Passenger lists - a genealogical voyage
If you are looking to trace your ancestors back to Scotland then ship's passenger lists can be a useful way of linking your family tree to your Scottish roots. The UK government kept no records of people emigrating from Scotland until 1803 and even then the law was not always followed. The shipping industry on the other hand has always kept good records and passenger lists can provide a lot of useful genealogical data on a family.
The documentation used on ships was needed to compare how much cargo and passengers were loaded on to the ship and how much was unloaded to check for any discrepancies. Unfortunately passenger listings were not held centrally and lists can be found in a number of different places including public archives, museums, shipping agents, governments, private collections or worse still they may have been destroyed.
If you are interested in obtaining a passenger list for a particular ship there are a number of different sources that you can use. It is helpful at this stage you gather as much information as you have about your ancestor as this can help you narrow down your James McDonald from the hundreds of other James McDonalds who may have emigrated from Scotland or immigrated to Scotland.
The very least information you should have is your ancestors name although the more data you have the better. Information on their age, the year they traveled and a rough idea of where they were traveling to and from can all be extremely helpful.
As usual there are a number of online sites that can help you locate your ancestor on a passenger list.
A good free source is the Scottish Emigration Database based at the University of Aberdeen. This database currently holds the details of over 20,000 passengers who left Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports in early 1923 as well as some other Scottish ports between 1890 and 1960. The results show all the details recorded and can include the address in Scotland, date of birth, occupation, marital status, destination port and the name of the ship they traveled. This data can be of great use for genealogical purposes allowing you to match the details to your own records to ensure you have a match.
Another free source of information is Immigrant Ships which allows you to search Scottish ports for ships setting sail to a variety of countries between 1749 and 1903. It is not possible to simply enter a name on like the Scottish Emigration Database above instead you need to search for a port and then select a ship from the years shown to view the passenger list to see if your ancestor was aboard or not.
FindmyPast have compiled a database of passenger lists in association with the National Archives that allow you to search online for passengers of ships leaving the UK for counties such as the USA, Canada, Australia and other places between 1890 and 1960. Searching FindmyPast is free but to view an entry or to download an image you will need to purchase credits from FindmyPast.
Ancestry have also compiled a database in association with the National Archives but their passenger lists are for people immigrating to the UK from countries outside of Europe between 1878 and 1960. Searching these records is free but you will need to pay to view the records.
If you cannot find the name of your ancestor you expected to see on the ships records it may be worth checking the next generation of your family tree in case the name of the person who emigrated from Scotland mentioned in family stories is incorrect.
Another tip if you cannot find your ancestor is to look for other members of your family who may have emigrated at the same time and it maybe your ancestor is traveling with them.
If you still cannot find your ancestor on a passenger list try and view the immigration and naturalization records held in the country they landed. The Ellis Island site is an extremely helpful database and worth a search if your family moved to the USA or even Canada as it may be your family arrived in America before continuing on to Canada by another form of transport.
If you are still struggling to trace your ancestor on a passenger list it may be worth posting a query on one of the online genealogy forums to see if anyone else can help you track down the emigration or immigration records of your family.
The documentation used on ships was needed to compare how much cargo and passengers were loaded on to the ship and how much was unloaded to check for any discrepancies. Unfortunately passenger listings were not held centrally and lists can be found in a number of different places including public archives, museums, shipping agents, governments, private collections or worse still they may have been destroyed.
If you are interested in obtaining a passenger list for a particular ship there are a number of different sources that you can use. It is helpful at this stage you gather as much information as you have about your ancestor as this can help you narrow down your James McDonald from the hundreds of other James McDonalds who may have emigrated from Scotland or immigrated to Scotland.
The very least information you should have is your ancestors name although the more data you have the better. Information on their age, the year they traveled and a rough idea of where they were traveling to and from can all be extremely helpful.
As usual there are a number of online sites that can help you locate your ancestor on a passenger list.
A good free source is the Scottish Emigration Database based at the University of Aberdeen. This database currently holds the details of over 20,000 passengers who left Glasgow and Greenock for non-European ports in early 1923 as well as some other Scottish ports between 1890 and 1960. The results show all the details recorded and can include the address in Scotland, date of birth, occupation, marital status, destination port and the name of the ship they traveled. This data can be of great use for genealogical purposes allowing you to match the details to your own records to ensure you have a match.
Another free source of information is Immigrant Ships which allows you to search Scottish ports for ships setting sail to a variety of countries between 1749 and 1903. It is not possible to simply enter a name on like the Scottish Emigration Database above instead you need to search for a port and then select a ship from the years shown to view the passenger list to see if your ancestor was aboard or not.
FindmyPast have compiled a database of passenger lists in association with the National Archives that allow you to search online for passengers of ships leaving the UK for counties such as the USA, Canada, Australia and other places between 1890 and 1960. Searching FindmyPast is free but to view an entry or to download an image you will need to purchase credits from FindmyPast.
Ancestry have also compiled a database in association with the National Archives but their passenger lists are for people immigrating to the UK from countries outside of Europe between 1878 and 1960. Searching these records is free but you will need to pay to view the records.
If you cannot find the name of your ancestor you expected to see on the ships records it may be worth checking the next generation of your family tree in case the name of the person who emigrated from Scotland mentioned in family stories is incorrect.
Another tip if you cannot find your ancestor is to look for other members of your family who may have emigrated at the same time and it maybe your ancestor is traveling with them.
If you still cannot find your ancestor on a passenger list try and view the immigration and naturalization records held in the country they landed. The Ellis Island site is an extremely helpful database and worth a search if your family moved to the USA or even Canada as it may be your family arrived in America before continuing on to Canada by another form of transport.
If you are still struggling to trace your ancestor on a passenger list it may be worth posting a query on one of the online genealogy forums to see if anyone else can help you track down the emigration or immigration records of your family.