Genealogy Chat

Is there any way of tracing passengers' names and travel details? My ancestor's wider family almost certainly travelled across the channel to France (possibly to Germany too) on business. I'd like to look into this further but have no idea where to start. They were based in Margate so would have departed from a location near there. Any suggestions gratefully accepted. Thanks!

I am not sure about Margate, but Dover has always been the major porty for Channel crossings. In the early 1800s there were sailing ships replaced by steam or paddle steamers by mid 1800s to make the crossings as neither Dover nor Calais had deep water harbour to take large ships, so the crossings may well have been a little uncomfortable. From about 1895 Dover had developed deep water harbour and the regular ferry service started though carrying cars didn't happen until the 1930s. Further north Hull, Grimsby and Hartlepool were ports for crossings to/from Europe mainly via Rotterdam or a Belgian port.

Passports? http://www.passport.gov.uk/textonly/english/t_history_overview.asp I know when I looked into my Grandmothers birth in Egypt as a British Subject and subsequent return to England the British Embassy in Cairo refered me to the Nationality and Passport Section of the Foreign Office. It was no help to me but might help you. Also I know there is a site that had old passport details online but they merged with someone..... 1837 online? Chris

Yes it is 1837 0nline Passport applications 1851 to 1903 but it looks as if some years are missing. Chris

Up to 1858 passports were issued as passes of safe conmduct and were issued, by the king or queen, to any nationality requesting such. In 1858 the issue was granted only to U K nationals. Passports with photograph was only issued from 1914 and it was only from that date that passports were issued by most other countries. You only have to look at the number of Jews that entered this country at about the turn of 19/20th centuries to see that most arrived at a port without papers and were allowed to 'merge' with the general population, the only point being that they had a 'medical inspection on arrival to ensure that they were not carriers of any disease - typhus, cholera etc., but the medical was little more than a cursory look at a person to judge whether they were ill or not. Many of these arrivals were transient checking in at, say, Dover then crossing the country to take a ship onward from Liverpool to New York, for example. The transients had to have a form of identification only. Other peoples from Europe had to undergo the same treatment. Naturally if any of the population wished to travel abroad they had to have the 'passport' such as it was from 1858 but generally most people could not afford to travel abroad and stayed within their own communities. Travellers to 'foreign parts' would be person 'of substance' or military, not for them package holidays to the Costas.