Irish Emigration to New England Through The Port of Saint John

Saint John, New Brunswick is a port city that Irish immigrants have used since the 18th century as a gateway to North America. Located on the Atlantic seaboard, it provides for easy access to a wide range of Canadian and American locations. During The Famine, thousands of Irish immigrants arrived at Saint John. Tracing Famine arrivals is difficult at the best of time so it is great to have Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849 to assist research efforts.

First published in 1996 (then re-published in 1997 and 2004) and written by Daniel Johnson, it is a compendium of extracts from the records of various institutions in Saint John County, New Brunswick. They include hospitals, asylums and workhouses, along with information gleaned from the journeys of the immigrants, their receiving of outdoor relief, and where they might have lived or temporarily resided in Saint John County.

Interesting examples abound in the publication. Names derived from a "Catalogue of immigrants from the United Kingdom relieved on parish poor accounts and not charged to the immigrant account year 1842," a document at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, are accompanied by Irish counties of nativity. Patrick May, 58, from County Kilkenny, [condition] sick and asmatick [sic]; William Freil, 76, from County Donegal, blind and feeble; and Barbara Ford, 47, from County Leitrim, dropsical [sic], are just three examples.[1]

Records for the year 1841 in the temporary lunatic asylum also have detailed information. Catherine Coyle, 33, and John Clougher, 26, both from County Roscommon, were two of the people admitted on 1 May 1841. Mary was discharged five months later but John was still there in 1844.[2]

It is often forgotten that Canadian ports were used to immigrate when the final destination was in the United States, hence the name of the publication. Therefore, don't discount this important work if you are researching Famine immigrants in Massachusetts, Vermont or elsewhere in New England. The book is also available in digitized format via the database 'Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849' on Ancestry.

Click here for a long list of other sources to do with New Brunswick that I have written about.

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[1] Johnson Daniel F. Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, Maryland. pp. 15-16; digital image, Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed 3 December 2016.

[2] Johnson Daniel F. Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849. Genealogical Publishing Company: Baltimore, Maryland. p. 13; digital image, Irish Emigration to New England through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841 to 1849," Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed 3 December 2016.

New England Petitions for Naturalization Index, 1791-1906

Naturalization records are fundamental documents to  obtains when it comes to researching the life of an immigrant in the United States. There are a number of large databases of indexes to naturalization records available online, one of which is New England Petitions for Naturalization Index, 1791-1906. New England is a region of the U.S. that contains the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. All of these states saw the arrival of large numbers of Irish immigrants in the 19th century.

This database was originally created in the late 1930s by the Works Progress/Projects Administration.[1] In total, it contains over 600,000 index cards for immigrants who naturalized. Around 25% of these people were born in Ireland.[2]

Working out the court where an ancestor naturalized, particularly if they moved a lot or lived in a large urban area, can be one of the main stumbling blocks to obtaining naturalization records. The usefulness of this index is that the cards list the court that granted the naturalization certificate, along with the volume and page number of the naturalization record.[3] 

To obtain the original records, you will need to find out where that court currently stores its naturalization records. Don't forget that they may have been digitized and placed online, be available on microfilm at an institution such as the Family History Library, or at the National Archives Northeast Region in Boston. 

This index database is available on the big three genealogy websites.

• Ancestry - U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 (Indexed in World Archives Project)  
• Familysearch - United States, New England Petitions for Naturalization Index, 1791-1906
• Findmypast - New England Naturalizations, 1791-1906

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[1] Index To New England Naturalization Records, 1791-1906. Washington, D.C: National Archives and Records Administration. n.d. p. 1. Available online at https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1299.pdf: accessed 13 March 2016.

[2] This number is based on my own tabulation of a non-exact search using Ireland as the place of birth. The total was 156,667. Using an exact search for Ireland returned the same number. Some of the returns say 'Great Britain or Ireland' as the place of birth. It is also likely that some of those whose birthplace was recorded as 'Britain' or 'Great Britain' were born in Ireland.

[3] Index To New England Naturalization Records, 1791-1906. Washington, D.C: National Archives and Records Administration. n.d. p. 1. Available online at https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m1299.pdf: accessed 13 March 2016.

County Clare Records From The U.S.

Over the last number of years there has been an awaking in Ireland in relation to researching the lives of the millions of people who emigrated over the last number of centuries. Some of the best research in this area is being carried by historians such as Damian Shiels and Dr. Ciaran Reilly. The Ireland Reaching Out (XO) organizations was also set up to focus on the idea of 'reverse genealogy' - harvesting the local knowledge in Ireland about those who emigrated so as to connect with their descendants all over the world.

At a local level, the Clare County Library is leading the way with their efforts to provide transcriptions of genealogy records that concern emigrants from Clare. Some of the collections they have made available included:

Those who immigrated to the U.S. through Ellis Island, divided by parish of origin (55+ parishes).

Those who naturalized in various New England states (almost 600 records)

Those who applied for U.S. passports (39 records)

Those who arrived in the U.S. through Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and California (150+ records)

Have family stories been passed down to you about your ancestors possibly being from Co. Clare? Are you researching ancestors with names that are often found in the county, such as Hickey, McNamara, (O') Dea, Kett, Thynne, or Hehir? If so you might find some joy in these records.

Access here.

