Down to the Sea in Ships

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• Down to the Sea in Ships
• How did They Get Here?
• by Bev Ken Rees

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Agenda

• Some definitions
• Arrival Records
• Departure Records
• Ships Logs and Company Records
• Printed and Secondary Sources
• Research tips and Strategies

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What is a Ship's Passenger List?

• A ships passenger list is a list of passengers
  and crew on a particular ship.
• A ships passenger list substitute is a list of
  passengers and crew on a particular ship
  reconstructed from other sources.

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The Migration Process

• Obtain permission to leave
• Travel to the port of departure
• Obtain passage
• Travel to the destination port (may have been
  several stops)
• Obtain permission to enter

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Travel Document
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Types of Ship's Passenger Lists

• Records kept at the port of departure
• Records kept at the port of arrival
• Records kept at ports of call along the route
• Records kept by shipping companies

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Arrival Records

• Canada
• United States

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Some Statistics
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Canada

• Halifax, Nova Scotia (18811935)
• Saint John, New Brunswick (19001935)
• Sydney, Nova Scotia (19061935)
• Quebec and Montreal, Quebec (18651935)
• Vancouver, British Columbia (19051935)
• Victoria, British Columbia (19051935)
• via New York (19061931)
• via Eastern US Ports (19051928)

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Canadian Immigration History

• Prior to 1865, there was no requirement to retain
  ships passenger lists.
• Passenger lists were generated but in general
  were not retained.
• Therefore, no organized collection of lists exist
  in Canada prior to 1865.
• There are scattered and limited lists for
  individual ports and individual ships.

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Library and Archives Canada

• Library and Archives Canada is responsible for
  preserving all records of national importance.
• http//www.collectionscanada.ca/

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Provincial Sources (all periods)

• Some provincial archives hold material that
  relate to ships lists.
• Usually, these will be a type of ships list
  substitute.
• Some of this material may be useful in
  determining date and port of arrival.
• http//www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/022-802-
  e.html

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Canada Prior to 1865

• French Regime
• British Regime

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French Regime

• French Colonial Records Passenger Lists
• 17171760
• 1786
• Colonial Archives
• At Library and Archives Canada

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British Regime

• Miscellaneous Immigration Index
• From British Isles
• To Quebec and Ontario
• 18011849
• Irish Assisted Immigration to Peterborough early
  1820s

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Canada 1865-1919, 1925-1935

• Large sheet ships manifests
• Fairly complete
• Arranged by port and date of arrival
• Library and Archives Canada (microfilm)
• Filmed in 1949, but not up to todays standards

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Canada 1919 to 1924

• Individual Form 30a
• Various ports changed to/from Form 30a at various
  times
• Microfilmed
• Arranged in quasi-alphabetical order

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Early Canadian Ships List Contents

• Name
• Age
• Sex
• Country of origin
• Occupation
• Place of destination

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Large Sheet and Form 30A Contents

• Name of ship
• Date of sailing
• Port and date of arrival
• Name
• Age
• Occupation

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Large Sheet and Form 30A Contents continued.
. . . . .

• Birthplace
• Race
• Citizenship
• Religion
• Destination
• Name of the nearest relative in the country from
  which the immigrant came.

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Canada Form 30A
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Canada RG 76
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Finding Aids - Canada

• French Regime - http//www.collectionscanada.ca/ge
  nealogy/022-908.002.01-e.html
• Colonial Records -http//www.collectionscanada.ca/
  archivianet/020112_e.html
• RG 76 - http//www.collectionscanada.ca/genealogy/
  022-908.003.02-e.html

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Library and Archives Canada
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Specific Search
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Results
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Armenia arriving in Halifax 1903
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Indices - Canada

• British Regime - http//www.ingeneas.com/
• Quebec City (18651869) - http//www.collectionsca
  nada.ca/genealogy/022-908.003.01-e.html
• Halifax (18811882) - http//www.collectionscanada
  .ca/genealogy/022-908.003-e.html
• On-line database - RG76 -(1925-1935) -
  http//www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/020118
  _e.html

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But There are So Few Canadian Indexes!

• Pressure our government for more funding ltsmilegt
• Volunteer to transcribe, index, abstract, or
  extract some of the many ships lists available
  from LAC or other sources
• Visit http//www.immigrantships.net/ (The
  Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild)

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But There are So Few Canadian Indexes!
continued. . . . . .

• Many, many ships have been partially or fully
  transcribed. Start to gather links to those you
  find while searching the web.
• Start a new project (see http//www.afhs.ab.ca/reg
  istry/index.html)
• Cooperate with others in indexing the existing
  transcriptions.

