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October 30, 2010

NEW! Extracts of Names from Surgeons' Journals of 8 ships from Ireland to Upper Canada 1825 online

In 1822, the British Government established a trial emigration scheme for Irish paupers to Upper Canada. There were two waves of emigration, one in 1823 the second in 1825.

Peter Robinson arranged for these impoverished Irish emigrants to come to Upper Canada. In 1825, 2024 passengers on board nine ships - Fortitude, Resolution, Albion, Brunswick, Star, Amity, Regulus, Elizabeth, and John Barry - arrived in Quebec. From there the emigrants made their way to Upper Canada (present day Ontario).

Passenger Lists for these ships are available online  but Olive Tree Genealogy has been busy compiling a new project which contains much more information on many of the Irish passengers. The new project is the extraction of names from Surgeons Medical Journals which were kept during the voyages.

There are medical journals for 8 ships and they contain a great deal of information. Olive Tree Genealogy's project contains extracted details of the voyage, the names and ages of each passenger treated by the surgeon, the date they were put on the sick list, where the ship was at the time and the date they recovered or died. Births of children are also recorded as are deaths, sometimes with details as to exact time and location.

You will want to consult these extracts if you think your Irish ancestors were on board the following ships:

Surgeon's Journal of the Transport Ship John Barry between 22 April to 25 July 1825 during which time the said ship has been employed in conveying the Irish Emigrant Settlers from Cork to Quebec.

Surgeon's Journal of the Transport Ship Amity between 5 April to 9 July 1825 during which time the said ship has been employed in conveying the Irish Emigrant Settlers from Cork to Quebec.

Surgeon's Journal of the Transport Ship Elizabeth between 4 May 1825 & 21st July 1825 during which time the said ship has been employed in conveying the Irish Emigrant Settlers from Cork to Quebec.

Medical and surgical journal of the Star transport ship for 6 April to 13 July 1825 by Ninian McMorris, Surgeon and Superintendent, during which time the said ship was employed in conveying emigrants to Quebec.

Medical and surgical journal of the Regulus transport ship for 7 April to 13 July 1825 by Matthew Burnside, Surgeon and Superintendent conveying the Irish Emigrant Settlers from Cork to Quebec.

Medical and surgical journal of the Fortitude Emigrant Ship for 28 April to 1 July 1825 by Francis Connin, Surgeon and Superintendent conveying the Irish Emigrant Settlers from Cork to Quebec.

edical journal of the Brunswick, emigrant ship, for 5 April to 27 June 1825 by John Tarn surgeon and superintendent, during which time the said ship was employed in conveying emigrants from Cork to Quebec

Medical and surgical journal of the Albion Convict Ship, for 4 April to 4 July 1825 by John Thomson Surgeon and Superintendent, during which time the said vessel was employed in conveying emigrants from Cork to Quebec.

The surgeons' journals contain much detail both on the illnesses of each passenger and on the journey itself. Some surgeons recorded their thoughts about certain passengers so they are a very interesting read.

Two of the ships medical journals are available online as a .pdf file at the National Archives UK website. The other medical journals are available for a fee from the National Archives UK website. All source files are provided so you can enjoy reading the entire journals or ordering ones of interest.

Warning: Some of the journal entries are very distressing to read.

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