Released on: September 18, 2008, 12:35 pm

Press Release Author: Ancestry.ca

Industry: Internet & Online

Press Release Summary: Ancestry.ca launches Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 -
one in three
Canadians descended from immigrants listed in this collection

- The official records of immigration to Canada by ship and overland
from the US - indexed and fully searchable online for the first time
- Detailed records for all major Canadian ports
- Tommy Douglas, Lord Stanley, Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin
among many famous names to appear

Press Release Body: In a world first, Ancestry.ca, Canada's leading
family history website, today launched online the Canadian Passenger Lists,
1865-1935, which contains more than 7.2 million names, including 5.6 million
of those who travelled from around the world to start a new life in Canada.
The collection is fully indexed by name, month, year, ship and port of
origin and arrival of more than 4,000 ships, and includes original images for
more than 310,000 pages of historical records. It is the first time that these
records have been indexed and made available online.
The Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, the originals of which are held
by the Library and Archives Canada (LAC), are the official records of the
arrival of the majority of people accepted as immigrants in Canada during this
key immigration period.
An estimated 11.6 million Canadians or 37 per cent of its current
population have ancestors included in this collection(1), which also includes
records for many vacationers and travellers, business people, crew members and
historical figures such as foreign leaders, scientists and celebrities.
The collection includes passenger lists from all the major ports of
arrival including Halifax, Saint John, North Sydney, Quebec City, Montreal,
Vancouver, Victoria and even east coast ports in the US where many arrived
before proceeding directly to Canada overland.
The main immigrant nationalities arriving in Canada during this period of
rapid growth were British, Irish, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Chinese and
Polish (the majority of French immigrants, the second largest Canadian
immigrant population, arrived prior to 1865).
Passengers from mainland Europe usually sailed to Great Britain where
they boarded trans-Atlantic ships at ports such as Liverpool, London and
Glasgow. Immigrants from Europe destined for western Canada landed at ports on
the east coast, then continued their journey by train. Ships arriving on the
west coast carried passengers from Asia, Australia and Honolulu.
Contained in the collection are records for a number of ships which
tragically never made it to their final Canadian destinations, including that
of RMS The Empress of Ireland, a passenger ship which was rammed in dense fog
on the St Lawrence River near Quebec on the 29th of May 1914 and sank in just
14 minutes. 1,012 passengers and crew drowned - a larger loss of life than
when RMS Titanic sank.
Individual records include information such as the passenger's first and
last name, estimated birth year, year of arrival, port of arrival and
departure, ship name, occupation, final destination in Canada and other family
members listed with their relationship indicated.
Josh Hanna, Senior Vice President of Ancestry, International comments:
"This is the first time that these important records have been brought
together in one place online, making them accessible to so many; they will be
of significance to literally millions of Canadians who want to know when their
ancestors first came to Canada and how far they came."
"Due to the internet, family history is a rapidly growing interest among
Canadians and Ancestry.ca is proud to play an important role in preserving and
making important Canadian historical records accessible online."
Digitizing and indexing the collection took approximately 83,000 man
hours, or the equivalent of a person working 24 hours a day, seven days a week
for almost 10 years.
In addition to being a treasure trove of information on one's ancestors,
enthusiasts can also find names and images of records of some of Canada's and
the world's most famous politicians and personalities, as well as the
anonymous ancestors of some of today's biggest names. Some came as immigrants
and others as visitors, including (images of records available for media use):

<<
- Tommy Douglas - "The Greatest Canadian" arrived in St. John as an
11 year-old with his mother and sisters on the SS Scandinavian on
10 January 1919.

- Lord Stanley of Preston - The namesake of the Stanley Cup appears as
'Hon. A Stanley', arriving in Quebec on the SS Sarmatian on 13 August
1888, the year prior to being named Governor General of Canada.

- Richard Palamountain - The maternal grandfather of Donald S. Cherry,
he was listed as 'R. Palamountain', arriving on a hospital ship
called the SS Llandovery Castle in Halifax on 29 Sep 1917 suffering
from Nephritis. He received a citation for his courageous efforts at
the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

- Winston Churchill - The future British PM visited Canada with his son
Randolph, brother John and his nephew, also John, arriving in
Montreal aboard RMS The Empress of Australia on 9 August 1929.

- Charlie Chaplin - The famous star of the silent screen and one of the
biggest celebrities of the era arrived in Vancouver onboard the
Hikawa Maru on 13 June 1932 from Hong Kong via Yokohama. He lists his
occupation as 'Actor' with an intended final destination of
'Hollywood, California'.

- John Turner - Following the tragic death of his father in England,
the future Prime Minister immigrated to Halifax as a two year-old on
HMS Montclare on 29 February 1932.

- Albert Grey, The 4th Earl of Grey - The former Governor General and
namesake for the CFL's Grey Cup arrived in Quebec City on 21 July
1910. The record lists him as 'Earl Grey' with occupation listed as
'Governor General'.

- Juho Hyytiainen - A great-grandfather of Pamela Anderson, Juho first
left Finland in 1908, changing his name to Anderson upon arrival
onboard RMS The Andania in Quebec on 30 August 1913. He declared that
he was a 'Labourer' and 'Single'.


Canadians will also be interested in other famous names to appear in the
collection including Alexander Graham Bell, Fred Varley, HG Wells, Stanley
Baldwin, Prince Henry, Prince Pierre of Monaco and numerous other world leaders.

The Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 will be available to Canada and
World Deluxe members and through a 14-day free trial and can be viewed at
www.ancestry.ca/CAPassengerLists.



Web Site: http://www.ancestry.ca

Contact Details: Ancestry.ca
5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1500
Toronto, ON
M2M 4G3