Ancestry Magazine

The loss of many Canadian passenger lists have necessitated the use of alternative contemporary sources. Fortunately, many of the early newspapers of the ports of arrival in British North America have survived.

There is a well-known dearth of early lists of ship passengers who arrived at ports in what is now the Dominion of Canada. The continuous “official” lists for Quebec City begin in 1865, and those for Halifax, Nova Scotia, and St. John, New Brunswick, begin in 1880 and 1900, respectively. Earlier surviving passenger manifests for these ports are incomplete for most years. Because of this void, alternative contemporary sources of names of arriving passengers are all the more genealogically significant. Fortunately, many of the early newspapers of the ports of arrival in British North America have survived. These newspapers record the names of some passengers (albeit only a small fraction of the total). Two of the most informative sources of names of steerage passengers in these newspapers are passengers’ testimonials and survivor lists.

Passengers’ testimonials were usually published in the advertising columns of port newspapers, although some of the unsolicited testimonials wer e run as news items or as letters to the editor. The testimonial was typically a formal address or statement directed to the captain of the arriving ship from a delegated group of passengers; it expressed appreciation for the amenities of the ship and the competence of its captain and crew. How the ship’s captain induced passengers to place their names on a testimonial is unknown; however, the genealogical value of the testimonial is in its descriptive detail, which usually includes such information as the name and line of the ship, the name of the captain, and the ports and dates of departure and arrival. Some testimonials mention the circumstances of departure (such as group emigration) as well as passengers’ occupations and previous places of residence. Passengers signing a testimonial sometimes also noted the class of their passage on the ship (cabin, intermediate, steerage, etc.).

Publication of testimonials seems to have been seasonal, based on the navigation season for the particular port and the preferred months for emigration, usually during the spring and summer. Testimonials were intended to generate favorable publicity for the shipping companies concerned and were particularly directed to the prospective immigrant and the frequent traveler. The frequent appearance in the testimonials of the names of Imperial notables and prominent persons from British North America indicates that not all of the signatories belonged to immigrants; it is likely, however, that most of the signatories from accommodations lower than cabin class were indeed immigrants and not visitors or returning residents of British North America.

Not all testimonials were solicited advertisements. For example, sometimes, after a particularly stormy or otherwise difficult voyage, the testimonial appears to have been unsolicited, taking the form of a local news report or a “newsy” letter to the editor. Because much of the advertising and news in port newspapers was concerned with shipping, editors were inclin ed to devote space to significant items about arriving passengers.

Shipping news in the port newspapers of British North America included detailed reports of overdue, missing, or wrecked passenger ships, especially those plying between the British Isles and British North America. After the wreck of a passenger ship, newspapers of the time often published reports containing the names of rescued passengers, as well as confirmations of the names of survivors by the owners of the wrecked ship. Survivor lists variously recorded such significant information as ages, relationships, and previous places of residence, although misspellings and other conflicting details occur in press reports after such disasters. It is sometimes necessary to compare different survivor lists for the most definitive information about a particular wreck and passengers. Before the 1860s, a lost or shipwrecked passenger was more likely to be noted in a contemporary newspaper than was a regular steerage passenger who landed safely and without further incident in British North America.

Potentially unique documentation that they may be, passengers’ testimonials and survivors lists contain, tantalizingly, only a small fraction of the names of passengers to British North America for the period before the “official” Canadian lists. Reasonably thorough scrutiny of newspapers for St. John, New Brunswick, Quebec City, and Montreal from the 1820s to the 1860s yields testimonials and survivor lists with the names of probably fewer than 3,000 passengers to British North America (I have not kept an exact count). Numbers aside, it has been interesting to discover living descendants of these unusually recorded trans-Atlantic passengers of generations ago.

Transcription from the St. John’s, Newfoundland
WE the undersigned PASSENGERS of the Barque “Atlantic,” lately wrecked at PUCH COVE, near St. John’s Newfoundland, do hereby certify that no blame is to be attached to CAPTAIN MORTON of the above ill-fated Vessel for the unfortunate occurrence. During the voyage from DUNDEE he treated us with every kindness and attention, and when the vessel was on the rocks, his exertions to save the PASSENGERS and CREW from a watery grave were truly praiseworthy; owing to him, under Providence, all Souls in the Ship were saved with the exception of a Boy Passenger that was supposed to be in his berth when the Vessel struck, and during the confusion that prevailed, was drowned.

St. John’s Nfld. May 13, 1840.

Thomas Rutherford, Peter Macfarlane, John Duff, Alexander McKenzie, James Robertson, Benjamin Hogg, & wife, Don McGregor, & wife Elizabeth Dich, Elizabeth Rewans, Charles Alexander, Margaret Alexander, Henry Matthewson, Isabella X Chapman (her mark), Jamima Hay Jameson, Mark, Jessie M’Keiller.

(as transcribed from the St. John’s, Newfoundland, The Newfoundlander, 14 May 1840)

Transcription From the St. John, N.B.
WE, the Undersigned Passengers in the Brig HUSKISSON, from Ballyshannon, beg to return our grateful thanks to Captain DAVYS, of said Brig, for his persevering attention to the duties of his ship; and also for the kind treatment, and attention to our comfort, which we experienced on our passage in the above vessel to this port.

Signed, on behalf of the while

HUGH McIVER RICHARD CASSIDY

JAMES O’NEIL JOHN GALLAGHER

OWEN CASSIDY JOHN INGRAM

Saint John, N.B. 28th June, 1828 (as transcribed from the St. John, N.B. New Brunswick Courier, 28 June 1828)

Charles Addington, a freelance reseacher and former archivist, has been compiling information on passenger lists for more than ten years.