The Hardwicke Papers, are they became know, represent emigrant passengers form Ireland to the United State during the period of 1803 to 1806. The Hardwicke Papers were mandatory passenger lists created by the masters of emigrant ships before being allowed to set sail. This is also the only period in which registers of passengers leaving Irish ports were kept, at least by law. These compiled lists, the Harwicke Papers, have been reproduced for a modern research audience and published under the title Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806.
According the “Act for regulating the carrying of Passengers 43rd. of King George the 3rd. of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,” the masters of ships were required to compile a list of passengers, with notation of age, occupation, and, in most cases, place of domicile. These passenger lists were submitted under oath to the Commissioner, a custom’s official, at the Custom House for each port. Copies of the list were sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The Lord Lieutenant during this period was Earl Harwicke; hence, the nickname for the papers.
An Order of Council was given, granting permission for ships to set sail. The date associated with each ship’s passenger list is the date for which the Order of Council was granted, not the actual sailing date. However, it is assumed most ships set sail as soon as tides and weather permitted, following the issuance of an Order. Permission to emigrate was sometimes denied specific passengers who were deemed skilled craftsmen.
American ports did not keep “customs passenger lists,” documenting immigrants, until 1820. Thus, these papers may be the only existing records of immigration into the United States for these Irish emigrants.
In all, there are 109 sailings for Irish ports documented in these lists. The number of sailings breakdown per Irish port as follows:
- Dublin 28
- Londonderry 26
- Belfast 22
- Newry 19
- Sligo 6
- Warrenpoint 3
- Cork 2
- Ballyshannon 1
- Killybegs 1
- Limerick 1
Sailing break down by years as follows:
- 1803 – 35 sailings
- 1804 – 37 sailings
- 1805 – 29 sailings
- 1806 – 8 sailings (records only kept through March of 1806)
All ships in these papers made port in the United States, with the following breakdown by port:
- New York 61
- Philadelphia/Newcastle/Wilmington area 24
- Baltimore 7
- Boston 4
- Chaleston 4
- New Bedford 1
- Norfolk 1
- Wiscasset 1
- and one unspecified port
According to an estimate made from the index, there are over 2,700 individuals are listed in these records.
Order Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806 from Family Roots Publishing; Price: $27.44.