In the next few days Find My Past (formerly 1837online), in conjunction with The National Archives in the UK will bring on line the first major segment of digitized and searchable passenger lists for ships leaving British ports on long overseas voyages. The records are those of the UK Board of Trade, BT27, comprising those from 1890 to 1899, about 1,600 ships, and will be searchable by passenger name. The people included are those who purchased a ticket, not necessarily those who sailed, and comprises emigrants, European trans-migrants, business travelers, civil servants and diplomats and those traveling for leisure. Crew members are not listed.
This commercial database will be available at prices comparable to those charged for TNA’s Documents Online offerings.
This is the first part of a dataset that will eventually extend to 1960 and comprise more than 30 million names. Passenger lists to the end of the Great War should be available by the late Spring, and the project complete by early 2008.
