Montreal Emigrant Society, 1832

The Montreal Emigrant Society was founded in 1831 to provide safe passage, employment, and relief to poor and destitute immigrants from Ireland and Great Britain. They arrived at Montreal after a trans-Atlantic crossing but that was not the final destination for many. The Society helped them on their way to other parts of Canada and also provided temporary accommodation and food.

In total, between 1831 and 1835, the society provided assistance to 49,740 immigrants. In 1832, 8,763 received assistance to settle in other parts of Canada.[1] One of the passage books from this year survives and provides information for almost 2,000 immigrants. It covers the dates from 23 May to 1 November. The entries record the names of single adults or heads of families, along with ages of the adults, ages of any children, ticket number, where sent, occupation, and 'where from.' For Irish immigrants, a county of origin is provided.

Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book - Entry for Pat Murphy & brother, and others

For example, Pat Murphy and his brother traveled on ticket 314 to Cornwall on 13 June 1832. Both were under 14 years of age and were from Armagh.[2] Another entry outlines that Lawrance Ryan and his wife, both aged between 20 and 40, and their three children, one an infant, another aged between 7 and 14, and a third over 14 years, travelled on ticket 841 to Prescott on 21 July 1832. He was a farmer, originally from Cork.[3]

You can access the database by clicking here. It is a good idea to read about the records and the database limitations before searching. While the ledger pages were scanned, they were seemingly not done so at a high resolution, as can be seen by clicking the image, above.

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[1] Library and Archives Canada. Immigrants Sponsored by the Montreal Emigrant Society, 1832. 24 April 2014. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/immigrants-montreal-emigrant-society/Pages/introduction.aspx: accessed 10 February 2015.

[2] “Immigrants Sponsored by the Montreal Emigrant Society, 1832”, database, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca : accessed 10 February 2015), entry for Patrick Murphy, 13 June 1832; citing  Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book, Microfilm Number H-962, Volume 46, Reference RG7 G18, Item 1229

[3] “Immigrants Sponsored by the Montreal Emigrant Society, 1832”, database, Library and Archives Canada (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca : accessed 10 February 2015), entry for Lawrence Ryan, 21 July 1832; citing  Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book, Microfilm Number H-962, Volume 46, Reference RG7 G18, Item 1654.