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.
