This is a little long, but I hope the information is of use.

About six years ago I was researching the Merchant Marine Hospital cemetery
in San Francisco Presidio, trying to find out who was buried in the cemetery
and when.  While going through U.S. Bureau of Customs records in the Pacific
Sierra Region branch of the National Archives I came across records completed
for all men whose death at sea was reported to the San Francisco B of
Customs, or who ended up in the hospital.  The Bureau of Customs (under the
Treasury Department) records cross referenced U.S. Circuit Court cases
(Record Group 21) that documented auctioning off the personal effects of the
dead seamen.  The court records occasionally mentioned burial place, attached
any family correspondence from relatives seeking to acquire money or personal
effects, and had exhumation records for those merchant marines shipped back
home for burial.  These merchant marines were from every corner of the globe
and the efforts made by the US to trace their families in Sweden, Wales,
England, Italy, etc. were pretty amazing.  I especially liked some of the
official stationary and envelopes from various countries.  And you should
read the detailed descriptions of the cause of death (but not before lunch).
The customs department saved everything!

The US Treasury Department records (Record Group 36) contained many listings
of unclaimed personal effects of deceased seaman.  If no family claimed the
effects they were eventually sold to pay for hospital and/or burial costs.
When I went through just a sample of these very dusty boxes (material from
1870-1947) I was amazed at the "personal effects" that were still filed with
the paperwork.  I found prayer books, poetry, hand written scraps of paper
with love notes, photos, drawings, locks of hair carefully wrapped in paper,
and anything precious to a sailor that could fit in a pocket.  Metals, rings,
pins, folded embroidered hankies, ribbons, hats were also in those boxes.
There were also lists of personal effects of the dead or discharged seamen,
including clothing, etc.

There were many Merchant Marine hospitals in the United States (the one I
worked on, at San Francisco Presidio, was #19).  The system operated until
1981, when the last eight hospitals closed.  San Francisco's hospital began
in 1850 and opened for service in 1853.

The Bureau of the Census, under the Treasury Department, operated the
hospitals until 1902.  In 1902 the Public Health Service (first under
Treasury Department and then under the Surgeon General's Office) was given
the responsibility of the facilities.  The public health service records,
dealing mainly with the 20th century, are found in Record Group 90 at the
National Archives in Washington D.C.  Given what I found in SF national
archives, I bet similar lists of effects exist in other national archives
regional offices.

Mary Maniery