British-Canadian emigrant history unveiled
Records of four million Britons who emigrated to Canada between 1865 and 1935 published online for first time
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Wednesday, 17, Sep 2008 09:23
The records of four million Britons who emigrated to Canada over the last two centuries is being published online for the first time.
Between 1865 and 1935 5.6 million people are estimated to have travelled across the Atlantic to seek their fortune in Canada.
For the UK it represented one of the largest migrations in the country's history.
Among the names contained on the records is Falkirk-born Tommy Douglas, who went on to pioneer Canada's free health service. Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland is the philanthropist's grandson.
The records also reveal some of the high-profile tourists who visited Canada, including Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill.
Ancestry.co.uk, which is publishing the Library and Archives Canada data online, said Canada had been advertised as the "last best west" by colonialists.
"Canada was the final frontier for western pioneers and this collection is a unique record of the millions who journeyed into the wilds," said Ancestry.co.uk managing director Simon Harper.
"For the millions of Brits with Canadian relatives, this collection will shed light on the stories of their pioneering ancestors, many of whom contended with incredibly harsh conditions in order to create a prosperous new life for themselves across the Atlantic."
With its fertile land and long agricultural season, millions journeyed into the Canadian wilderness in search of prosperity. Pitting themselves against long winters and harsh conditions in their struggle to settle the land, the movement became one of the largest scale migrations in Britain's history.
The passenger lists are indexed by name, year of arrival, port of arrival and departure and ship name, revealing fascinating detail about passengers, from their health to religion and even the amount of cash they had in hand when they disembarked.
Serving as a record of the voyage, they also contain information on the vessel, the crew, births and deaths and even marriages, which sometimes took place on board and were overseen by the ship's Captain.
The most popular ports of departure were Liverpool and Glasgow, and as the records show, the voyage to Canada was sometimes not without its perils.
Among the 4,000-plus recorded voyages detailed in the collection was that of The Empress of Ireland, a passenger ship carrying 1,477 people, which was rammed in dense fog on the St Lawrence River near Quebec on May 29th 1914. She sank in just 14 minutes, drowning 1,012 passengers and crew - a larger loss of life than the Titanic. The Titanic's rescue ship, RMS Carpathia, is also listed in the collection.
Also included are the details of over 150,000 'home children' who were sent overseas alone as part of the Child Emigration Scheme, a government-supported programme to aid settlement of British colonies and raise the prospects of orphan and foster children.
These children worked as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants until they were 18 years old, and while some were placed in loving homes, others were exploited as cheap labour. For the descendants of these children, the records will be a first step to tracing their roots back to Great Britain and discovering their lost heritage.
The full lists can be viewed online at www.ancestry.co.uk/CAPassengerLists