Where exactly did my ancestors disembark in New York when they arrived from Ireland?

December 19, 2007 11:08 AM

Where exactly did my ancestors disembark in New York when they arrived from Ireland?

I have 2 arrivals I am researching

First, my grand aunt left Cobh, Ireland on the Carinthia (Cunard line), on September 25th, 1927, arriving in New York on October 2nd, 1927. She was 17 years old, and entering the US for the first time. What dock would she have arrived at? What would the landing procedure entail?

Second,
My grandfather, his wife, and 2 kids left Londonderry on August 7th, 1935 aboard the Caledonia (Anchor shipping line), traveling 3rd class, and arrived in New York on August 16th, 1935. They were re-entering the U.S. with re-entry permits. What dock would they have arrived at? What would the landing procedure entail?

The family legend is that these folks did not enter the US through Ellis Island, but I'd like to know exactly where they did enter.

Any info greatly appreciated!

Alberto

posted by pantufla to travel & transportation around New York, NY (11 answers total)

I don't know the answer to your question, but you can quickly check to see if the family legend is true by looking here.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:17 AM on December 19, 2007

I don't know if this helps, but here is the index of U.S. ports of arrival for those years. Scroll down to New York. It lists Castle Garden, Barge Office and Ellis Island separately, so perhaps Ellis Island wasn't the only point to enter. My grandfather and his brothers arrived from Ireland to New York City in the 1920s and they are not listed in the Ellis Island records either.

I've always meant to look them up on the passenger lists from Ireland. Having the name of the boat they arrived on is a great help.
posted by jeanmari at 11:21 AM on December 19, 2007

If you don't mind paying a fee, this could help.
posted by jeanmari at 11:29 AM on December 19, 2007

Search the NY Times archives around those dates for the name of this ship(s). They had steamship arrivals and other news back then. I found my great-grandfather's ship and was able to follow it from Italy, to a couple of European ports, and finally to NYC.

You should find short postings like "Steamship XXX radioed from Newfoundland, will arrive Ellis Island on Tuesday." It might give the name of the port they docked at in NYC.
posted by bondcliff at 11:55 AM on December 19, 2007

Also, you might try using Google to search inside this book.
posted by bondcliff at 11:58 AM on December 19, 2007

If you want to MeFi Mail (is that what it's called?) me their names, I'll put them into Ancestry.com and see what I find. I'm home sick so have time to do it today...
posted by jdl at 12:20 PM on December 19, 2007

Oh and I have the bloody expensive subscription to Ancestry.com too, forgot to say that.
posted by jdl at 12:21 PM on December 19, 2007

Following up on bondcliff's lead, I queried the historical NYT archive in ProQuest (check your local library for access). Searching for the ship names in the appropriate date ranges brings up the "Shipping and Mails" sections which list incoming, arrived, and outgoing ships. From this, I found that the Carinthia (Cunard) which left Liverpool on Sept. 24, 1927 docked at W. 14th St. on Oct. 2, 1927 and the Caledonia (Anchor) which departed Glasgow on Aug. 16, 1935 docked at W. 55th St. Hope this helps.

Interestingly, there were apparently some people on the Carinthia which were notable enough to be listed in an Ocean Travel column (NYT, Oct. 2, 1927):

Among those due this afternoon on the Cunarder Carinthia from Liverpool and Queenstown are John McCormack, the tenor, and Mrs. McCormack, Mrs. Julie Le Gallienne, Sir Doarbji Tata and Lady Tata, Lauri Kennedy, 'cellist; Thomas J. O'Donnell, Wing Commander E.C. Clements, R. A. F., and A. C. Baker.

The article continues on with a couple dozen more passenger names.
posted by mhum at 5:04 PM on December 19, 2007

Hi All, Thanks for the great info!
BitterOldPunk: Thanks for the link. I could not find their names, so I guess the legend is correct.
Bondcliff: that arrivals book is great. It lists the arrival of the Carinthia as October 3 1927, which means that it arrived a day early (or is a typo)
jdl: I am an ancestry.com member, thanks for the offer. That's where I found the info I do have, but once bitten by the genealogy bug I want to know more. It is pretty expensive as well....Hope you feel better!
Mhum: fantastic info. I'm going to have to look up these people (who were several decks above my teenaged grand aunt, sipping sherry and trading bon mots, no doubt. I wonder what became of Lady Tata...
posted by pantufla at 10:34 PM on December 19, 2007

Unrelated, but interesting-

What became of Dorabji and Lady (Meherbai) Tata - Wikipedia
posted by bemis at 4:03 PM on December 20, 2007

Thanks, bemis!
posted by pantufla at 9:07 PM on December 20, 2007