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May 17 2001 at 06:25PM Dublin - The discovery of a shipwreck that may date from the 17th century has halted the laying of a $39-million (about R312-million) pipeline in Dublin bay, Irish officials said on Thursday. The wreck was detected by marine archaeologists monitoring work on the underwater pipeline, which is part of a $224 million waste-water treatment project being carried out by Dublin Corporation. "Archaeologists have encountered the remains of a substantial ship. .Initial findings indicate it dates back to the late 17th or possibly early 18th century," project manager Battie White said.. "Because it's made of wood and is sunk three metres (nine feet) under the sand it didn't show up on pre-dredging surveys. We're now discussing with Duchas (the state heritage body) on the best way to bypass it," he added. He declined to put a figure on the cost of re-routing the pipeline, which is intended to carry sewage across the bay to a treatment plant off the east coast of Ireland. In the 17th and 18th centuries a number of ships were wrecked in Dublin bay, the approach to the harbour being notoriously hazardous. The site of the shipwreck is close to the bay's North Wall, built in the late 18th century to improve safety. It was designed by Captain William Bligh who went down in history for his role as captain of the "Bounty" during the famous mutiny.
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by Juliana Smith Passenger lists are among the most sought after records for our ancestors. Apart from the information they contain, there is also an intangible value to them. They represent the journey our ancestors took as they left their home and traveled to a new land and a life that was often uncertain. Just the thought of moving across town is enough to have me hyperventilating into a paper bag. The trip was often hazardous and the conditions under which many of our ancestors traveled could easily be described as horrific. As someone who gets seasick on a one-hour boat trip, I can't even imagine spending several months at a time onboard a ship, as they had to in the pre-steamship days. The voyage also represents the link to the old country. Information about the immigrant's origins will rarely be found in early records, especially before the 1890s. Before we attempt to "cross the pond" with our search, records on this side of the pond should be exhausted. The more information we are armed with when we begin to research overseas records, the better our chances are for success. Still, the sentimental value and other clues that can be gleaned from these records make them a valuable addition to our family story. Obtaining these records can be tricky though, so let's take a closer look. BACKGROUND Pre-1820 Passenger Arrival lists, if they exist, can be a bit more difficult to find than those of later years. Those that have not been destroyed may be widely scattered in archives, museums, and libraries, typically near the port of entry. There are also some published indexes to these lists and in some cases transcriptions While there isn't enough room in this article to take a comprehensive look at these compilations, "Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records," by Kory L. Meyerink devotes an entire chapter to published immigration sources. Many lists have also surfaced in periodicals. The PERiodical Source Index (PERSI) returned 5,640 hits in a search for 'passenger lists.' In some cases, these published indexes and transcriptions may be all that remains of them. Beginning 1 January 1820, the U.S. Government required passenger lists to be filed by the ship master with the collector of Customs in the port of entry. The lists that have been preserved from 1820 forward are available at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The content of the lists varies greatly. There was no uniform format and no requirement as to what information needed to be collected in earlier lists, which from 1820-91 were often referred to as "Customs Passenger Lists." With the creation of the Department of Immigration in 1891, things got a bit more organized and shortly after a standard form was put into use. These new lists, which are referred to as "Immigration Passenger Lists," are much better sources of information than their predecessors. In addition to the standardized forms, beginning in 1893, much more information was required. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LOCATE THE LIST The upcoming launch of the Ellis Island database on 17 April, will be helpful in this aspect to many, but there will also be many that will have to resort to the "old fashioned" way of locating their ancestors. Misspellings, hard-to-read handwriting, data entry errors, and other genealogical curses, will conspire to make it difficult, if not impossible to locate some in the database. Apart from that, the database will only cover arrivals to the Port of New York from 1892- 1924, which is a comparatively small window in American immigration history, albeit an important and busy one. In addition, those searching for the Kellys, Smiths, Millers, and other common names will need distinguishing information to pick their ancestors from the crowd.(Wouldn't you know that I am searching for all three of these surnames.) Obviously, you will need the name of the immigrant. OK, that's a no brainer, but also consider that you will need the name they gave to the purser as they got on the boat in the old country. That name may be different than the Americanized version you are familiar with. Another consideration is the interpretation of that name by the purser. As from experiences with our friend the census taker, we know that these interpretations can vary wildly. You will want to know approximately when they came over. This can be learned with careful examination of all available records here. In the timeline that is online at:
I have estimated that the Huggins family emigrated between November 1843 and May 1844 by using the birth date and baptism date with the locations of each for two of their children. Catherine was born in Ireland 31 October 1843 according to her death certificate, and I found the baptismal record of a sister Anne, showing her as being born 28 April 1844 and baptized in Brooklyn, NY, 26 May 1844. From this, I know that they had to be here by that 26 May 1844 and should have been in Ireland in 31 October 1843. Now, this is a very loose assumption because using these dates, there is only 6 months between the births. Either Anne was very premature, (which in those days makes it unlikely that she would have lived out the month) or the birth date on the Catherine's death certificate is wrong. Since death certificates are only secondary sources for birth information, this is entirely possible. There are other clues that I can follow up on, too. Looking at other siblings' birth and baptism dates I can see that the Huggins family was typically prompt when it came to baptizing the children. Five out of six of her siblings that were baptized in that same church in Brooklyn, were baptized within two weeks of being born. With this in mind, it is interesting to note that Anne was baptized nearly a month after she was born. Could it be that she was born on the trip over? Maybe, maybe not--but these are possibilities that I am anxious to investigate further. In addition it is helpful to know approximately how old they were when they came over since ages are typically included in the passenger lists. This information can be estimated using information found in various records the same way we estimate the arrival date. LOOK AT THE RECORD You've probably heard this somewhere around a bazillion times before, but once you locate them in an index or if you find the entry in the Ellis Island database, you will want to look at the original list if at all possible. Along with the possibility of omissions, and misinterpreted or misspelled names that you may be able to recognize easier than the indexer, there are many other things you can find when you look at the list in its entirety. You may see other familiar names that turn out to be maiden names, neighbors, sponsors, and future spouses on that same list. On a long trip in close quarters, you got to know your travel companions really well--probably a bit too well! If you are interested in learning more about passenger lists and how to find them, I highly recommend "They Came In Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record," by John P. Colletta, Ph.D. In addition to being a very helpful guide, it is written in an interesting and easy-to-read manner. HELPFUL PUBLICATIONS "They Came In Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor's Arrival Record," by John P. Colletta, Ph.D. "They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins," by Loretto D. Szucs "Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records," edited by Kory Meyerink "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," edited by Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking "Ellis Island: Tracing Your Family History Through America's Gateway," by Loretto D. Szucs Periodical Source Index (PERSI) CD-ROM RELATED LINKS National Archives and Records Administration Immigration Records Immigrant and Passenger Arrivals (Catalog of Microfilm Publications) Ship Passenger Manifests (from the INS Web site) Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild Ellis Island Database (Scheduled to go live 17 April 2001)
Periodical Source Index (PERSI) Juliana Smith is the editor of the "Ancestry Daily News" and author of "The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book." She has written for "Ancestry" Magazine and "Genealogical Computing." Juliana can be reached by e-mail at:
but regrets that she is unable to assist with personal research. An archive of her Monday columns, "The Family History Compass," are available on the Ancestry.com site at:
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