Ancestors On Board

U.K. Outward Passenger Lists 1890 - 1960
If you are researching North American passenger arrivals from the U.K. or Europe, then you'll want to know about BT27 and Ancestors On Board. While many Americans can locate their ancestors on passenger arrival records through Ellis Island, the BT27 records (Board of Trade, Series 27) are the list of outward passenger records departing U.K. ports from 1890 to 1960. This includes arrivals through New York, but also other American and Canadian ports coming from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In addition, travel originating from other European countries passing through the United Kingdom would also be included as part of this collection being marketed as Ancestors On Board (or www.AncestorsOnBoard.com).

According to The National Archives based in London, a major digitization initiative is underway with contractors of the website 1837online.com already onsite and digitizing the entire BT27 series. It is estimated that the first batches of content will go live online late in 2006, with the entire series digitized and online by late 2007.

To make sure the scanning of the records is completed as quickly as possible, The National Archives (TNA) has had to temporarily suspend the advance ordering of BT27 records. They are working to minimize any disruption to availability, and will ensure that the number of pieces out of accessibility will be kept to a minimum at any one time. Please check that the pieces you wish to consult are not affected before you travel.

For the first time this fascinating series will be fully searchable by name, ship, port and date, further opening up what is already well-used resource at The National Archives, and giving you easy access to a digital copy of the original records. Visit www.AncestorsOnBoard.com

At the 2006 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Boston, 1837online.com announced this project by the name of Ancestors On Board, so check out their site for the latest details. Additional material will be posted here shortly regarding BT27, so bookmark this page and return again for updates.