Nova Scotia Emigration and Immigration

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Canada

Nova Scotia

Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

1865-1922 - Passenger Lists, 1865-1922 Index and images. Library and Archives Canada
1881-1922 - Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922, index and images.
1895-1956 - United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956, index.
1895-1954 - Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954, index and images.
1895-1924 - Vermont, Passenger Lists, 1895-1924
1900-1922, 1925-1935 - Ships' passenger lists for Canada, 1900-1922, 1925-1935
1908-1918 - Border Entry, 1908-1918, images.
1917-1942 - United States, border crossing from Canada to United States, New Brunswick, Records of Aliens Pre-Examined at Saint John, New Brunswick, Prior to Admission at the U.S.-Canada Border, 1917-1942, index and images.
1919-1924 - Border Entry, Form 30, 1919-1924, images
1919-1924 - Immigration Form 30A, ocean arrivals, 1919-1924, index and images.
1925-1935 - Passenger Lists and Border Entries, 1925-1935 - Nominal Indexes, Library and Archives Canada
1925-1935 - Border Entry, 1925-1935, images

Introduction

Passenger lists before 1881 for Nova Scotia are practically nonexistent; however, the Public Archives of Nova Scotia does have a few scattered lists for ships arriving from Great Britain (no more than 30). These cover many of the years between 1749 and 1864. There is one list for ships arriving from France in 1636. Two valuable indexes for this early period are:

Smith, Leonard H. Nova Scotia Immigrants to 1867. 2 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992–1994. (Family History Library book 971.6 W2S)
Norton, Judith A.New England Planters in the Maritime Provinces of Canada, 1759–1800: Bibliography of Primary Sources. Toronto; Buffalo [N.Y.]: University of Toronto Press in association with Planters Studies Center, Acadia University, 1993. (Family History Library book 971.5 W23n)

The passenger lists from 1881 to 1900 for ships arriving at Halifax are available on microfilm at the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, the Family History Library, or local family history centers (on 12 Family History Library films beginning with 1642682). Many arriving passengers are also mentioned in Halifax newspapers.

British Naval Office Shipping Lists, 1678-1825, have been digitized by British Online Archives (site requires subscription). Names of passengers are not included.

Canadian Border Crossing Records

The United States kept records of people crossing the border from Canada to the United States. These records are called border crossing lists, passenger lists, or manifests. There are two kinds of manifests:

Manifests of people sailing from Canada to the United States.
Manifests of people traveling by train from Canada to the United States.

In 1895, Canadian shipping companies agreed to make manifests of passengers traveling to the United States. The Canadian government allowed U.S. immigration officials to inspect those passengers while they were still in Canada. The U.S. immigration officials also inspected train passengers traveling from Canada to the United States. The U.S. officials worked at Canadian seaports and major cities like Québec and Winnipeg. The manifests from every seaport and emigration station in Canada were sent to St. Albans, Vermont.

The Family History Library has copies of both kinds of manifests. Because the manifests were sent to St. Albans, Vermont, they are grouped under St. Albans District Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory. Despite the name, the manifests are actually from seaports and railroad stations all over Canada and the northern United States, not just Vermont.

Border Crossing Manifests. Manifests may include information about each passenger's name, port or station of entry, date of entry, age, literacy, last residence, previous visits to the United States, and birthplace. The manifests are reproduced in two series:

Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895–1954. (608 rolls; Family History Library films 1561087–499) Includes records from seaports and railroad stations all over Canada and the northern United States. These manifests provide two types of lists:

Traditional passenger lists on U.S. immigration forms.
Monthly lists of passengers crossing the border on trains. These lists are divided by month. In each month, the records are grouped by railroad station. (The stations are listed in alphabetical order.) Under the station, the passengers are grouped by railroad company.

Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific Ports, 1929–1949. (25 rolls; Family History Library films 1549387–411) These list travelers to the United States from Canadian Pacific seaports only.

Border Crossing Indexes. In many cases, index cards were the only records kept of the crossings. These cards are indexed in four publications:

Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895–1924.(400 rolls; Family History Library films 1472801–3201)

The Soundex is a surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than how it is spelled. Names like Smith and Smyth are filed together.

Soundex Index to Entries into the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1924–1952. (98 rolls; Family History Library films 1570714–811)
St. Albans District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Records of Arrivals through Small Ports in Vermont, 1895–1924. (6 rolls; Family History Library films 1430987–92) The records are arranged first by port and then alphabetically by surname. Only from Vermont ports of entry: Alburg, Beecher Falls, Canaan, Highgate Springs, Island Pond, Norton, Richford, St. Albans, and Swanton.
Detroit District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Arrivals at Detroit, Michigan, 1906–1954. (117 rolls; Family History Library films 1490449–565) Only from Michigan ports of entry: Bay City, Detroit, Port Huron, and Sault Ste. Marie.

1923-1933 - Canada, Nova Scotia, Records of Aliens pre-examined at Halifax, 1923-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

Passenger Lists

1881-1922 - Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922 at FamilySearch — index and images