Immigrants Sponsored by the Montreal Emigrant Society, 1832

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Sailing Ship.
Source

• The Records
• The Database
• Search Screen
• How to Interpret the Results
• How to Obtain Copies
• Other Resources

Search: Database

The Records

In the early 1800s, an increasing number of immigrants from the British Isles were arriving in North America. The St. Lawrence River was the main seaway at the time and the city of Québec became a major destination point for over 30,000 immigrants a year. About two-thirds of them were Irish.

During those years, many poor immigrants had to rely on benevolent societies for assistance when they arrived in North America. The Montreal Emigrant Society was established in 1831. Its main purpose was to provide transportation for immigrants who had arrived at Montréal from Québec and were destined for settlement in different parts of Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).

Transportation was arranged when agricultural products from the Great Lakes region of Upper Canada were sent to Montréal by boat and on the return voyage from Montréal, the boats transported immigrants to Upper Canada. In addition to paying transportation costs, the Montreal Emigrant Society also provided employment and temporary relief in sheds located on the west side of the Lachine Canal in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

From 1831 to 1835, the Montreal Emigrant Society provided relief to 49,740 immigrants. In 1832, 10,244 immigrants were given relief and 8,763 received assistance to settle.

Return of the poor and destitute emigrants forwarded and relieved by the Montreal Emigrant Society from 23rd May 1832 to 1st November 1832.

Table 1: Emigrants sent to Upper Canada

Table 2: Emigrants sent to Lower Canada

Table 3: Total Number of Emigrants

Library and Archives Canada holds the register of names of immigrants for the year 1832 from the Montreal Emigrant Society (RG 7 G18, volume 46, microfilm H-962). This is the only register from the Montreal Emigrant Society held by Library and Archives Canada as we have not been able to locate similar registers for other years in other institutions. This register has been scanned and digitized images are accessible online.

The register for 1832 contains the following information:

• Ticket Number
• Names
• Age - Above 60
• Age - Above 40
• Age - Above 20
• Children - Over 14 years
• Children - Under 14 years
• Children - Under 7 years
• Children - Infants
• Where From
• Where Sent
• Occupation or Trade
• Rations - Pork
• Rations - Biscuit
• Rations - Oatmeal
• Remarks

The Database

This database provides access to 1,947 references to the Montreal Emigrant Society Passage Book for 1832 held at Library and Archives Canada.

The content of the database entries reflects the original language used in the documents. This information was not translated.

Important note: Given that some of the original documents are very difficult to read, some information in the database may be incorrect and/or incomplete.

Search Screen

The search screen allows you to search by:

• Surname
• Given Name(s)

Please note that some entries include only an initial for the given names. Try searching by surname only.

Once you have entered your search terms, click on 'Submit.' The number of hits found will be shown at the top of the results screen.

How to Interpret the Results

Your search results will be posted as a results summary list from which you will be able to obtain an item description.

Search Results Page

The search results page displays the following fields:

• Item Number
• Surname
• Given Name(s)
• Where Sent

Click on the underlined Item Number of a record to access the Item page, which contains additional information specific to that record.

Item Page

The item page has digitized images of the original records available in JPG format and contains the following fields:

• Surname
• Given Name(s)
• Year
• Where sent
• Volume
• Page Number
• Ticket Number
• Description
• Reference
• Item Number

To suggest a correction, click on the "Suggest a Correction" link to access an electronic form.

To return to the Search Results page, click on the "Back" button of your browser in the upper left corner of your screen.

How to Obtain Copies

You can print the images or save the images on your own computer.

You can view the complete volume 46 on microfilm C-9818 on Heritage, starting on image 1604.

Other Resources

Other archival immigration records exist. Consult Genealogy and Family History - Immigration and Citizenship for more information about these records.