16 year old Irish Imigrant to America

[Arnside98]

I have the arriving passenger documents for someone I am trying to trace. Owen Connolly from Ireland age 16 was on a ship from Liverpool to New York 18th May 1836.

I can’t see any obvious relatives on the shipping manifest.  Would it be unusual to be 16 and cross the Atlantic on your own? I don’t know that he had relatives already there. I am not sure where in Ireland he is from. I know that he married Mary Kinlan and his family from there. 

[Wexflyer]

I have the arriving passenger documents for someone I am trying to trace. Owen Connolly from Ireland age 16 was on a ship from Liverpool to New York 18th May 1836.

I can’t see any obvious relatives on the shipping manifest.  Would it be unusual to be 16 and cross the Atlantic on your own? I don’t know that he had relatives already there.  I am not sure where in Ireland he is from. I know that he married Mary Kinlan and his family from there.

I have an example from the 1880s where dad went over alone first, and then rest of family went over in dribs and drabs afterwards, including a 15/16 year old son, on his own. Verifiably that age. So certainly could happen.  [Poor fellow made it safely all the way from Wexford to Chicago, only to promptly die in an accident].

In addition, though, ages back then could often be quite unreliable.

[Arnside98]

Thanks. I might see if there are any others in the same town in NY. Connolly changed to Conley and it’s not an unusual name. I have considered that he was older. I have a Great Aunt that sent to Canada as a house child so wondered if there was any reason a child would be sent to America. Hard to imagine a 16 + year old doing that journey alone in 1836!

[frostyknight]

I've a few people in my tree who travelled alone to America at 16 years old. So it's quite possible.