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Author Topic: How did they afford this journey?  (Read 613 times)

Offline Tecumsah123

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How did they afford this journey?
« on: Thursday 20 April 17 19:20 BST (UK) »
A distant relation of my wife on her father's side of the family emigrated to the United States in 1823, taking his wife and six children with him. We weren't aware that he was a particularly wealthy man yet he somehow managed to afford to take a party of eight to the States - surely it must have been a hugely expensive enterprise? Or are we wrong? Was it possible to negotiate cut-price deals back in those days? What would have been the rough cost of the voyage?

The family sailed on the Frances Henrietta from London to New York - is anybody able to tell us anything about this ship? Was it a rusting hulk or did it do the run on a regular basis?

We'd be ever so grateful for any information anybody might have.

Offline *Sandra*

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Re: How did they afford this journey?
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 20 April 17 19:29 BST (UK) »
At Liverpool, the cost of steerage passage to N.Y. fell from 12 pounds ($60) in 1816  to just over 3 pounds ($15+) in 30 years (1846)... The drop was nowhere as great or as abrupt as in Irish ports, where passage to Quebec during the 1820s (1840s?) could be obtained for as little as 30 shillings ($3.75)................

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Offline Skoosh

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Re: How did they afford this journey?
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 20 April 17 19:46 BST (UK) »
Worth a read of R.L.Stevenson's "The Amateur Emigrant!" you'll get it on line, steerage passage quite cheap. His crossing was later than this & from the Clyde to New York but still of interest.

Skoosh.

Offline Tecumsah123

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Re: How did they afford this journey?
« Reply #3 on: Thursday 20 April 17 20:03 BST (UK) »
Thank you Sandra and Skoosh for your fast and informative replies, we're very grateful. But still amazed that they managed to scrape together what must have been a huge amount of money in 1823 - even if they sold everything they owned we can't believe they would have had very much left to live on once they reached America. But they did, and prospered. Good luck to them - they had a lot more gumption that we've got.
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