Monday, June 21, 2021

Black Forty-Seven: The Brodericks Atlantic Crossing

I didn't want to get my hopes up when I learned new details about my 3rd great-grandfather Michael Broderick's (1801-1889) emigration from Ireland to Canada. 

After all, Michael Broderick's obituary said that the family sailed from Ireland to Quebec in 1847. Over 400 ships sailed to Quebec in that year referred to as "a black page in the annals of the sea"! 

Rev John A Gallagher  (who wrote "The Irish Emigration of 1847 and Its Canadian Consequences") said that "The Irish themselves have written this year (1847) down as "Black Forty-Seven" -- a year black with Famine, Disease, Death and Exile from the land of their birth." Gallagher added, "The manner of transporting the Irish emigrant of '47 fills a black page in the annals of the Sea. Anything that could float or hold a sail was used to carry the emigrant across the sea. ... Dr. Douglas, the medical Superintendent of Grosse Île, estimated that 8,000 died at sea in 1847.

What could I learn about Irish emigration to Canada in 1847? What kinds of records exist that could help me piece together the Broderick family's journey?

Knowing that the Broderick family had arrived at Quebec was helpful. This meant that their ship had to travel down the St Lawrence and:

  1. Quebec began to receive emigrants in May as the ice finally left the St. Lawrence river and ships were able to make their way up to the city. 
  2. their ship was most likely detained at Grosse Île.
  3. they might have departed from England or Ireland. Of the 400 ships that crossed the Atlantic to Canada:
    • 36 ships came from German ports
    • 140 vessels sailed from England (mostly from the port of Liverpool) bringing 32,328 emigrants, twenty some thousand of whom were Irish; 
    • 221 vessels from Ireland, with 54,329 passengers; 
    • 42 ships from Scotland, with 3,752 on board. 
  4. In total, 89,738 passengers from British ports, of whom some 75,000 were Irish. 

Michael Broderick Obituary; 1889; Amherstburg Echo

 Black Forty-Seven   

" ... four hundred vessels that emptied their human cargoes in Canada go down in Canadian History as the coming of the Fever Fleet" 

~Rev John A Gallagher~  

An engraving of emigrants departing Ireland (Universal History Archive/Getty Images) Source: https://www.macleans.ca/history/the-long-history-of-go-back-to-where-you-came-from-in-canada/
 

Of the 95,000 Irish who sailed to Canada between March and September 1847, 20,000 died in Canada and "while another 17,000 souls never reached her shores, perishing during the crossing."

The Illustrated London News; May 10, 1851

The Irish were herded onto ships that were never built or intended to carry passengers. Crossing the Atlantic ocean could take anywhere between six to eight weeks (in some cases, three months)

Aboard the ship, the conditions were deplorable with overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor food and water, and deaths occurring daily, it's no wonder the ships were referred to as "floating coffins" and it was said that "Ireland was connected to Canada by a chain of dead bodies of her children -- old man and infant, parent and child, found a grave in the Atlantic".

"Just to add to the misery, the northern U.S. and Canada had a hard winter in 1846-7 and the snow and ice were causing delays for many of the vessels. There are reports of gales and of vessels being stuck in the ice for weeks. " (Source: The Ships List 1847)

Michael Broderick's obituary states, "After being tossed about for many weeks in one of the old-time sailing vessels, he was safely landed in Quebec"

Ship Arrivals 1847

 Newspaper: The Quebec Morning Chronicle

That being the case, The Brodericks would have had a brief stop at the quarantine station at Grosse Isle before landing in Quebec.

