LibGuides: Scottish Studies: Emigration

Research Guides

See these Research Guides for more detailed information about finding Scottish emigration records within specific Archival collections.
(All of these guides are in pdf format).

Emigration
A guide to finding out about emigrants from Britain to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Immigration to New Zealand
Hocken Bulletin no. 22 (September 1997). Lists relevant bibliographies, journals, voyage accounts, statistical sources, emigrants guides, passenger lists, pamphlets, articles, immigration policies, theses, essays and more relating to early settlement in NZ.
Passenger Lists: Christchurch City Libraries
A guide to some of the 19th century passenger lists in newspapers, on microfilm, and some other sources held at Christchurch City Libraries.
Passenter Lists: National Archives
This guide to tracing records of passengers tells you where to look for information about people travelling to or from ports in the United Kingdom.
Shipping Records: Hocken Collections
Shipping lists may provide information such as name, age, ship, date and port of departure and arrival.

Books: Scottish Emigration

Useful books about Scottish Emigration (in general).

Useful Databases for Scottish Emigration

FamilySearch This link opens in a new window
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history.

Shipping Indexes and Passenger Lists

For the period prior to 1890, passenger lists generally travelled with the passenger and ended up in the port of arrival.

Archives New Zealand This link opens in a new window
Surviving passenger lists of ships arriving in New Zealand are held by the National Archives of New Zealand.

Auckland Area Passenger Arrivals
Auckland City Libraries index of New Zealand Herald reports of inward passengers to the Auckland area for the period 1838 to 1889.
Emigration to Canterbury: Shipping Lists 1856-1874
Christchurch City Libraries digitised passenger lists for ships to Canterbury which carried assisted immigrants (incomplete).

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild This link opens in a new window
Provides links to many sites which contain databases of passenger lists for individuals travelling from Britain to the colonies.
National Archives This link opens in a new window
The Public Record Office (PRO) in London holds passenger lists for vessels leaving the UK between 1890 and 1960 (see: Board of Trade).

Nelson Provincial Museum Early Settlers Database
Shipping arrivals to Nelson between 1841-1850 from the original manifests and shipping lists published in The Colonist newspaper.
New Zealand Bound
Personal page with passenger lists and ship information to help locate the NZ bound ship a passenger was aboard (not verified).
New Zealand Yesteryears: Shipping
Has over 2000 passenger lists including immigrants to New Zealand from the UK and Australia, and travel within New Zealand ports.
New Zealand, Immigration Passenger Lists, 1855-1973
FamilySearch Historical Records provide searchable ship passenger lists for New Zealand. Search by name/s, place, year.
Passenger Lists
Database of 1843-1885 arrivals to and departures from New Plymouth, from the passenger lists published in the Taranaki Herald.
Petone Settlers database
Access primary and secondary source data relating to arrivals from the UK, Europe and Australia to Wellington between 1839-1897.
Scotland Emigration and Immigration
FamilySearch Historical Records provide emigration and immigration records for people leaving (emigrating) Scotland.
Virtual Vault: Emigration records
Scottish Archive Network provides Highlands and Islands Emigration Society Passenger Lists 1852-1857, organised by ship and by family.

Books: Scottish Ancestry

Discover Your Scottish Ancestry: Internet and Traditional Resources
Online

These books describe primary and secondary resources for Scottish Ancestry research.

Tracing your Scottish ancestors: a guide to ancestry research in the National Archives of Scotland

Books: Scottish Emigration to NZ

Useful books about Scottish emigration to NZ, and Scottish settlers in NZ.