SNIPPET: As a general rule passenger lists will be found at the port of arrival rather than at the port of departure. Prior to 1890 surviving passenger lists in Ireland owe their existence to ship owners, who kept them for business reasons. The port of Derry is especially fortunate in this regard, having two series of such lists -- the shipping list of J. & J. COOKE (1847-1867), and William McCORKELL & Co. (1863-1871). These lists generally provide the name, age, and address of the passenger, and the name of the ship. In the years 1847 to 1867 J. & J. COOKE carried 21,199 passengers to North America. In 1847 alone it carried 5,071 emigrants: 1,197 (23%) to Philadelphia; 2,210 (44%) to St. John, New Brunswick, and 1,664 (33%) to Quebec. A look at the order book of J. & J. COOKE, which lists the emigrant's place of residence, confirms that Derry served as an emigration port for Cos. Donegal, Derry and Tyrone. Of 1,395 passengers carried on J. & J. COOKE ships in 1850, 533 (40%) came from Co. Donegal; 363 (26%) came from Co. Tyrone, and 307 (22%) from Co. Derry -- i.e. 88% of all passengers carried came from these three counties. By the 19th century the emigrant trade depended to a large extent on people in North America paying the fare to bring out family and friends. These "engaged" passengers ensured the viability of the passenger trade for Derry shipping firms in the middle years of the 19th century. For the years 1863 to 1871, the order book of William McCORKELL & Co., records the names of 5,184 passengers -- all these intending emigrants were "engaged" in Philadelphia by Messrs. Robert TAYLOR & Co. Published in "Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871," ed. Brian Mitchell, Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, MD 1988, a copy of which may be in your genealogy library.