Search UK outbound passenger lists

Records of British emigration to destinations across the globe go online for the first time


From today everybody will be able to access the first comprehensive database of passenger lists from ships departing the UK on long-distance voyages to destinations including North America, Australia, India and South Africa between 1890 and 1960 online at www.ancestorsonboard.com.


This new online resource has been developed by one of the leading UK-based family history websites findmypast.com* in association with The National Archives. The passenger record series BT 27 covering 1890 – 1899 will go live from today, followed by the remaining decades between 1900 and 1960 over the next six months.


The easily-searchable and user-friendly database will enable would-be genealogists and family historians alike to view digitised images of the original ship passenger records online, which contain over 1.1 million pages, listing the 24 million passengers who travelled on long-distance journeys from UK ports. It has taken a 125-strong full-time team nearly a year to complete the mammoth process of digitising these original documents.


Mass Migration
The new resource includes passenger records from the period of mass migration between 1890 and 1914 when an estimated average of 131,000 people emigrated from Great Britain to other parts of the globe every year*.


New Discoveries
These invaluable records will also provide a new avenue of research for people who have come to a ‘brick wall’ in their family tree research using UK records. As well as every ship passenger record containing the names of each passenger, the name of the ship, the date and UK port of departure and the destination port, the records may also include the address, age, marital status, occupation and nationality of each passenger, providing invaluable details that could help uncover more branches of a family tree and further insights into a family's history.


Historical Insights
The passenger lists also open up new insights into family history and social trends. For example, the lists reveal the story of the Jewish migrants who fled persecution and poverty in Russia to escape to South Africa in search of a new life via British ports.

Other insights include the passenger lists of the 'charity children' who travelled to America and Canada for new beginnings, such as the Barnardo's children and the 'Quarriers' from the Glaswegian Orphan Homes of Scotland.

Elaine Collins, Commercial Director at findmypast.com, says: "The availability of the passenger lists from ships that left British ports in this period is an invaluable tool for people tracing relatives they believe may have left the UK during this period. The passenger records may well provide a missing link for many genealogists who have hit a brick wall in their research, as well as helping those outside of the UK to trace back to their British heritage".

"Previously these records were only accessible from The National Archives in London, but now everyone can easily research their ancestors’ voyages over the Internet from the comfort of their own home, anywhere in the world."

Dan Jones, Head of Business Development at The National Archives, says: “We are delighted that we have been able to work with findmypast.com to put these records online. These records were previously only available onsite at The National Archives and we hope that digitisation will open up a hugely valuable resource for genealogists and social historians all over the world. The National Archives prides itself in making the information we hold accessible to everyone and working with partners such as findmypast.com helps us to achieve this."


Notes to editors
*findmypast.com is the new name for 1837online.com
**It is estimated that an average of 131,000 people emigrated from Great Britain in every year from 1870-1913. Source: A Model of U.K. Emigration, 1870-1913, Timothy J. Hatton


About findmypast.com

Notes for editors:
The National Archives is a government department; and also an executive agency of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. Over 600 staff work in Kew, in Norwich, at Admiralty Arch in central London and at the Family Records Centre in Islington. The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty's Stationery Office. See also www.opsi.gov.uk.


The National Archives is at the heart of information policy – setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow’s permanent record. The National Archives is also the UK government's official archive, containing 900 years of history from Domesday Book to the present, with records ranging from parchment and paper scrolls through to recently created digital files and archived websites. Increasingly, these records are being put online, making them universally accessible.


The vision of The National Archives is to:

For further information, please contact:
Tim Matthews
The National Archives
020 8392 5277
tim.matthews@nationalarchives.gov

A journey of discovery
A journey of discovery