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US Immigration History

• Prior to 1820, there was no requirement to
  document immigrants into the United States.
• Between 1820 and 1891, the Bureau of Customs was
  tasked with keeping such records the Customs
  Passenger Lists.
• After 1891, the Immigration and Naturalization
  Service kept Immigrant Passenger Lists.

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National Archives and Records Administration

• The US National Archives and Records
  Administration (similar to Library and Archives
  Canada) is charged with the custody and
  preservation of records of national import.
• http//www.archives.gov/

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Customs Passenger Lists

• Prepared in duplicate on board.
• One copy was filed by the master with collector
  of customs.
• Other copy was kept with the ships papers.
• Copies and abstracts sent to the Secretary of
  State
• Transcriptions of the copies were also made.

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Customs Passenger List Contents

• Name
• Age
• Sex
• Occupation
• Nationality
• Destination country

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Immigrant Passenger Lists

• Immigrant passenger lists were kept by the
  Immigration and Naturalization authorities (and
  their predecessor organizations).
• They contained basically the same information as
  the old Customs passenger lists.
• The amount of information was increased as time
  went on.

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Immigrant Passenger Lists Contents

• Name
• Age
• Sex
• Occupation
• Nationality
• Destination country

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Immigrant Passenger Lists Contents continued.
. . . . .

• (after 1882) native country, local destination,
• (after 1891) last residence,
• (after 1893) marital status, if joining a
  relative and if so name, address, and
  relationship, amount of money, health and social
  conditions,
• (after 1903) race,
• (after 1907) physical description.

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Titanic Survivors

• Filed by mistake with
• June 12, 1912 arrivals.
• (The Carpathia
• rescued these survivors)

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Records Before 1820

• Are not filed nationally
• May be filed at the Port of Entry
• May be called ships cargo manifests
• Consult the state archive for additional
  information -http//www.archives.gov/research/alic
  /reference/state-archives.html
• Except.

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Records Before 1820 continued. . . . . .

• Arrivals at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1813-1819
• Arrivals at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1800-1819

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United States Major Ports

• Galveston, Texas (18461948)
• New Orleans, Louisiana (18201900)
• Baltimore, Maryland (18201948)
• New York, New York (18201938)
• Boston, Massachusetts (18201943)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (18001945)
• Others (many others).

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Finding Aids

• By port - http//www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigr
  ation/passenger-arrival.htmlfilm

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Galveston Indexes

• 1844 1848 - http//www.tsm-elissa.org/immigratio
  n-login.htm
• 1846 1871 Ancestry.com
• 1896 1952 NARA microfilm

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New Orleans Indexes

• 1853 1899 - NARA microfilm
• 1900 1952 NARA microfilm
• 1820 1850 Ancestry.com

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Baltimore Indexes

• 1820 1897 NARA microfilm
• 1833 1866 NARA microfilm city lists
• 1897 1952 NARA microfilm

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New York Indexes

• 1820 1846 - NARA microfilm
• 1846 1851 - NARA - http//aad.archives.gov/aad/s
  eries-list.jsp?catSB301bcsb
• 1851 1891 - Ancestry.com - http//www.ancestry.c
  om/
• 1892 1924 - Ellis Island - http//www.ellisislan
  d.org/

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Additional New York Indexes (Online)

• Castle Garden (1820 1892) - http//www.castlegar
  den.org/

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Boston Indexes

• 1848 1891 NARA microfilm
• 1902 1920 NARA microfilm
• 1899 1940 NARA microfilm
• 1820 1943 Ancestry.com
• For missing periods, see the Massachusetts state
  lists (http//www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcidx.htm)

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Klingenberg Family
62
Therese G. Klingenberg
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Philadelphia Indexes

• 1800 1906 NARA microfilm
• 1883 1948 NARA microfilm

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Departure Records

• British Isles
• Scandinavia
• Netherlands/Belgium/France
• Germany/Central Europe

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British Isles Ports

• Hull, England
• Liverpool, England
• Southampton, England
• Glasgow, Scotland
• http//www.findmypast.com/ - indexes to those
  leaving the United Kingdom from 1890 to 1919.
  (1920 to 1960 coming soon)

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Search screen
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Index to departing passengers
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Scandinavia Ports

• Gothenburg, Sweden
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Oslo, Norway
• Trondheim, Norway
• Copenhagen, Denmark

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Netherlands/Belgium/France

• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Antwerp, Belgium
• Cherbourg, France
• Le Havre, France
• Rotterdam, Netherlands
• La Rochelle

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Germany/Central Europe Ports

• Hamburg
• Bremen

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Hamburg

• Up to 30 of immigrants passed through Hamburg
• Indexes and ships lists are available for the
  great majority of the period from 1850 1934
  (the Great War interrupted emigration)
• Partial indexes are available on line at
  http//www.linktoyourroots.hamburg.de/
• Ancestry.com also has indexes.
• The ships lists are divided into direct and
  indirect lists.

