London Emigration and Immigration

London was the major port of departure for ships carrying emigrants abroad from the 1500s to airplanes in modern times. Ships traveled up and down the River Thames. Those leaving the realm cleared at Gravesend.

Passenger Lists
There were no comprehensive passenger lists kept for ships departing London before 1890. For further information, see England Emigration and Immigration. A list of emigrants leaving London in 1636 survives. Other lists dated 1773 to 1776 also survive.

Records of Emigrants
In lieu of passenger lists, genealogists have sought for London emigration records in a variety of other sources. Tens of thousands of records of indentured servants and transported convicts leaving London for America exist. They have been published by Peter Wilson Coldham and others. A master index is available on Ancestry (£). Examples of Coldham's publications include:


 * Child Apprentices in America from Christ's Hospital, London, 1617-1778 at Ancestry (£)

Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills identify many Londoners voyaging abroad.

A list of ship's departing from London for the United States in the mid-1800s has been reconstructed using sources stored in the arrival country:


 * The London Compass. Digital versions at FamilySearch Digital Library Vol. 2.

Websites

 * Births, Marriages and Deaths Overseas, Research Guide 8 at the London Metropolitan Archives
 * Black Caribbean Community Archives, Research Guide 21 at the London Metropolitan Archives
 * Chinese Community Archives, Research Guide 22 at the London Metropolitan Archives
 * East India Company Ships (1600-1834)
 * The German Community in London, Research Guide 23 at the London Metropolitan Archives