A widow's man was a fictitious seaman kept on the books of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

ships during the 18th and early 19th centuries so that their pay and rations could be redistributed to the families of dead crew members. This financial arrangement helped keep

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

s from being left destitute following the deaths of their seafaring husbands.

Practice

The number of widows' men on a ship was proportional to the ship's size. A

first-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

might have as many as eighteen, while a

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

might have only three. The ratio was reduced by

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

order on 25 October 1790. The existence of widows' men served as an incentive for men to join the

, rather than the Merchant Navy, as their families might be provided for if they died.

Historical research

This procedure can lead to some confusion to modern students of history. For example, the sloop carried 153 men on its voyage exploring

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, but the widow's man brings its official complement to 154. dead link Aug 2018 Reportedly, in 1738 the sloop, ''Wolf'' discharged its widow's man when the company was reduced; whether this was an accident or an attempt to maintain crew strength is difficult to determine. dead link Aug 2018

References

Accounting systems Legal fictions History of the Royal Navy Widowhood in the United Kingdom {{UK-navy-stub