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Index to Hamburg Passenger Lists
74
Georg Ukrainetz
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Therese Klingenberg
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Bremen

• Passenger lists were kept from about 1832
• The early lists were destroyed between 1875 and
  1909 because of lack of space.
• Lists kept between 1910 and 1920 were destroyed
  by Allied bombing in the Second World War
• Lists from 1921 to 1939 are available.
• Substitutes are available.

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Departure Records

• For records relating to these ports, see
  http//www.familysearch.org/
• Or http//www.cyndislist.com/portsdepart.htm
• Or http//www.google.ca/

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Ships Logs/Company Records

• Ships Logs may be found via maritime museums,
  such as
• Mariners Museum Newport News, VA
• Mystic Seaport Mystic, CT
• National Maritime Museum San Francisco, CA
• A list of shipping lines may be found at
  http//www.theshipslist.com/index.html
• In general, the company must be contacted for
  access to their archives.

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Printed and Secondary Sources

• In the next few slides, a brief sampling is given
  of some of the printed and secondary sources that
  might be consulted. There are many, many more.
• Note that almost every index is a secondary
  source.
• Hence the imperative need to always consult the
  original record.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . .
. .

• Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration
  Lists Index A Guide to Published Arrival Records
  of ... Passengers who Came to the United States
  and Canada in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and
  Nineteenth Centuries. 3 volumes plus annual
  supplements. Detroit Gale Research Co., 1981-__.
  This series is a finding aid to published
  passenger lists. Be sure to read the "front
  material" to understand how to use the
  information you find.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . .
.

• Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration
  Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900. 2d ed. Detroit,
  MI Gale Research Co., 1988.
• Lancour, Harold, comp. A Bibliography of Ship
  Passenger Lists, 1538-1825 Being a Guide to
  Published Lists of Early Immigrants to North
  America. 3d ed. New York New York Public
  Library, 1978.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . .
.

• Wood, Virginia Steele, comp. Immigrant Arrivals
  A Guide To Published Sources -
  http//www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/immigrant
  /

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . .
.

• Boyer, Carl. Ship Passenger Lists, National and
  New England (1600-1825). Newhall, CA C. Boyer,
  1977. Covers Lancour entries 1-71.
• Boyer, Carl. Ship Passenger Lists, New York and
  New Jersey (1600-1825). Newhall, CA C. Boyer,
  1978. Covers Lancour entries 72-115.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• Boyer, Carl. Ship Passenger Lists, Pennsylvania
  and Delaware (1641-1825). Newhall, CA C. Boyer,
  1980. Covers Lancour entries 116-197.
• Boyer, Carl. Ship Passenger Lists, the South
  (1538-1825). Newhall, CA C. Boyer, 1979. Covers
  Lancour entries 198E-243.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . .
.

• Tepper, Michael. New World Immigrants a
  Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and
  Associated Data from Periodical Literature.
  Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979.
• Tepper, Michael. Passengers to America A
  Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists From the
  New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
  Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . .
.

• Tepper, Michael. Emigrants to Pennsylvania,
  1641-1819 a Consolidation of Ship Passenger
  Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History
  and Biography. Baltimore Genealogical Publishing
  Co., 1978
• Tepper, Michael. Immigrants to the Middle
  Colonies a Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists
  and Associated Data from The New York
  Genealogical and Biographical Record. Baltimore
  Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• A dictionary of immigrants to Nova Scotia, by
  Leonard H. Smith, Jr, Owl Books, ca. 1985.
• A dictionary of Scottish emigrants to Canada
  before Confederation, by Donald Whyte, Ontario
  Genealogical Society, 3 volumes.
• Canadian passengers inward bound, 1856 1858 by
  Mary Kearns Trace, Calgary, Traces, ca.1997.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• Index of some passengers who emigrated to Canada
  between 1817 1849, compiled and edited by John
  A. Acton, Ontario Genealogical Society, ca. 2003.
  (Index to the lists found in the British Colonial
  Office 384 records.)
• The Lanark Society settlers ships' lists of the
  Glasgow Emigration Society, 1821, by Gerald J.
  Neville, British Isles Family History Society of
  Greater Ottawa, 1995.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• Names of emigrants from the 1845 1847 records
  of James Allison, emigrant agent at Montreal,
  prepared by the Irish Research Group, Ottawa
  Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1994.
• Passengers to New Brunswick The Custom House
  Records 1833, 34, 37 1838, by Daniel F.
  Johnson, Saint John Branch, New Brunswick
  Genealogical Society, ca. 1987.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• The McCabe list early Irish in the Ottawa
  Valley, by Bruce S. Elliott, Ontario Genealogical
  Society, 2002 (revised edition).
• The people's Clearance Highland emigration to
  British North America, 1770 1815, by J. M.
  Bumsted, University of Manitoba Press, 1982.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• The Silver Chief Lord Selkirk and the Scottish
  Pioneers of Belfast, Baldoon and Red River, by
  Lucille H. Campey.

