Scotland Emigration and Immigration

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Scotland

Emigration and Immigration

Online Databases[edit | edit source]

Immigrant Ancestors Project
Scottish Immigration Database, index, incomplete.
Passenger Lists of Ships leaving Scotland
1576-1793 Papers relating to the Scots in Poland, 1576-1793, e-book
1610-1626 Grants of denization to Irish settlers from Scotland: 1610-1616
1628-1828 Ships from Scotland to America, 1628 - 1828, Vol 2 ($)
1628-1828 Ships from Scotland to America, 1628 - 1828, Vol. 3 ($)
1650-1775' Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations, 1650-1775, index, ($).
1680-1830 Directory of Scots in the Carolinas, 1680-1830, index, ($).
1774-1775 Emigrants from Scotland to America, 1774 - 1775 ($)
1774-1775 Records of emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775, e-book
1801 Passenger lists of the ships Dove and Sarah coming to Nova Scotia from Scotland, 1801
1818 Ships "Curlew" and "Jane"; 1818 Voyages
1818 Brig Sophia:from Greenock 26th July 1818, to Quebec and Montreal 8th September 1818
1850-1879 Lyttelton shipping lists, 1850-1879 List of assisted emigrants who came to New Zealand in 1866 aboard the ship "Bombay", list of assisted and free passengers on the ship "Blue Jacke", lists of persons whom the Canterbury Association authorized to embark for Canterbury, New Zealand. Passengers came to New Zealand principally from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany.
1852-1857 List of emigrants, 1852-1857 Ships sailing from Liverpool, Glasgow, Cambletown and Plymouth, and calling at various Australian ports.
1858-1870 Ireland and Britain, Transatlantic Migration from North America, 1858-1870 - indexes of passenger lists from United States to England and Ireland
1863-1901 Glasgow, Scotland, Crew Lists, 1863 - 1901 ($)

Immigration to Scotland[edit | edit source]

Immigration into Scotland has included people from elsewhere in the British Isles and from Continental Europe. Specific immigrant groups include:

refugees from wars (such as the French Revolution)
refugees from religious persecution (such as Huguenots and Jews).
job seekers influenced of industrial development (particularly in the nineteenth century)
refugees from the Irish Potato Famine

Emigration from Scotland[edit | edit source]

There was no systematic, official method of emigrating from Scotland. The following types of emigrants account for most persons who left Scotland.

Free emigrants. Beginning in 1630, emigrants left Scotland to promote trade or set up military outposts and way stations for merchant ships. Later, free emigrants sought opportunity in a new land or fled poverty or oppression in Scotland.
Assisted emigrants. From 1815 to 1900, qualified emigrants received passage money or land grants in the destination country as an alternative to receiving poor relief. Many Scots from the Highlands emigrated to Canada in this manner. After 1840, New Zealand and Australia offered money for land grants to skilled workers to encourage immigrants.
Latter-day Saints. Beginning in about 1840, many Scottish Latter-day Saints emigrated to the United States. Most settled in Utah. For more information, see Utah Emigration and Immigration and Latter-day Saint Online Genealogy Records:Emigration and Immigration.

British Records of Emigration[edit | edit source]

To search emigration records effectively, it can help to know the approximate date of emigration, the name of the ship, the type of or reason for emigration, or the emigrant’s previous residence in Scotland. If you know the ship’s name, you might find additional details on the ship, including ports of embarkation and arrival in:

Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping. Fiche ed. LaCrosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1981. (Family History Library fiche 6024581-6025295; does not circulate to Family History Centers.) Online at HathiTrust.

Passenger Lists. Port records listing the names of departing or arriving passengers are called passenger lists. Pre-1890 passenger departure lists are rare. Post-1890 lists are arranged chronologically by port of departure. These lists—which usually give the emigrant’s name, age, occupation, address, and sometimes destination—are kept at the Public Record Office, Kew (see Scotland Archives and Libraries).

Assisted Emigrants Registers. Persons who applied for assistance to emigrate were recorded in assisted emigrants registers, which often contain name, age, occupation, residence, destination, name of sponsor, address of relative, and size of family. Those available at the Family History Library appear in the Locality Search of the catalog under:

[DESTINATION COUNTRY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

ENGLAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

GREAT BRITAIN - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

SCOTLAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

Probate Records. Probate records may mention relatives who emigrated. Probates of persons who died overseas who owned property in Scotland should have been proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (until 1858).

For lists of Scottish-American wills proved in England, see:

Coldham, Peter W. American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1610-1857. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1989. (Family History Library book 942 P27c.)

