Life for 19th century steerage passenger

September 15, 2010 4:09 PM

Seeking to learn details of early 19th century transatlantic emigration.

Please help me find non-fiction sources for information about life as a steerage passenger on board a (120 passenger) sailing ship from Liverpool to NYC in the early 19th century. Typical fare? Rations? Allotment of space? Allotment (weight?) of personal goods?

Am seeking factual information to weave into narrative around life of immigrant ancestor.

posted by John Borrowman to Society & Culture (2 answers total)

Best answer: Ah well, you'd want the Merseyside Maritime Museum, of course. They have a gallery on precisely this subject, and an 'online interactive feature' that might be interesting for you--though it's about a family leaving in mid-century (1858), for Australia rather than NYC. (It's also meant to be accessible for children, so it's a little simple.)

More to the point, though, they'd be excellent people to contact with this question.
posted by lapsangsouchong at 4:35 PM on September 15, 2010

Best answer: Published in 1829, The emigrant's guide: in ten letters, addressed to the tax-payers of England; containing information of every kind, necessary to persons who are about to emigrate; including several authentic and most interesting letters from English emigrants, now in America, to their relations in England.
posted by Knappster at 5:17 PM on September 15, 2010