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• "La Rochelle et le Canada au XVIIe siècle" by
  Marcel Delafosse in Revue d'histoire de
  l'Amérique Française, volume 4 (1951), pages 469
  511, 1632 to 1693.
• Les passagers du Saint André La recrue de 1659,
  by Archange Godbout, Montréal, Société
  généalogique canadienne Française, 1964, 166
  pages..

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Printed and Secondary Sources continued. . . . . .

• "Liste des navires venus en Nouvelle France de
  1657 à 1665", by Michel Langlois in l'Ancêtre
  (Québec), Volume 3 (1976), pages 3 15.

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Common Research Strategies

• Search the passenger lists directly
• Use an arrival index
• Use a departure index
• Narrow the search
• Search for birds of a feather
• Go line by line

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Search the passenger lists directly

• Use this strategy when you know the exact date
  and port of arrival. In this case, there is no
  need for an index as you have the information to
  go directly to the appropriate ships list.

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Use an arrival index

• A great many of the US ports have a name index
  for arriving passengers. Where possible, use the
  index to locate the arrival record for your
  ancestor.
• We discussed arrival indexes when we talked about
  arrival records.

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Use a departure index

• A few of the European and British ports have
  published indexes for departing passengers. Use
  these indexes to find the departure date, the
  port of arrival, and the arrival date. Then go
  to the arrival ships lists and locate the name of
  your ancestor.
• We talked about departure indexes when we talked
  about departure records.

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Narrow the search

• Narrow the search by weeding out impossible
  ships, impossible ports of entry (or departure),
  and impossible dates.
• First search the most probable, then search the
  increasingly improbable.
• The Canadian immigration records from 1865 to
  1922 have a very good search tool that can help
  us narrow the search.

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Search for birds of a feather

• Since most of our ancestors traveled and arrived
  in groups, use the techniques of cluster
  genealogy to pin-point the arrival port and date.
• In every record in which your ancestor appears,
  note the people mentioned.
• Those mentioned most often form a core group. It
  may be that these immigrated at the same time and
  from the same place.

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Go line by line

• This is the strategy of last resort!
• Even here, dont start in January and wade
  through to December.
• Search March, April, May, September, October,
  November, June, July, August, December, January,
  and finally February.

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Can You Find a Substitute for a Missing Passenger
List?

• Look at the following
• Newspaper records at the port of departure
• Newspaper records at the port of arrival
• Pest hospital records
• Indenture records
• Oaths of allegiance
• Health certificates
• Entry Permits

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How Should an Index Be Used?

• Know the difference between an index, an
  abstract, and an extract.
• Search all possible spellings
• Search for related individuals
• Search for known immigrants who resided in the
  same area as your ancestor
• When an entry is found, consult the original
  record. (Always!)
• When an entry is not found, search the original
  records. (Always!)

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Finding Aids

• Finding aids give access to one portion of a
  group of records.
• Finding aids are similar to indexes, but they
  usually identify a larger area to search.

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Finding Aid Use

• Know what information is absolutely required in
  order to use the finding aid.
• Know what information might help in using the
  finding aid. (More is not always better!)
• Identify a strategy to get the required
  information.

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Strategies for Finding the Port and Date of
Arrival

• Use home sources (letters, journals, diaries,
  histories, interviews)
• Use printed or secondary sources, such as indexes
• Look for naturalization records
• Consult the census
• Review immigrant aid society and religious
  records
• Track family, neighbours and friends

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Strategies for Finding the Port and Date of
Arrival continued. . . . . .

• Land records
• Death registrations
• Directories
• National registrations (Canada, 1940)
• Consider settlement patterns and available
  transportation
• Look at nationality, ethnicity, culture, and
  religion
• What ports were active at the time?

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Using the Record

• When you find an individual, look to see who the
  traveling companions are.
• Be aware of the provenance of the record or index
  you are using.
• Immediately create a source citation.
• If you can, make an exact copy of what you find
  (photocopy, digital image, scanned image)

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Questions?
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Beverley A. Kenneth W. Rees 15 Heritage Point
West Lethbridge, AB T1K 7B7 Phone
403.328-9366 Email ancestor-find_at_familyhistree.c
om