Please contact me!
Image Source: Irish emigrants leaving Cobh (Queenstown) for New York during the Famine. From the Illustrated London News. Adapted from the Cobh Heritage Centre website.
19th Century County Maps (McGill University)
Cameron, Wendy. "Selecting Peter Robinson's Irish Emigrants." Histoire Sociale / Social History 9, no. 17 (1976): 29-46.
Akenson, Donald H. The Irish in Ontario: A Study in Rural History. Montréal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1999.
Brown, Howard Morton. Lanark Legacy: Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County. Perth: Corporation of the County of Lanark, 1984.
To access this book, you’ll need to register with the Internet Archive. Registration is free.
Copleston, E.A. Leeds, Grenville, Lanark, & Renfrew County Directory, with the Names of the Principal Inhabitants of Upwards of Seventy Towns and Villages, Including the Recent Settlements on the Crown Lands, and a Variety of Useful Local Information, for the Year 1859; together with a Farmer's Almanack and Diary with Hints at Receipts Adapted to the Exigencies of the Canadian Settler. Montreal: John Lovell, 1859.
The Development of the Woollen Industry in Lanark, Renfrew and Carleton Counties. Ontario: North Lanark Historical Society, 1978.
M’Donald, John. Emigration to Canada Narrative of a Voyage to Quebec, and Journey from Thence to New Lanark in Upper Canada, Detailing the Hardships and Difficulties Which an Emigrant Has to Encounter, before and after His Settlement: With an Account of the Country as It Regards Its Climate, Soil and the Actual Condition of Its Inhabitants. 5th ed. Edinburgh [Scotland: Printed for the author by A. Jack, 1823.
To access this book, you’ll need to register with the Internet Archive. Registration is free.
Mulvany, Charles Pelham, Charles M. Ryan, and Charles R. Stuart. History of the County of Peterborough, Ontario: Containing a History of the County, History of Haliburton County, Their Townships, Towns, Schools, Churches, Etc. ; General and Local Statistics, Biographical Sketches, and an Outline History of the Dominion of Canada, Etc., Etc. Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson, 1884.
Immigrants at Grosse-Île Quarantine Station, 1832-1937: Search - Library & Archives Canada
Archives Search - Library & Archives Canada
Look here for historical primary government sources, such as parliamentary debates (hansard) from the late 19th Century. Much of this is online.
The Labour Gazette gives monthly reports--from July through June--on labour and industry in Canada. Beginning each month with a broad across-the-country summary, the Gazette then provides a detailed report for each geographical region, such as Toronto, ON, and District. You can search the fulltext for keywords.
Canada Yearbook: Immigration and Emigration
You can use this directory to look up information by (1) street name; (2) person or business name; or (3) subject. For example, using the street index you can find residences and businesses listed there alphabetically by street name; using the person / business name index you can find businesses by title or people by last name; finally, using the subject index, you can and browse businesses alphabetically by topic--this is really useful if you don't know the name of a particular business but are interested in clothiers, or printers, accountants, etc..
You can search the fulltext for keywords.
Early Australian Census Records (State Library Victoria)
Census of the Colony of New South Wales, 1851
Census of the Commonwealth of Australia Taken for the Night Between the 2nd and 3rd April, 1911
Census Substitutes (State Library Victoria)
1851-52 Census Districts & Sub-Districts
Browse by District Number and then Sub-District Number to find census schedules by location.
Use these detailed maps for a neighbourhood sketch: businesses, taverns, churches, schools, associations and other buildings that can help you understand where Torontonians worked, how they lived, what they believed, and what they did for fun.
This search option is ideal if you're looking for a specific person, or if you're trying to narrow by ethnic origin (e.g. Italian, Chinese, or Scotch).
Census Districts & Sub-Districts
Use these detailed maps for a neighbourhood sketch: businesses, taverns, churches, schools, associations and other buildings that can help you understand where Torontonians worked, how they lived, what they believed, and what they did for fun.
Use CTRL-F to search for streets you're looking for, and the database will tell you the corresponding district and sub-district numbers.
Browse by District Number and then Sub-District Number to find census schedules by location.
Results of a Census of New Zealand,Taken for the Night of the 27TH February, 1871
Historical Census Collection (Government of New Zealand)
United States Census, 1850 (FamilySearch)
Colton Map of New York City (1855) with Ward Numbers
United States Census, 1860 (FamilySearch)
1841, 1851, 1901 & 1911 Censuses - National Archives of Ireland
For the micofilm version, go to the Media Commons Library on the 3rd Floor of Robarts.
The British Whig (1834 - 1836, 1844-1850),The Essex Free Press (1895 - 1968),The Kingston Chronicle (1826 - 1832),The Kingston Chronicle and Gazette (1835 - 1837, 1841 - 1847),The Kingston Gazette (1810 - 1820),The Provincial Freeman (1853 - 1857),The Stouffville Tribune (1888-1905 ),The Voice of the Fugitive (1851 - 1852),Wainwright Star Chronicle (1908-2008)
Available at the Robarts Library on microfilm. To view this material using a digital microform reader, email media.commons@utoronto.ca to arrange a viewing.
Comprises The Evening Star (1894-1900), The Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971), and The Toronto Star (1971-2015).
Ottawa Citizen, 1846-2010 [under various titles]
The Packet (Ottawa), 1846-1851
Printing: Very difficult in Google News. The only real way to print is to use ALT-PrtScr (Print Screen) on your computer: this will copy the page. Then paste the image into a word document where you can crop it.