A Stop At Grosse Isle

"Grosse Isle is situated some 30 miles east of the historic city of Quebec. It measures three miles long by about a mile wide. In 1832 the Imperial Authorities took possession of the Island for the purpose of quarantine, as it was directly in the path of incoming vessels." (Gallagher)

Grosse Isle, the quarantine station, began to feel the strain within the first few weeks of May. On May 11, Mr. Buchanan, the Chief Emigrant Agent at Quebec, reported that "From the above statement it appears there are now on their way to this port, 31 vessels, having on board 10,636 passengers." Before the year was out Grosse Isle would be completely overwhelmed. (Ships List 1847)

"

 

The Brodericks would have been taken by steamship services (perhaps the St. George steamship) from Gross Isle to Quebec. The recommendations were "that the healthy passengers spend ten days quarantine on shore or 15 days quarantine on board." 

Of the 90,000 immigrants who landed at Gross Isle 30,000 were admitted to the hospital of Canada as fever patients. (Gallagher)

From Lower to Upper Canada

After landing in Quebec, The Brodericks rested " ... a short time at Montreal and Kingston and at last anchor in Sandwich West, Essex County." 

"The reception of the Irish Immigrant in Lower Canada was generous. Money, food, clothing and supplies were cheerfully given." (Gallagher) 

"Mr. Wilson wrote that he was the principal agent in forwarding some 80,000 Irish Immigrants from Grosse Isle to Point St. Charles, Montreal. Three large steamers, the Quebec, the Queen and the Alliance were used......At Point St. Charles no suitable preparations were made to receive the emigrants... the number of deaths occuring there was a disgrace to the government. Again we see the criminal herding of human beings together with little or no regard to sanitation and the dangers of contagion."

Souorce: By Coastal Elite from Halifax, Canada - The Black Rock: Irish Commemorative Stone, Montreal, 2017, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90571606
 

Today near Victoria Bridge, Montreal, there is a large "Boulder Stone" inscribed with the words "To preserve from desecration the remains of 6,000 immigrants who died of ship fever A.D. 1847-1848 this stone is erected by the Workmen of Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Betts, employed in the construction of the Victoria Bridge A.D. 1859".

From Montreal to Kingston, "passage through the Canals was slow. Confined together for over two days, many healthy caught the disease. The number admitted into the hospitals at Kingston was 4,326. A monument erected to the fever victims in Kingston claims 1,400 succumbed to the typhus." (Gallagher)

Every step of their journey, the Brodericks were surrounded by death and disease and yet managed to survive. What an incredible legacy for their descendants in Ontario and elsewhere.

My search for potential records of the Broderick family, from port of departure to port of arrival and every stop along the way has only begun. Stay tuned for posts on my progress or any notable findings.

I have another Essex County Broderick story where I believe that I did locate the ship that they sailed on?

Finding Patrick Broderick's 1851 Ship

Essex county Patrick Broderick (1793-1853) often gets linked on ancestry to my 3rd great grandfather Michael Broderick (1801-1889). I too had hoped they were somehow related and that finding information about one would help me locate the other.

If only I could connect these two families because I learned that THIS Broderick emigrated in 1851 and I learned this from Patrick and Margaret (O'Laughlin) Broderick's daughter Bridget (Broderick) Cahill's  (1836-1911) obituary.

Her obituary states that she was born in Kildare, Ireland (which is in the east of Ireland just 50 km west of Dublin) and that she "immigrated to this country in 1851. Her parents immediately settled on a tract of land in Sandwich West on the Huron Line.

 

Immigrants Behold the Statue of Liberty; Illustration in: Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, 1887 July 2, pp. 324-325. Source: Public Domain

Could this be the Brodericks aboard the Andrew Foster? Almost all of the passengers were U.S. bound except for the Brodericks who were heading to Upper Canada? The Andrew Foster departed Liverpool, England in 1851 and arrived at Ellis Island 8 Dec 1851.

Year: 1851; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Line: 28; List Number: 1752 Description  Ship or Roll Number: Andrew Foster

Transcription below is from the Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild (ISTG)

Most of the information corresponds to what is currently known about this Broderick family. I cannot say for certain. I only wish I had the same luck finding Michael Broderick's 1847 ship.

Here are some Irish Immigration Links that might be helpful for you is you are also looking for information.

Irish Famine Links

Ships and Passenger Lists


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