Emigrants
Introduction:
The Scottish people have always been adventurous individuals, who were prepared to travel all over the world from the earliest days. They travelled to find work, to fight, in order to trade and to try and improve their situation in life. Some were not so lucky and were forced to emigrate, either because their land and occupations were taken from them, or because they were transported, sometimes for the most trivial crimes.
Questions to Consider:
If your ancestor was one of the many Scots who emigrated from Scotland, then you need to consider the following:
What family members do you know about? Make a list of those that you know about, including both those who might have emigrated along with your ancestor and those who were left behind. If you do not know about relatives, look at the names of children, as naming patterns often exist which can give a clue as to their ancestors' names. Work out what dates you know, or approximate dates for those that you don't know exactly.
What do you know about where your ancestor was from in Scotland?
What do you know about where your ancestors lived in your own country before your present address?
What do you know about any journeys they made on arriving in your country, or any countries they passed through on the way?
What was their reason for emigrating and who conveyed them?
Do you know the name of the Captain, the name of the ship, or the names of any fellow passengers?
What was the port of departure and the port of arrival? Remember that they may well have departed from a port in England or Ireland.
Remember that your sources are not only written, such as family trees or family bibles. Speak to members of your family, particularly the older generations, who may know stories or even rumours which may have some truth behind them!
Port of Arrival:
If you are lucky and have specific names and dates in Scotland, then you may be able to move straight to investigating your Scottish ancestors. Similarly if you know enough names of if your ancestor had an unusual name, then it may be possible to find him or her without too much trouble. Otherwise you need to do a little more research. You need to find the port of entry in your country, as the records of emigrants from Scotland are mostly kept in their country of arrival, listed by port of entry to that country. If you have a port of arrival, and/or the name of the vessel your ancestor travelled in, you can then search the shipping lists held in your country for details of your ancestor, their age, who they travelled with, and where they were from.
Other Sources:
If you do not know, or cannot find, a port of arrival, or if you wish to check other sources, there are other lists of emigrants that you can check.
There were a few funded schemes in Scotland for those wishing to emigrate, and there are records in the National Archives of Scotland of those travelling on the back of these schemes. These are The Highland Emigration Society, The Board of Relief in Highland Destitution, State Aided Emigration to Canada 1886-1889 and lists of emigrants to Australia from the Scottish Highlands.
There are many books published giving lists of emigrants. If you wish to contact me, I can suggest some that may prove useful for your search, or can search such as are available in this country at an hourly rate of £20 per hour.
Web Sources:
This is one of the best and fastest growing sources of information on emigration/immigration. There are too many to mention here, but start with Cyndi's List at http://www.CyndisList.com/ or contact me for suggestions that may prove useful for your circumstances.
I hope that these few pointers have been of assistance.