Finding Ships Passenger Records To Canada

Henry wrote to ask

My great uncle who originated in Germany, born 1872 or 1874, appears in the UK 1901 census as Ferdinand Roks living in London. Within the family there was no mention of him but it was suggested that perhaps he went to Quebec, Since he doesn't appear in a later census, it could be reasonable to assume that he left London sometime after 1901. How do I research the shipping companies or ships records or even the Quebec immigration records to try to trace him, especially as might have changed the spelling of his name.

My answer:

Ships passenger lists to Canada are available as early as 1865. You can search on Ancestry.com, where the passenger names are indexed and linked to images, or you can use Library & Archives Canada (LAC). LAC however does not have a name index so you have to search by date or ship name.

There are also hundreds of ships passenger lists on my Olive Tree Genealogy website. As well I have written a book "Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada" if you need to find an ancestor before 1865.

Update: Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Before 1865

Olive Tree Genealogy has been reconstructing pre-1865 ships passenger lists to Quebec. As many of my readers know, there are no comprehensive ships passenger lists of immigrants arriving in Canada prior to 1865. Until that year, shipping companies were not required by the government to keep their passenger manifests.

My book "Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada" in Paperback version or e-book version has gathered many resources and lists to assist genealogists in finding passenger lists in this challenging period. I also have links to all online databases and ships passenger lists to help in this difficult period.

These are new ships which have had their passenger lists partially reconstructed using other sources. 

 Robert Russell 1828
 Congress 1847
 Anna Maria 1848
 British Merchant 1849
 Arial 1851
 Jane Watson 1851
 Maria 1852
 Anna Maria 1852
 Arial 1854
 Anna Maria 1857

Paperback Version of Filling in the Gaps Now Available

My first venture into the world of creating a paperback book has been published! I'm pretty excited about this.

 Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada is available in paperback format on CreateSpace and also on Amazon.

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada Paperback version on Amazon.com

It is also available as an e-Book on Amazon. You don't need a Kindle to read it, you can download the free Kindle cloud reader for your computer, phone or tablet.

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada (available as an e-book on Amazon.com) 

Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada  (available as an e-book on Amazon.ca)

New E-book Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre 1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada

I am excited to announce my new 82 page E-Book  Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada (available in USA) and Filling in the Gaps: Finding Pre-1865 Ships Passenger Lists to Canada (available in CANADA)

Before 1865 passenger lists for ships arriving at ports in Canada did not have to be archived. It is therefore a challenging time period in which to find passenger lists.

The good news is that there are alternate records such as shipping agent records, emigration agent ledger books and newspaper extracts, to name a few. These records may record your ancestor’s name showing his or her arrival.

Finding these alternate records is not an easy task. My book has gathered together all known resources for those pre-1865 passenger lists. Each item in this book provides a brief overview of what is in each record set and where it can be found. If it is online, links are included. As well I have transcribed some passenger lists exclusively for readers of this book. I have not published them online. 

I hope that this book will help genealogists hunting for an ancestor who arrived in a Canadian port before 1865.