Only first class passengers were listed. Steerage...you would be lucky if they existed.All the Irish were catholic who left with the potato famine as tey were not allowed to own land in Ireland if Catholic. My ggf was Samuel Alfred Riddle b Dublin. I traced him through his marriage and many many children in South Africa.
I think you need to study Irish history before making such sweeping and incorrect statements. There is much information available online about the Penal Laws, land ownership in Ireland, etc. Not all the Irish who left Ireland during the Famine period were Catholic or left because of the Famine.
Also incorrect about the naming of steerage passengers.
When my mother started researching her Irish ancestry (1940s/50s) she was told that her people were in a group of 'unnamed Irish passengers in steerage'. With the growth of recording we then found that in fact the passengers were not unnamed or unknown but had
not been transcribed.
Many came from Ireland to the colonies as part of various schemes and no Captain or shipping agent would have been allowed to have passengers destined for the colonies and claim the subsidies/fees without names being noted. In fact there is often more information about these passengers now, as you can often cross match them to land records in the place of destination. It is the ones who paid for their passages that often do not have the same amount of information as to exactly where they were destined, who had sponsored them, if they were part of emigration schemes.
I must admit getting a bit annoyed at some of this (mis) information that may have the effect of turning people away from searching for their Irish kinfolk. They perceive it will be too difficult. In fact it can be tricky but by no means impossible and the journey is fascinating across a wide range of interesting census substitutes.
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Topic: Irish Passenger Lists to South Africa (Read 1563 times)