Trace your ancestors’ steps as they embarked on a journey to begin a new life beyond Ireland. These historical records primarily document the migration of around 46,000 Irish individuals to the United States and Canada during the 19th century.
Book Sources for Irish Immigrants to North America, 1803–1871:
Emigrants from Ireland to America, 1735–1743: A Transcription of the Report of the Irish House of Commons into Enforced Emigration to America by Frances McDonnell
These lists of about 2,000 felons and vagabonds forcibly transported from Ireland between 1735 and 1743 constituted one of the few known sources of Irish emigration to the New World in the 18th century.
Irish Passenger Lists, 1803–1806: Lists of Passengers Sailing from Ireland to America by Brian Mitchell
Altogether, some 4,500 passengers are identified in the 109 sailings recorded in this transcription of the Hardwicke Papers, a rare official register of passengers leaving Irish ports. Most individuals are cited with their all-important place of residence, departing from the ports of Dublin, Belfast, Londonderry, and Newry and destined mainly for New York and Philadelphia. The Hardwicke lists, only fragments of which have ever appeared in print, now fill a significant gap in the records since, in many cases, they will prove to be the only record of an ancestor’s emigration to the U.S.
An Alphabetical Index to Ulster Emigration to Philadelphia, 1803–1850by Raymond D. Adams
Based on U.S. Customs Passenger Lists, the manifests of the Cunard and Cooke shipping lines, and other sources, this work lists 3,200 emigrants from Londonderry to Philadelphia between 1803 and 1850. Each entry typically furnishes the name of the emigrant, his/her age, town and country of origin (where given), year of emigration, and name of the ship.
Passengers from Ireland: Lists of Passengers Arriving at American Ports Between 1811 and 1817 (Transcribed from The Shamrock or Hibernian Chronicle) by Donald M. Schlegel
The core of this work is a reproduction of about 5,150 Irish passenger listings from 1811 and 1815–1816, compiled by J. Dominick Hackett and Charles Montague Early for the 1930 and 1931 editions of The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society. Schlegel has corrected some errors and omissions in the original compilation and has presented the lists in their original format so that family groupings are apparent. Following the passenger lists are several death notices and advertisements that may reference a person’s place of origin in Ireland or date of immigration. In all, the names of 7,308 immigrants are included in this volume.
Irish Emigration Lists, 1833–1839: Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim by Brian Mitchell
These Antrim and Londonderry memoir lists have been extracted, arranged under parish, and alphabetized. They identify the emigrant’s destination and his place of origin in Ireland—key information for anyone tracing his Irish ancestry. In addition, the age, town and address, year of emigration, and religious denomination are given for the approximately 3,000 emigrants identified in this book.
Irish Emigration to New England Through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841-1849 by Daniel F. Johnson
St. John’s port was a magnet for Irish immigration during the decade that culminated in the Great Famine. However, a majority of these Irish immigrants eventually relocated to Boston or elsewhere in New England to rejoin their families. Since many arrived in Canada in a destitute or infirm condition, they were required to take temporary refuge in the alms and workhouses, hospitals, and asylums of St. John. Many of the records of these institutions have survived, and with their help, the author has created a surrogate record for some 7,000 persons who never appeared in the official passenger lists.
A List of Alien Passengers, Bonded from January 1, 1847, to January 1, 1851, for the Use of the Overseers of the Poor, in the Commonwealth by J.B. Munroe
Prepared by the Superintendent for Boston in 1851 and covering four years, this alphabetical list includes a bonded passenger’s date of arrival in Boston, name, age, birthplace, and the name of vessel on which he sailed.
Emigrants from Ireland, 1847-1852: State-Aided Emigration Schemes from Crown Estates in Ireland by Eilish Ellis
This work contains a history of the emigration scheme and a list of the emigrants from each estate with the following details: name, age, occupation, family relationships, date and place of departure, date and place of arrival in the U.S., and name of the ship. Most of the emigrants arrived at the port of New York, while a handful disembarked in Quebec.
Irish Passenger Lists, 1847-1871: Lists of Passengers Sailing from Londonderry to America on Ships of the J. & J. Cooke Line and the McCorkell Line compiled under the direction of Brian Mitchell
These passenger lists, which cover the period of the Great Famine and its aftermath, identify the emigrants’ actual places of residence, as well as their port of departure and nationality. Essentially business records, the lists were developed from the order books of two main passenger lines operating out of Londonderry: J. & J. Cooke (1847-67) and William McCorkell & Co. (1863-71). Both records provide the emigrant’s name, age, address, and the ship’s name. The Cooke lists provide the ship’s destination and year of sailing, while the McCorkell lists provide the date engaged and the scheduled sailing date. Altogether, 27,495 passengers are identified.
Irish Emigrants in North America (in three parts) by David Dobson
This work is a consolidated reprint of three pamphlets by David Dobson, and it endeavors to shed light on some 1,000 Irish men and women and their families who emigrated to North America between roughly 1775 and 1825. Each of the three groupings is arranged alphabetically by the emigrant’s surname and, in the majority of cases, provides us with most of the following particulars: name, date of birth, name of ship, occupation in Ireland, reason for emigration, reason for emigration, place of disembarkation in North America, date of arrival, number of persons in the household, and the source of information.
Explore your ancestry with a free trial!