Testaments of some Scots dying in America were proven in Scotland. Probate would have taken place in the Commissary Court of Edinburgh (until 1830) or the Sheriff Court of Edinburgh (after 1830). For a listing of these probates, see:

Dobson, David. Scottish-American Wills, 1650-1900. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1991. (Family HistoryLibrary book 973 P22d.)

Records of Scottish Emigrants in Their Destination Countries[edit | edit source]

Since so few British immigration sources exist, you may need to search the emigration records of the country your ancestor moved from to Scotland. Usually, it is easier to find information about your immigrant ancestor in the country he or she immigrated to. You may find the emigrant’s name, place of origin, occupation, and age. Knowing an approximate date and port of arrival or ship name will probably help you search immigration records.

Naturalization records in the destination country may be an excellent source for determining your ancestor’s place of origin. Search this Wiki for "Naturalization and Citizenship" and the name of the destination country.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists most of its immigration records in the Locality Search under:

[COUNTRY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

United States[edit | edit source]

US Immigration Online Records

Immigrant lists are the main source of information about an immigrant’s arrival in the United States. More than 1,000 published lists are indexed in an ongoing series:

Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1981. (Family History Library book Ref 973 W32p.)

The Family History Library has post-1820 government compiled passenger lists for most U.S. ports. Many are indexed. See United States Emigration and Immigration for more information.

Argyll Patent - New York[edit | edit source]

In the mid 18th century, the governor of New York colony sought settlers from Britain. Captain Lauchlin Campbell, from Islay, Argyllshire, Scotland, transported over 470 individuals in 1738, 1739, and 1740 from Islay on his ship Happy Return. The records of the land they finally received are found in the documents of the Argyll Patent. On the Washington County, New York, United States, US GenWeb site is a map of the Argyll Patent. The land was located along the Hudson River.

A list of the emigrants may be accessed on the NYGenWeb website. More information about this colony can be found:

James MacNaughton, Jr. The Argyle Patent And Its Early Settlers. Hopkinsville, KY: The Sleeper Co., 1999. FHL974.749.R2. Contains history of the patent, list of those who were awarded land, and a lot by lot description of 18th and 19th century transactions of each lot.

Jennie M. Patten.The Argyle Patent And Accompanying Documents. Excerpted from History of the Somonauk Presbyterian Church. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1965. FHL 974.749 R2 or FHL Film #1033649 Item 2

Margaret C. Storrie.ISLAY: Biography of an Island. Islay [Argyll] : The Oa Press, c1981 FHL 941.38 H2

Argyll Colony - North Carolina[edit | edit source]

A group of individuals from Argyllshire settled in the Cape Fear area of North Carolina. Information about these emigrants can be found on NCPedia.

Canada[edit | edit source]

Scottish people settled in Canada during the early 1800s, but few pre-1865 passenger lists exist. Before 1900, most immigrants arrived at Quebec City and Halifax. The Family History Library has copies of passenger lists from 1865 to 1900. See the Canada Research Outline for more information.

Whyte, Donald. Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to Canada Before Confederation. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1986. (Family History Library book 971 F2wd.)

Online Passenger Lists[edit | edit source]

These websites contain online passenger lists from Scotland to Canada:

North America[edit | edit source]

Many books have been published about Scottish emigrants to North America. Some of these are:

Dobson, David. Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America 1625-1825. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1984. (Family History Library book 970 W2d.) This author has published several other books on Scottish emigrants to America.
Tepper, Michael. New World Immigrants: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists and Associated Data from Periodical Literature. 2 vols. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979. (Family History Library book 973 W3tn.)
Whyte, Donald. Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the U.S.A. 2nd ed. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. (Family History Library book 973 W2w.)

You can find bibliographies of published passenger lists in:

Whyte, Donald. Scottish Emigration: A Select Bibliography, Scottish Genealogist 21, no. 3 (1974): 65-86. (Family History Library book 941 B2g vol. 21 no. 3.)

Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography 1538-1900. 2nd ed. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co, 1988. (Family History Library book 973 W33p.)

Australia[edit | edit source]

Australia was founded as an English penal colony in 1788, but many free people also emigrated to Australia. Immigration records vary by state in content and coverage. Some list the immigrant’s birthplace, residence in Scotland, and education; his or her mother’s maiden name; and his or her father’s name, occupation, and residence. Some records are indexed. You might find the ship and arrival date in death certificates or published sources.

The Family History Library has many pre-1900 records. To find them, use the Locality Search of the catalog under:

AUSTRALIA - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

AUSTRALIA - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION Online Records

AUSTRALIA, [STATE] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION