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Natal Passenger Lists

NOTE:
We make no claim to the information offered here being all-inclusive.

NATAL PASSENGER LISTS presents SELECTED passenger lists. Passenger Lists are being added to the site on an on-going basis. We do not have full coverage of surviving lists - even if we reached such an (impossible?) ideal, there are many Passenger Lists which do NOT survive, either in original registers or in newspaper shipping columns. If your ancestor is NOT found on a search of the lists presented it should not be assumed (a) that he didn't arrive or (b) that he may not be found on our site in the future. So you should keep checking as more lists are added.

Passenger lists of emigrant vessels are riddled with discrepancies and the Byrne lists are no exception. Every ship on leaving England would have carried a list of the emigrants on board - but even at that stage inaccuracies could occur: people might change their minds at the last moment (or even die before the departure). If emigrants joined the ship elsewhere, such as Plymouth, some might be omitted. On arrival at Natal, the departure list would be given to the agent, who supplied copies to the press. Incorrect initials and misspellings of surnames, confusion among family members etc are commonly-found in the newspaper lists. Certain individuals who may have been on board a ship were not emigrants - for example, the ship's surgeon. The lists presented on these pages are as accurate as possible under the circumstances.

These passenger lists are extracted as digital photographs from the original newspapers, Natal Witness and Natal Mercury, of relevant dates. While the photos are presented at optimum size for the viewer, their clarity depends largely on factors such as the condition of the original, varying size of the print used in the columns, available light etc. Occasionally, print on the other side of the page shows through and the newspapers may be stained or yellowed with age. However, we believe that, should you find an ancestor listed on one of these extracts, the aesthetics will be a minor detail!

Since many of the columns present more than one passenger list, the caption generally refers to the most important list shown, but we suggest you check ALL the ship arrivals or departures on each column.

More lists, and further background information where available, will be added soon, so keep visiting.