To John and the List, Since posting my query I have found an interesting piece of information. Findmypast.com has an index of passport applications from 1856 to 1903 but with a few years missing. It claims that this index is of 360,000 applications. This is surely not enough to cover all the people who emigrated in that period. In the notes to the index it states that passports were not mandatory for British travellers until 1914. UK citizens could, therefore, travel from and to the country without one. This raises other questions. Were, perhaps, passports not required at all in that period for travel to and from other parts of the Empire? I don't know that any of my relatives who emigrated to Canada in that period who had a passport. Would there have been benefits in having a passport for frequent travellers? David -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Dobson Sent: 20 August 2008 08:39 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ENG-MERSEYSIDE] Passports Hi Christine, That UK Government web site is very interesting but doesn't address David's central question - did our ancestors who emigrated during the 19th Century need passports. This is a question that I've had for years with a Cornish mining family at the heart of my research who seemed to spend their time commuting between Cornwall, Australia and New Zealand. Regards ******************************************** * John Dobson * * * * http://www.thedobsons.me.uk * * * ******************************************** ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christine Cunningham" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:21 AM Subject: Re: [ENG-MERSEYSIDE] Passports >I think you will probably find what you need to know here: > http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/about-history.asp > HTH > Christine > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Railton > Sent: 19 August 2008 11:16 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ENG-MERSEYSIDE] Passports > > Can anyone tell me about passports? I know that they have been issued for > hundreds of years but I find it hard to imagine that all those who > emigrated > from UK in the 19th century had one. > > I am interested in someone leaving Liverpool for New York in 1889. Would > they have needed a passport? If so, are there any records of passport > applications? > > David > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message