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Family connections and emigration routes - Charleville - England - USA

CorkShandrum (Cork)

My maternal family name is Gorman. My great grandfather was born in 1849 in Bickerstaffe, Lancashire his parents were Listed in the 1851 census as James Gorman and Johanna nee Kirby and listed their country of origin as Ireland.
Through the Ancestry website I have identified James and Johanna as having been married in the parish of Shandrum in 1831 and lived in Charleville. They had seven children while in Charleville the last being born in 1847. If my research is accurate then two years later my great grandfather was born in Lancashire.
The question I am anxious to resolve is, what was the common route for people emigrating from County Cork to England and is there a source of passenger lists that could help me confirm the origins of my great, great grandparents?
With only my great grandfather and great uncle listed on the UK 1851 census as children living with James and Johanna, I am also concerned, if I am correct in my research, as to how, and who with, did the seven other children, one a mere baby, arrive in America and end up living in Nebraska? The same question regarding the route and possible passenger lists applies here.

Any advice, hints or information would be much appreciated. I am in touch with some members of the O'Gorman family in Nebraska but sadly neither of us can solve this conundrum.

Wishing all a peaceful Christmas

Peter Dewhurst.

IrelandXO member

1 reply

Hi Peter

Apologies for the very long delay in getting back to you.

There are no passenger lists for those sailing the Irish Sea to the UK but there are lists on Find My Past for those leaving the UK for other countries like the US for example, who will be Irish. This is because Ireland was seen as part of the UK and so those who left for England, Wales and Scotland were really seen as internal migrants. This makes things difficult as generally only 'Ireland' is recorded on records. The fact that Ireland and Britain were so geographically close meant that migration and total emigration were options open and taken by many. Most people started their departure from Ireland in Cobh, Co. Cork. This website has a great information that you can read about: Irish Genealogy Toolkit

You should also consider that people may not have traveled from the port closest to them but may have been concerned about where their destination port was. They might have traveled first over land to a further away port and then boarded a steamer to bring them directly to their newly adopted home served by that steamer company.

Hope this helps. If you feel like it, please add your ancestors details to our XO Chronicles you can do so here

All the best for a happy 2017!

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support

IrelandXO member

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