[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] British Passenger Lists (was: Port of departure Rotterdam)

[Paul Rakow]

 Rhonda,

     I don't know about the Rotterdam lists, but your grandparents
 should be recorded in the outbound Liverpool shipping lists, which are
 kept in the Public Records Office in Kew (on the outskirts of London).

    As you guessed, the "indirect" emigration route, (small ship to
 England, and then larger ship from England to Canada or the USA)
 was cheaper than the direct route, so a lot of emigrants travelled
 that way. The British passenger lists cover the dates 1890 to 1960,
 which includes years with a lot of emigration from Volhynia.

     I have found my great-great grandfather, my grandfather and my
 parents in these lists, by visiting Kew in person.

     The only problems are that these British lists aren't filmed,
 and there is only an index by ship's name (and not for every year),
 but not by passenger name.  But if you already know the ship's name
 and month it sailed it wouldn't take long for someone to find the entry,
 so it might be worth thinking about hiring somebody in London to look
 for you.  It is now possible to order scanned copies of any document
 from the Public Records Office, they have a site at

   http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
   http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about-sod.asp

 so with the ship name and month of departure you might be able to get
 a copy sent to you (it will cost more than visiting a FHC, but it
 should be cheaper than flying to London). If you need help with
 finding the catalogue reference, get in touch with me.

       Hope this helps,

            Paul Rakow
            Liverpool
            rakow at ifh.de

 "gary and rhonda simpson" <garynrho at granite.mb.ca> wrote:

Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Port of departure Rotterdam

>
>Has anyone had experience using the Rotterdam lists available through FHC?
>My grandparents Robert and Hulda Litz noted on their naturalization that
>they left from Rotterdam, but their landing in Canada was on a ship from
>Liverpool (SS Bavarian).
>Would these lists give outbound passenger info if they only used Holland
>lines for the first leg of the journey?  I understand if they used a feeder
>ship that there are no records but if they were on one of the major liners
>going to the US for the first part and switched ships to one going to Canada
>mid journey due to cheaper fares maybe???
>
>Any input would be appreciated.
>Rhonda Simpson
>Belair MB