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The Erie Canal in New York allowed boats from New York City on the Hudson River to reach

rural upstate New York and Lake Erie. Eventually the Great Lakes were also connected to the

Ohio River and Mississippi River systems by other canals. As canals developed in America

settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the canals provided access to markets.

They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor

settled near a canal, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting waterway.

Historical Background

The construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817. As more Irish laborers arrived the pace of

construction picked up and overcame significant barriers. For example, during summer

construction in a marsh, 1,000 workers died of swamp fever, so survivors were moved to another

part of the canal until winter when it was safer to work in the frozen marsh. Sections of the canal

opened as follows:

1819 Rome to Utica

1820 Utica to Syracuse

1823 Brockport to Albany (Champlain Canal connecting the Hudson River to Lake Champlain

was completed at the same time)

1824 Lockport locks

1825 Onondago Ridge finishing the entire canal.

The Erie Canal contributed to the wealth and importance of New York City, Buffalo, and New

York State. It increased trade throughout the nation by opening eastern and overseas markets to

Midwestern farm products and enabling migration to the West. New ethnic Irish communities

formed in towns along the canal, as Irish immigrants were a large portion of labor force involved

in its construction.

The Erie Canal website and the Family History Library Catalog have more information about the

history of the Erie Canal.

Settlers and Records

Because so many immigrants traveled on the canal, many genealogists would like to find copies

of canal passenger lists. Unfortunately, apart from the years 1827-1829, canal boat operators werenot required to record or report passenger names to the New York State government. Those 1827-

1829 passenger lists survive today in the New York State Archives.

Prior to the building of the Erie Canal the settlers in upstate New York were often from New

England, especially Vermont. Once the Canal was finished, setters along the canal and farther

west into Ohio would have reached the Erie Canal from New York City, or from along the

Hudson River in New York, or from Vermont via the Champlain Canal. Most of the men who

labored to build the Erie Canal were from Ireland and many of them settled near it.

Sources