I am searching for the ship(s) on which my g-g-grandparents traveled to America. Margaret O'Brien traveled with brother Miles O'Brien, Miles' wife Mary Curley (or Turley) O'Brien, and infant daughter Mary O'Brien, from Co. Clare, Ireland, to Berkshire, Vermont on the Canadian border, 95% likely in 1830, as next child, Elizabeth, was born in Vermont Feb. 12, 1831. We have one family resource who refers to "Miles" as "John," but that may be a red herring. Miles O'Brien was born in Leitrim, Ireland in 1777, and wife Mary was born 1809. Family lore says infant Mary O'Brien contracted a mild case of smallpox on ship, and was kept in the Captain's quarters until she recovered. They likely traveled to Canada, then overland to St. Jean, then south on Lake Champlaign. They possibly traveled with the Low Family, Patrick Giblin, and the Marlowe family. All help will be greatly appreciated. -Martha Deegan

Hi Martha, I agree, they probably arrived via Quebec, then steamboat to Montreal and then maybe through St. Jean, then Lake Champlain to Berkshire. Canada did not begin to formally archive passenger lists before 1865, so very few do survive, however, TheShipsList website has the St. Lawrence Steamboat passenger lists. St. Lawrence Steamboat Co. Passenger Records Pt. 1 - 1819-1825: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/1819_20index.htm St. Lawrence Steamboat Co. Passenger Records Pt. 2 - 1826-1836: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/1819_36stlawrence.htm The St. Lawrence Steamboat Company was not the only one operating on the River, from Quebec to Montreal. It is, however, the only one for which some records survive. It may be possible to identify a probable sailing ship of arrival for some groups found on the steamboats, by studying Quebec ship arrivals as reported in contemporary newspapers. The new settlers usually proceeded inward on the steamboats within 2-3 days after Quebec arrival. http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/Arrivals/index.htm#canada There are customized google search boxes on the Passenger List index page http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/index.htm ... you can use the "Search N. America Lists" for O'Brien (there are lots) but to limit the results you can use the advanced search eg. add Montreal to get only the steamboat lists, for the most part. Good luck ... hope you find a family which fits ... some records don't indicate first name or even initial Sue -- TheShipsList Website http://www.theshipslist.com/ At 10:41 AM 2010-06-08 -0400, mehdeegan@aol.com wrote: > I am searching for the ship(s) on which my g-g-grandparents >traveled to America. > Margaret O'Brien traveled with brother Miles O'Brien, Miles' wife >Mary Curley (or Turley) O'Brien, and infant daughter Mary O'Brien, from >Co. Clare, Ireland, to Berkshire, Vermont on the Canadian border, 95% >likely in 1830, as next child, Elizabeth, was born in Vermont Feb. 12, >1831. We have one family resource who refers to "Miles" as "John," but >that may be a red herring. > Miles O'Brien was born in Leitrim, Ireland in 1777, and wife Mary >was born 1809. Family lore says infant Mary O'Brien contracted a mild >case of smallpox on ship, and was kept in the Captain's quarters until >she recovered. They likely traveled to Canada, then overland to St. >Jean, then south on Lake Champlaign. > They possibly traveled with the Low Family, Patrick Giblin, and >the Marlowe family. > All help will be greatly appreciated. >-Martha Deegan