Zooming: Click the zoom in and out magnifying glass icons in the top-right of the horizontal blue bar above the newspaper pages.
Printing: Click the print icon in the top-right corner.
Zooming: Click the zoom in and out icons in the bottom-right corner.
Search: Irish Canadian 1863-1875 (UofT: Paper of Record)
Quebec Spectator, 1848 (Google News Archive)
Morning Courier for the Country (Montreal), 1835-41
New York Daily Tribune, 1842-1866
America's Historical Newspapers
Chronicling America: Historic American Newpapers
Trove (Government of Australia)
Papers Past (Government of New Zealand)
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
With more than 9,000 articles on subjects ranging from politics, law, engineering, and religion to literature, painting, medicine, and sport, this encyclopedia is a key resource for Irish studies. The entries, written by established academics, contain bibliographies to guide students in further research. The 9-volume set is so detailed that you get thorough articles on a wide range of people, from internationally-famous figures such as the poet W.B. Yeats to lesser-known persons such as Denis Kilbride, a 19th Century agrarian campaigner and MP.
Oxford Companion to Irish History
Newspapers (UTL Research Guide)
Ethnic Diasporas and US Foreign Policy
Search LibrarySearch
Known as LibrarySearch, this interdisciplinary database is UofT's largest--and your best bet when more focused databases let you down. It combs through more than 1,200 databases, journal packages, e-book collections, and other resources ranging from the sciences to the social sciences and humanities. At its best, Summon finds relevant results you won't find elsewhere; at its worst, however, LibrarySearch can overwhelm you will a mish-mash of results from different subject areas.
Covering the history of the United States and Canada, America History & Life indexes more than 1,800 journals from 1895 to the present.
Historical Abstracts covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. The database contains over half a million annotated entries.
Hotten, John Camden. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, Emigrants, Religious Exiles, Political Rebels, Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years, Apprentices, Children Stolen, Maidens Pressed, and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations 1600-1700: With Their Ages, the Locations Where They Formerly Lived in the Mother Country, the Names of the Ships in Which They Embarked, and Other Interesting Particulars. New York: Empire State Book Co., 1874.
A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe, 1638-1660 (British History Online).
Cromwell, Oliver. The Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. Introduction by Wilbur Cortez Abbott and Assistance of Catherine D. Crane. New York: Russell & Russell, 1970.In Print at the Robarts & Victoria E.J. Pratt libraries.
Cromwell, Oliver, and Thomas Carlyle. Oliver Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches. Volume 1 & Volume 2. New York: the Continental Press, [1900].
Gwynn, Aubrey. “Documents Relating to the Irish in the West Indies.” Analecta Hibernica, no. 4 (1932): 139–286.
Ligon, Richard. A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados. Edited, with an introduction, by Karen Ordahl Kupperman. First published 1657. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2011.
Modyford, Thomas. "From col. Modyford at Barbados." Letter to his brother, July 6, 1655. A Collection of the State Papers of John Thurloe, Volume 3, December 1654 - August 1655. Originally published by Fletcher Gyles, London, 1742.
DIPPAM: Documenting Ireland - Parliament, People, & Migration
Makemie, Francis. "Letters of Francis Makemie." 1684. Mellon Centre for Migration Studies, Irish Emigration Database (IED), DIPPAM: Documenting Ireland - Parliament, People, & Migration.
Virtual Jamestown Database - Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654 - 1686
Beckles, Hilary McD., and Andrew Downes. “The Economics of Transition to the Black Labor System in Barbados, 1630-1680.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 18, no. 2 (1987): 225-47. https://doi.org/10.2307/204282.
Bottigheimer, Karl S. English Money and Irish Land: The “Adventurers” in the Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971. In Print at the Robarts Library.
Donnell, Alison, Maria McGarrity, and Evelyn O’Callaghan, eds. Caribbean Irish Connections: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Kingston, Jamaica: The University of the West Indies Press, 2015. In Print at the Kelly Library.
Dunn, Richard S. “The Barbados Census of 1680: Profile of the Richest Colony in English America.” William and Mary Quarterly 26, no. 1 (1969): 3-. https://doi.org/10.2307/1922291.
Dunn, Richard S. Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English West Indies, 1624-1713. Omohundro Institute and University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
Emmet, Thomas Addis. Ireland under English Rule or a Plea for the Plaintiff. Volume 1 & Volume 2. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1909.
Jacoberger, Nicole A. “‘Lowly Laborers’: Race, Class, and Identity in Montserrat, 17th-19th Centuries.” PhD Thesis. Order No. 3663315, St. John's University (New York), 2015.
O’Callaghan, Sean.To Hell or Barbados. Dingle: Brandon, 2000. In Print at the Robarts Library
Ó Siochrú, Mícheál. God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland. London: Faber, 2008. In Print Also Available to borrow online through free registration with the Internet Archive.
Shaw, Jenny. Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean: Irish, Africans, and the Construction of Difference. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2013. In Print at the Robarts Library
IMIRCE: Irish Emigrant Letters and Memoirs from North America (University of Galway)
IED: Irish Emigration Database
Ships Passenger Lists to Canada 1400 to 1800
Names of Emigrants from the 1845-1847 Records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal
Ship Passenger Lists to U.S.A.
208th Canadian Infantry Battalion War Diaries - Library & Archives Canada
Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849
New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896
Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923
Western Australia, Australia, Crew and Passenger Lists, 1852-1930
Assisted passenger lists (1839-1871) - Public Record Office Victoria
New Zealand Archives - Searching Passenger Lists
New Zealand Archives - Passenger Lists, 1839-1973 (FamilySearch)