Passenger Ships – Part 2

In my last post I gave information about how my grandfather arrived in Canada. Other family members also came by ship, some of which vessels had interesting histories themselves.

Name	Relationship	Ship	Date Departed Date Arrived	Departure Port Arrival Port
James Shepheard	Great-grandfather	SS Ascania	27 Feb 1913 11 Mar 1913	Southampton Portland, Maine

 

Portions of the outgoing passenger manifest for the SS Ascania, leaving Liverpool on 27 February 1913 – showing passenger James Shepheard (from Passenger Lists Leaving UK, 1890-1960; copyright The National Archives (UK); image downloaded from FindMyPast 31 May 2014)

The information on the passenger manifests for my great-grandfather, James Shepheard, was quite detailed. In particular, the immigration form listed quite a bit about him and his destination, not all of it entirely correct:

1.      Ticket number – 3196

2.      Name – James Shepheard

3.      Age – 47

4.      Sex – male

5.      Previous visit to United States – no (He had actually visited the US as a crew member on at least one earlier date. His personal bible was shown to have been purchased in New York in 1912 while he was there and working on the SS Usk.)

6.      Occupation – Ship’s Steward

7.      Future permanent residence in Canada – yes

8.      Literacy – could read and write

9.      Nationality – England

10.  Race/People – English

11.  Last permanent address – Cardiff, England

12.  Name and address of nearest relative in country of origin – brother, Cardiff, South Wales

13.  Final destination – Irricana, Alberta (had a ticket to final destination)

14.  Passage paid by self

15.  Carrying $20 in cash

16.  Person to join at final destination – brother, Irricana (It was actually his son, James Pearson, that James was intending to rejoin.)

 

Portions of the incoming passenger manifest for the SS Ascania, arriving Portland, Maine 11 March 1913 – showing passenger James Shepheard (from Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959; copyright National Archives (USA); image downloaded from Ancestry 17 January 2009)

The SS Ascania was built in 1911 by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. of Wallsend, England and operated by the Cunard Steamship Co. Ltd. The ship was of modest size at 9,121 tons. During the First World War, the ship carried soldiers from Canada and the United States to Europe. She sailed only for a few years, running aground and wrecked on 13 June 1918 in the Cabot Strait, 20 miles east of Cape Ray, Newfoundland. A second ship named Ascania was launched in 1923 and sailed for the Cunard line until its retirement in 1956.

 

Postcard picture of RMS Ascania, circa 1911 (image downloaded from website about Rhiw, Wales www.Rhiw.com 1 June 2014)

Wayne Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past Editor of Chinook, the quarterly journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.