The Maritimes, a.k.a the Maritime Provinces or the Canadian Maritimes, consist of the eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunsick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Ports on these islands became a major debarkation point for European emigrants. From these ports people spread all over North America. One major group to come through these ports are the Irish. North America’s Maritime Funnel: The Ships that Brought the Irish 1749-1852, by Terrence M. Punch, provides information on the about 1,050 voyages from Ireland to the Maritimes.
Punch lays out a year-by-year listing of known voyages from Ireland to the Maritimes. This includes maps showing the movement of populations from areas in Ireland to the Maritimes, and tables with port-by-port statistics. In addition, he uncovers as many passenger names as possible. Only 123 passenger lists of the 1,050 voyages survive today. However, additional names were uncovered through the meticulous extraction of information from other sources like land records, newspapers.
To add to the layers of detail this book offers, there are also several useful appendixes, including: “(1) Irish among the Founders of Halifax; (2) Ulster Irish Arrivals before 1773; (3) Irish Emigrant Petitioners for Land in Nova Scotia; and (4) Emigrants in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, 1830s. These four appendixes alone contain the names of 1,523 people, and the book concludes with a ship index and an index of surnames.”
Contents
Section I Introduction
Section II Ireland’s Mounting Demographic Crisis
- Table 1 – Ireland’s Population
- Table 2 – People per Square Mile
- Table 3 – Population by County
Section III The Concept of Catchment Areas
- Map 1 – River Hinterland of Waterford
- Map 2 – River Hinterland of Londonderry
- Map 3 – Origin of Londonderry Passengers 1847/49
Section IV The Irish Ports in 1837
- Map 4 – Ireland’s Emigration Ports
- Table 4a – Emigration by Named Port
- Table 4b – Emigration, Port Unspecified
Section V Ships from Ireland to the Maritimes, 1749-1852
- Bibliographic Key
- List of Voyages by Year and Port
Section VI Annual Number of Voyages from Ireland to the Maritimes
- Table 5 – Year-by-Year Statistics
Section VII The Number of Irish Emigrants to the Maritimes
Section VIII Maritime Ports of Arrival
- Map 5 – Maritime Provinces Ports of Arrival
- Table 6 – Port-by-Port Statistics
Section IX Tonnage and the Passenger Acts
Section X Confusion in the Passenger Lists
Appendix I Irish among the Founders of Halifax, 1749
Appendix II Ulster Irish Arrivals before 1773
Appendix III Irish Emigrant Petitioners for Land in Nova Scotia
Appendix IV Emigrants in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs, 1830s
Appendix V A Coffin Ship: The Aldebaran, 1847
Ship Index
Index of Surnames
Topical Index
Order North America’s Maritime Funnel: The Ships that Brought the Irish 1749-1852 from Family Roots Publishing; Sale Price – 10% off: $29.70 (Reg. $33.00).