | Roll 1 Consolidated Certificates of Enrollment and License, 2 Vols., 1916-1939 Record series established by Section 4319 and 4321, Revised Statutes, and Act of April 24, 1906, as amended by Act of February 29, 1912, to conform to Title L, “Regulation of Vessels in Domestic Commerce of Revised Statutes of the United States.” Contains vessel rig, name, official number, home port, year and place built, building material, dimensions, tonnage, number of decks, number of masts, type of head and stern, rebuild and remeasure dates, number of crew, owner, most recent prior document data and reason for surrender, number and date of current document, when, where, and why surrendered. The volumes cover the following overlapping years: 1916-1923 and 1917-1939. The volumes cover the following years: 1923-1931 and 1931-1935. Roll 3Consolidated Certificates of Enrollment and License, 2 Vols., 1935-1947 The volumes cover the following years: 1935-1940 and 1940-1947. Roll 4 1. Consolidated Certificates of Enrollment and License, 1 Vol., 1947-1955 2. Certificates of Registry, 1 Vol., 1918-1920 Contains registry number, date and district of issuance, owners, master, when and where vessel was built, most recent prior registry/enrollment data and reason for 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. 3. Record of Marine Documents Deposited, 1 Vol., 1936-1956Contains vessel rig, name, type and number of document, port and date of issuance, latest renewal document number and date, department letter number and date, case number and date of fines imposed, district, from which document was received and date received, district to which document was transferred and transferal date, remarks. 4. Bills of Sale, 2 Vols., 1940-1946 Contains participants, places of residence, date and amount of consideration, date for record received, book of record, vessel rig, name, tonnage, and data of Consolidated Certificate of Enrollment and License (see above). Volumes cover the following years: 1940-1943 and 1943-1946. Roll 5Bills of Sale, 2 Vols., 1940-1946 |