{"id":12661,"date":"2016-03-09T11:52:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T16:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=12661"},"modified":"2022-09-23T14:16:47","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T18:16:47","slug":"i-have-the-name-of-the-ship-and-the-year-he-came-over-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/i-have-the-name-of-the-ship-and-the-year-he-came-over-now-what.html","title":{"rendered":"I Have the Name of the Ship and the Year He Came Over \u2013 Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over 40 years ago I found multiple passport applications filed by my cousin George Kemp (1826-1893). In them he stated that he \u201cemigrated to the United States on or about\u20261834: sailing on board the Hector from Liverpool.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was able to locate his arrival in New York City in the Passenger Lists online at FamilySearch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Source: National Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He arrived 29 July 1834 on the ship Hector<\/em>. The ship was led by Captain William Williams who brought them from Liverpool, England.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Source: FamilySearch.org
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, database with images, FamilySearch (https:\/\/familysearch.org\/ark:\/61903\/1:1:QVPX-RS8H : Geo Kemp, 1834; citing NARA microfilm publication M237, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There, I found it. I had the name of the ship and the date he came over \u2013 now what? Is there more to this story?<\/p>\n

Because international commerce was \u201cnews\u201d back then, it is possible to track ship movements in the 1800s.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s track the ship Hector<\/em>.<\/p>\n

13 May 1834 \u2013 Cleared the port of Mobile, Alabama
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I searched in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> and found that the ship Hector<\/em> had sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, bound for Liverpool, England \u2013 and cleared at the port of Mobile, Alabama, on 13 May 1834.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Charleston Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 24 March 1834, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This fits. The captain was William Williams and he was taking the ship from Charleston, South Carolina, to Liverpool, England.<\/p>\n

20 June 1834 \u2013 Departed from Liverpool, England<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digging deeper into GenealogyBank I found more good information.<\/p>\n

The newspaper Evening Star<\/em> informs us that the ship Hector<\/em> under the command of William Williams had departed from Liverpool on 20 June 1834, and that the ship held 219 passengers \u2013 including eight-year-old George Kemp, who was coming to America with his family.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Evening Star (New York, New York), 29 July 1834, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So the ship made a quick voyage over to Liverpool. It didn\u2019t stay long \u2013 loaded the passengers and cargo and departed 20 June 1834.<\/p>\n

13 July 1834 \u2013 At sea, latitude 42.30 longitude 60<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the newspaper Columbian Centinel<\/em>, the ship Lowell<\/em>, led by Captain Crocker, arrived in Boston 20 July 1834 from Liverpool, England.<\/p>\n

They:<\/p>\n

Sailed in co[mpany] with ships Hector, [Captain] Williams, [bound for] New York; [ship] Colossus, [Captain] Wylie, [bound for] Philadelphia; [ship] Grace Brown, [Captain] Higgins, [bound for] Baltimore \u2013 saw her 18th inst.[ant] [they were last seen 18 July 1834] lat[itude] 42.30, lon[gitude] 60.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"article<\/a>
Columbian Centinel (Boston, Massachusetts), 26 July 1834, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is great. We now know exactly where the ship was as it neared its arrival in New York City.<\/p>\n

29 July 1834 \u2013 Arrived at port of New York<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a little over one month the ship safely arrived at New York City. The Commercial Advertiser<\/em> describes the cargo and whom it was being shipped to, and states that it brought \u201c219 passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Commercial Advertiser (New York City, New York), 29 July 1834, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1835-1836 Ship Hector Logbook
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to WorldCat:<\/p>\n

The logbook of the ship Hector consists of a very brief extract describing a shipping voyage from New York to Mobile, Liverpool, back to Mobile, Saint Joseph Bay (Fla.), returning to New York, Oct. 1835-July 1836. The master was D.R. Post. The logbook mentions passenger traffic aboard this cargo ship and three other vessels \u2013 the Junior, Russel, and St. John \u2013 all of unknown rigging.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"screenshot<\/a>
Source: WorldCat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking on the Internet I see that the ship\u2019s logbook for 1835-1836 is at the Peabody Essex Museum<\/a> in Massachusetts. This should give me more insights into the operations of the ship within months of my cousin\u2019s trip to America.<\/p>\n

Get more of the details of your family\u2019s history.
\nGenealogyBank lets you peel back time and document the voyage of the ship that carried your family to America. Find out how long it took \u2013 from the date it left for Europe \u2013 arrived there \u2013 loaded the cargo and passengers<\/a> \u2013 and made the return voyage.
\nGet the whole story \u2013 document it and pass it down for the rising generation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Great Day for Genealogy!<\/p>\n

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