Boston Pilot Newspaper Information Wanted Ads

Search Boston Pilot Newspaper Information Wanted Ads

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    Did any of your Irish ancestors emigrate to the United States? Search advertisements placed in the Boston Pilot newspaper by family members and others looking for lost friends and relatives from 1831 to 1920.

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    What can these records tell me?

    Each record includes a transcript of the original advertisement, the amount of information varies, however, and you can usually find a combination of the following:

    • First name(s)
    • Last name
    • Publication date
    • Sought relative name
    • Occupation
    • Ship
    • Departure date
    • Departure port
    • Destination
    • Arrival date
    • Last heard date
    • Last heard location
    • Description

    Discover more about these records

    These records provide an insight into Irish immigration, they reflect on the interesting and tumultuous times, such as the Great Irish Famine and the United States Civil War.

    From October 1831 to October 1921 the Boston Pilot newspaper printed a column with advertisements from people looking for lost friends and relatives who had emigrated from Ireland to the United States.

    The advertisements contain the ordinary but revealing details about the missing person’s life, from the county and parish of their birth, when they left Ireland, the believed port of arrival in North America, their occupation, and a range of other personal information.

    The people who placed ads were often anxious family members in Ireland or the wives, siblings, or parents of men who followed construction jobs on railroads or canals.