Ships' Manifests - does anybody know...

[Nick B]

Does anybody know how the ships' manifests were compiled? I'm trying to decide whether I have two James, aged 4 years apart, or just one with a bad memory...

Would manifests have been copied from passports or reliable paperwork, or was it just a case of passengers lining up to tell their details to someone who wrote what they heard?

Thanks

Nick

[jorose]

I believe they were made up by the shipping companies from the list of those who had bought tickets (hence you sometimes see people with a line through their names who bought a ticket but then missed that sailing for some reason).  Depends on the dates, but most people in the 1800s wouldn't have owned a passport, or any firm form of identification - so the information is probably as accurate as that on, say a marriage certificate from the same time period.  Fairly accurate for most people, but names might get misspelt or ages changed (accidentally or on purpose for whatever reason), and sometimes the people making up the list might make a mistake.

[Nick B]

That's very helpful - James seems to have had a similar problem remembering his age for the census, so I may well be on the right track.

Many thanks

Nick