Passenger Lists
Ships’ passenger lists are a key source for the study of emigration, but most passenger lists went with the ship and were handed in at the port of arrival. For further information, and the answers to frequently asked questions about passenger lists, see below.
Ships’ passenger lists were drawn up by shipping companies to identify passengers on particular voyages. The information contained in passenger lists varies, depending on the recording habits of the company involved. Tracking down passenger lists for specific voyages or the names of individual passengers can involve time-consuming and painstaking research. In terms of ease of access, the whereabouts of a particular passenger list should be sought from (a) the relevant record office in the country of arrival; (b) the National Archives in London for departures to non-European ports after1890; (c) the records of the shipping company concerned. Very few passenger lists survive in Scotland.
(a) Tracking down the list or manifest handed in to the port authority at the country of arrival is your best chance of locating a passenger list. For vessels arriving in countries outside the UK you should check the relevant record office in the country concerned. Details on those in North America, Australia, and New Zealand are given in the answers to Frequently Asked Questions below. For vessels arriving in the UK from non-European ports, The National Archives in London holds passenger lists for the period 1878-1960.
(b) The National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK for destinations outside Europe for the period 1890-1960. They are not indexed, many are in a fragile condition, and require a lot of research time.
(c) Occasionally the records of a shipping line survive, but these rarely include passenger lists. Details of shipping company records held by archives throughout the UK can be accessed via the Discovery website <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024]. If you know the name of the shipping company you can search for it by name. Alternatively, you can enter the term “shipping co” or “shipping line” for shipping company records. You can also enter “passenger list” to see cataloguing information about some passenger lists held in various archives throughout the UK.
Contributors: Alison Rosie, Tristram Clarke, David Brown, Jane Jamieson (all National Archives of Scotland, 2002), Robin Urquhart (SCAN, 2002).
Related Knowledge Base entries
Bibliography
Coldham, Peter W., Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1987).
Coldham, Peter W., Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 198?)
Dobson, David, Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825 (Genealogical Publishing Co, 1993).
Dobson, David, Directory of Scots Banished to the American Plantations 1650-1775 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1983) 2nd edition (Clearfield, 2010) –
Filby, P W & others, ed., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (Gale Research Co, 1981 – present, 21 volumes, continuing) is an index of names in published passenger lists and other lists of arrivals in North America in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Whyte, Donald, Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA (Magna Carta Book Co, 1972)
Whyte, Donald, Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the USA Vol 2 (Magna Carta Book Co, 1986)
Where will I find the passenger list for someone who emigrated to America?
The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and ended up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you ought to check sources in the United States first.
First you may be lucky enough to find a record of your ancestor in published passenger lists (which account for about 1% of emigrants to North America).
Next try the US National Archives and Records Administration where all surviving passenger lists for vessels arriving in the United States are kept. They are divided into two types of record: Customs Passenger Lists, 1800-1890, which give the name, age, sex, occupation, country of origin and country of destination of each passenger, but do not cover all American ports; and Immigration passenger lists, from 1890, giving all of the above information, along with place of birth, last place of residence and sometimes the address of a relative in the country of origin. <https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/overview> [accessed 26 April 2024].
The UK National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade). For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024].
Where will I find the passenger list of someone who emigrated to Canada?
The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and ended up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you ought to check sources in Canada first.
First, you may be lucky enough to find a record of your ancestor in published passenger lists (which account for about 1% of emigrants to North America).
Next try Library and Archives Canada, who hold passenger manifests from 1865 (and some earlier records). For further details consult <https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/Pages/introduction.aspx> [accessed 26 April 2024].
The UK National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade). For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [accessed 26 April 2024].
If your ancestor emigrated from Lewis or Harris to Manitoba in the period 1888-1889, it may be worth searching the records of a state-aided scheme, which survive in the records of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department records (AF51), held in the National Records of Scotland. These record various details of each applicant and members of his or her household. The records are not indexed.
Where will I find the passenger list for someone who emigrated to Australia?
The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and end up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you should instead check sources in the Australia first.
Emigrants to Australia were categorized according to the method by which their passages were paid and the arrangement of surviving records reflects this categorization:
- Free (passage paid by government)
- Assisted (fare partly paid by authorities)
- Unassisted (passage paid by passenger)
- Bounty (fee paid by agent, who received a bounty from the government)
- Nominated/remitted (friends/relatives in Australia paid for passage)
Passenger lists for ships arriving in Australia are held by the various state record offices [all links accessed 26 April 2024]:
State Records of New South Wales
Public Record Office of Victoria
State Records of Western Australia https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/state-records-office-of-western-australia
State Records of South Australia
Passenger lists after 1924 are held by the National Archives of Australia https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/immigration-and-citizenship/passenger-arrival-records
The National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade). For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/>
If your ancestor emigrated from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to Australia as an assisted passenger between 1852 and 1857, there is a chance that there may be details of the emigrant’s origins in the records of the Highland and Island Emigration Society. These are held by the National Records of Scotland among the records of the Highland Destitution Boards (HD4/5) and can be viewed on the ScotlandsPeople website <www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk>
Where will I find the passenger list of someone who emigrated to New Zealand?
Answer: The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and end up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you ought to check sources in the New Zealand first.
Surviving passenger lists of ships arriving in New Zealand are held by the National Archives of New Zealand.
The UK National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [all links accessed 26 April 2026].
Where will I find the passenger list of someone who emigrated to New Zealand?
The basic rule of thumb is that, for the period prior to 1890, expect the passenger list to have gone with the passenger and end up in the port of arrival. This means that you should not expect to find a passenger list for an outgoing ship in Scotland and you ought to check sources in the New Zealand first.
Surviving passenger lists of ships arriving in New Zealand are held by the National Archives of New Zealand.
The UK National Archives in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (among the records of the Board of Trade For further details consult the Discovery website. <https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/> [all links accessed 26 April 2026].