News from USA

[collin]

Hi does anyone know how long it took for news to arrive from America in the 1870s? I guess they had telegrams but would it be expensive?  I have a death in Wisconsin 12 April 1873 and his sister died in Lancashire 7 May 1873. I often wonder if they had kept in touch as he had been out there since 1839 and the only way to prove it would be to see if they put him in the death announcements in the local paper, but it could be months later if they bothered at all?
Thank you

[andrewalston]

The state of Wisconsin would have had rail connections to ports like New York and Boston, so probably a week for that leg.

Crossing the Atlantic would probably take about 2-3 weeks. UK delivery might take a couple of days from port to addressee.

You could probably guarantee delivery within a month.

[Scrumper]

Should have used recorded delivery.

[aghadowey]

I have a marriage that took place in New York City on 29 May 1879 and it appeared in the weekly newspaper in Ireland on 28 June 1879.

[collin]

Thanks for that, so it may be in the local paper 4-6 weeks later.

[Mart 'n' Al]

 From memory Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Eastern ship which had proved unsuccessful as a passenger liner was being used for laying the first transatlantic cable , from memory in 1865 .

One of my research subjects was a trans Atlantic and worldwide ships master from 1850 onwards. I am particularly interested in how long reports of ship movements took to reach London newspapers from the Far East Australia India and South Africa. I'm also interested in the logistics of mail being transferred between ships that pass, either at night or during the day, as well as ship to ship communication by semaphore and heliograph.  It seems particularly difficult to source information on this topic although various specialist nautical publications of the day have helped a bit but many of these no longer exist.

Martin

[collin]

It's a fascinating subject, how news travelled, I found a lengthy article in the Manchester paper in 1873 and it was in the Edinburgh paper the next day. Also a death announcement of an Oldhamer in a New Jersey paper in 1882 and it said  Oldham papers please copy,. I wouldn't have thought they'd even know about it.  I've also got a postcard from the Great War to a wife and he says Don't send cakes here love. I wouldn't dream of sending cakes in the post!
Thanks