Is this our John Shore?

 

The  'Passenger and Immigration List'  record below shows a 'George Shore' sailing from Bristol, England to New York in May 1832.

It coincides with the arrival of our ancestor John Shore as mentioned in one of our family's letters.

Note:

The ship's manifest shows a passenger, "George Shore".  Might he be John Shore?

His profession is 'Carpenter'.  That was John Shore's profession.

Ships' manifests usually had only a brief entry of a passenger's name.  Perhaps John Shore's full name might have had 'George' in it, or perhaps the name could be written in error.

His age is shown as 25.  John Shore was born about 1802, so he would have been about 30 in the year this ship sailed.

The letter:

A letter in our family shows that our ancestor John Shore departed from England in April 1832.

The letter is written in 1843.  It states:  "the boy that was born the month after you left ... is 11 years old the 29 of May".

May 1843, minus 11 years and one month, would put John Shore's departure from England in April 1832.

This ship sailed from the port of Bristol, England.  Probably John Shore departed from Bristol as it was barely 20 miles from the family home.  The next port, Liverpool, was about 150 miles away.

A Bristol departure in April and a New York arrival date of 11 May would be reasonable for Atlantic crossings in ships of that time.

On the other hand, there are the two discrepancies: the name 'George' and age '25', so this might not be our ancestor John Shore at all.  So far, a ship's record accurately showing our 'John Shore' has not been found.

New York, 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists

Ship:   Superb
Port of Departure:   Bristol
Place of Origin:   Great Britain
Destination:   United States of America
Port of Arrival:   New York
Arrival Date:   11 May 1832

Passenger Name:   George Shore
Age:   25
Occupation:   Carpenter

Source:

Registers of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. Microfilm Serial Number M237, Roll Number 16, List Number 297.

 


 

The Ship:  SUPERB

 

A model of the ship 'Superb'

Note:  An earlier ship named "Superb" struck an iceberg and sank in April 1828.  Six sailors were drowned; the rest of the crew were rescued after 11 days at sea.

The ship described here is the second ship with the same name.  Her 1830-31 activities are shown below; her voyages in 1832 have not yet been found.

 

(Source 1:   Underwriters Book, 1830-31)

Master:   Captain J. Cain (1830); Captain H. Watts (1830-31)
Rigging:   Ship; single deck with beams
Tonnage:   500 tons
Construction:   Prince Edward Island, using White Oak & Juniper; vessel 4 years old
Owners:   Shepherd (1830); Cutbridge (1831)
Draught under load:   18 feet
Port of survey:   Bristol
Voyage:   Sailed for Québec (1830); New York (1831)

 

(Source 2:   Shipowners Book, 1830-31)

Master:   Captain Cane (1830); Captain Watts (1830-31)
Rigging:   Ship; 2 decks
Tonnage:   500 tons
Construction:   1826 on Prince Edward Island, using Oak & Pine
Owners:   Shepherd (1830); Lewis & Co. (1830-31)
Draught under load:   18 feet
Port of survey:   Bristol
Voyage:   Sailed for Québec (1830); Boston (1831)

 


 

This information is offered as an aid to further research in our family heritage.

December 8, 2010