U.S. Naval Enlistment Records

United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891 is a record set that gives an Irish county or town of birth for almost 4,500 Irish immigrants. "A rendezvous was the recruiting station where the men enlisted in the Navy. Officers at the rendezvous kept a record of each man enlisted and reported the information weekly to the Navy Department. These documents are known as the 'weekly returns of rendezvous reports.'"[1] These recruiting stations were located all over the U.S., for example: Mare Island and San Francisco (California); Baltimore (Maryland); Boston (Massachusetts); Saint Louis (Missouri); Portsmouth (New Hampshire); New York (New York); Erie, League Island, and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania); Newport (Rhode Island); Hampton Roads and Norfolk (Virginia).

A lot of useful genealogical information can be found in these records, including: name of naval rendezvous, name of new recruit, date and term of enlistment, rating (rank), name of ship to which assigned, previous naval service, city and state where born, age, occupation, and personal description. For example, in Saint Louis, Missouri, on 29 October 1862, Lawrence Fitzpatrick enlisted as a seaman for general service for the remainder of the Civil War. He was a 33 year old laborer, who was born in Co. Galway. He had brown eyes and hair, a light complexion, and was 5 feet 8 inches tall.[2]

Lawrence Fitzpatrick Enlistment, 1862 (Click to enlarge)

Men from Dublin and Cork make up almost half of this records set, with Donegal, Derry/Londonderry, Galway, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford all having strong representations.

County	No. of records*
Dublin	1,125
Cork	773
Donegal	305
Derry/Londonderry	291
Galway	290
Limerick	273
Tipperary	213
Waterford	210
Kerry	90
Tyrone	86
Kilkenny	78
Sligo	73
Wexford	64
Antrim	62
Armagh	58
Roscommon	58
Mayo	54
Cavan	45
Longford	35
Monaghan	34
Down	30
Clare	28
Wicklow	24
Leitrim	23
Kildare	23
Westmeath	20
Louth	20
Fermanagh	15
Laois/Queens	14
Meath	14
Offaly/Kings	10
Carlow	9
County not specified, place is	50 (approx)
TOTAL	4,496

These records are available on a number of the main genealogy websites including Ancestry, Findmypast, and Familysearch. Familysearch has digitized and indexed the records. In total the collection contains over 262,000 records. About 46,000 are for men from Ireland, which means that just under 10% have a specific place of birth in Ireland named on their record.

*Note: numbers are very close approximates as it is difficult to count every single example.

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[1] Familysearch.org. United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous (FamilySearch Historical Records). 2015.
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Naval_Enlistment_Rendezvous_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records): accessed 21 April 2015.

[2] "United States Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XG3C-M3Y: accessed 21 April 2015), Lawrence Fitzpatrick, Nov 1862; citing p. 478, volume 22, place of enlistment Saint Louis Missouri, NARA microfilm publication M1953 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 19; FHL microfilm 2,381,636.

Information Wanted Ads I - Boston

One of the most well known Irish genealogical sources in the U.S. is the Boston Pilot series of information wanted ads. Despite its widely known status, it is always worth clearly explaining a record set in detail and highlighting the fact that there were other newspapers that also carried such ads.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Irish people in the U.S. and Ireland who were looking for information about immigrant family members placed information wanted adverts in newspapers. These adverts requested information about the immigrant who had not been heard from for a period of time, usually a few years. "During this time, formal communication was by the written word, but an international postal system was just emerging, making it difficult for those who had immigrated to keep in touch with those they had left behind. The result was that many of those in Ireland had no idea where their relatives and friends might be. Many new Irish Americans simply became “lost” to those who cared for them."[1]

The first ad appeared in the Boston Pilot in October 1831. The wife of Patrick McDermott placed the ad looking for him as she and their children would be returned to Ireland if he was not located. The ad outlined that he was from County Kildare and provided more information such as where he was born and details about his first year in the U.S. (see image below).

The first Information Wanted ad in the Boston Pilot, October 1831

From 1831 to 1920, over 45,000 ads were placed in the paper and they provided an abundance of information about those who were sought after. Standard information included name, place of origin in Ireland (often including civil parish and townland), name and details of person seeking information, and the relationship between them and the missing person. Other information that was regularly included told of the ship the immigrant traveled on, year of arrival, locations in the U.S. after arrival, occupations, and work history. As more Irish immigrants came to the U.S., they inhabited more and more states. As a result the ads sought information about people in states up and down the east coast, the mid-west, and Canada. Therefore, it is easy to see how these ads have become probably the most well known Irish genealogy source in the U.S.

Currently, there are four main places where they can be accessed:

• The Boston College Information Wanted site has transcriptions of the ads for the years 1831-1878, 1880-1882, 1887, 1889, 1890, 1893, 1901, and 1913. It is free to access and has 41,249 records.
• Ancestry.com has "Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in "The Boston Pilot 1831-1920". The database contains indexed images.
• Americanancestors.org. Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements [database online]. Boston, MA: Americanancestors.org. 2010.
• Harris, Ruth-Ann M., Donald M. Jacobs, and B. Emer O’Keeffe, editors. Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot 1831–1920”. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society. 1989. 8 vols. Note: information in the Ancestry.com and Americanancestors.org databases comes from this publication.                                                              

One has to wonder how many of the missing people were reunited with their friends and family members. Some of the ads outlined how a person was not heard from for ten years or more. It would be remarkable to think they ever made contact again. Something to remember as we use these ads for our research.

Check out the next blog post in a few days which will highlighted information wanted ads from another east coast city.

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[1] Harris, Ruth-Ann and Kathleen Williams. Information Wanted - History. 2014. http://infowanted.bc.edu/history: accessed 9 September 2014.