Individual manifests (Form 30A) added to Ancestry database of Canadian immigration

This data collection contains individual declarations of passengers arriving at various Canadian ports between 1919 and 1924. The declarations were a standard pre-printed form called Form 30A. This form was in officially in use between June 1, 1921 and December 31, 1924 and was regulated by the Department of Immigration and Colonization. A form was to be completed for each passenger, including children. Exceptions were for passengers in transit to the U.S. The forms were then submitted to immigration officers upon arrival at the port of destination.

For more information about this database, click here.

During the early 1920s Canada`s Department of Immigration and Colonization required that individual manifests (Form 30A) for each arriving passenger be completed and submitted to the immigration officers at the ports of arrival, rather than using the older, large manifest sheets. This form was officially in use between June 1, 1921 and December 31, 1924 although dates vary locally. Exceptions were made for passengers in transit to the U.S. You will also find forms for passenger Canada-bound arriving at US ports.

The following is detail on the information which should be read carefully, especially the Please Note.

Information listed on the form generally included:

• Ship
• Port of departure
• Arrival date
• Port of arrival
• Name of passenger
• Age
• Gender
• Birthplace
• Marital status
• Present occupation
• Intended occupation
• Race
• Citizenship
• Religion
• Object in going to Canada
• Whether intend to live permanently in Canada
• Destination
• Name of the nearest relative in country from which they came
• Passport information

These records originate from a microfilm collection held by Library and Archives Canada. The forms were originally microfilmed in a semi-alphabetical order by surname. This semi-alphabetical order has been preserved in this database and will help you locate an individual when you are sorting through images.

Please note: The front and backsides of a form do not appear on the same image as it is physically impossible to microfilm both sides of a form at the same time. In most cases, the backside of the form was microfilmed first, and then the front side. Therefore, when you find a form for a person of interest, you will need to use the “Previous” or “Next” arrow buttons in the image viewer in order to see both sides of the form.

Comment

This is a nice addition to the Ancestry collection, and should complete the digitization of passenger information publically available from Canadian government sources.

In a continuing project to confuse the researcher some bozo has invented the name Ocean Arrivals for this series rather than Individual Manifests as previously used by Library and Archives Canada. LAC seems to be busy adjusting the website with a search for 30A showing a catalog entry of "Individual Manifest" but showing as detail "Unable to display record. Record not found" as of 11:20am on Tuesday 24 November. This is a change from last evening. It may have changed by the time you read this!