Index to Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists

by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff

Ship passenger lists constitute the official record of Doukhobor immigration to Canada. Compiled on board by the ship's purser and examined by customs and immigration authorities upon arrival, they are an important source of genealogical and historical information. The following is an index of over 101 ship lists containing Doukhobor passengers who arrived in Canada in between 1898-1899, 1902-1906, 1909-1914 and 1925-1932. Search chronologically to find the ship name, port and date of departure, port and date of arrival and number of Doukhobor passengers. Then consult the Library and Archives Canada microfilm copies or online images of the original ship passenger lists.

Arrivals in 1898-1899

The first (and by far the largest) wave of Doukhobor immigration took place in 1898 - 1899 when over 7,500 Doukhobors from the Caucasus sailed from the Black Sea port of Batum to the Canadian ports of Quebec and Halifax. These chartered trans-Atlantic voyages were funded by Russian novelist Count Leo Tolstoy and by the Society of Friends (Quakers) in England and America. It was the largest mass migration in Canadian history.

*Note: these ship passenger lists are incomplete. See notes below for details.

Arrivals in 1902-1906  

A second wave of Doukhobor immigration took place in 1902 - 1906. During this time, over 285 Doukhobors took coastal ships from Russia to Western European ports, where they boarded transatlantic ships bound for Canada. These were Doukhobors detained in Russia until their terms of exile or military service had expired. These voyages were funded by the Doukhobor community in Canada. 
 

Arrivals in 1909-1914 

The third major wave of Doukhobor immigration took place between 1909 and 1914. During this time, over 895 Doukhobors from the Caucasus took coastal ships from mainland Russia to Western European ports. There they boarded trans-Atlantic ships bound for Canada. This wave was prompted by fear of conscription in the impending war between Germany and Russia. 
 

**Note: there is no extant passenger list for this ship. These Doukhobor passengers are listed as "miscellaneous Boston arrivals" and are attributed to this ship based on anecdotal evidence.

Arrivals in 1925-1932

Doukhobor immigration to Canada decreased substantially with the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.  It was halted altogether on June 9, 1919 when the Parliament of Canada passed Order-in-Council P.C. 1204 prohibiting the landing in Canada of any Doukhobor, Hutterite or Mennonite because of their "peculiar habits, modes of life and methods of holding property". By the time the Order was repealed on March 1, 1925, the Soviet regime had placed rigid restrictions on emigration outside the U.S.S.R. The trickle of immigration which followed was largely limited to Returning Canadians and members of the Verigin family.
 

Passenger List Information

In 1899, ship passenger lists provided the following information for each passenger: date of embarkation, name, age, gender, whether a head of a household on board, number persons in the family, profession, calling or occupation, nation or country of birth, births at sea, deaths, place of ultimate destination. The amount of information required by the government increased over the years. By 1918, the forms generally included for each passenger: amount of money in hand, name, age, gender, marital status, previous time in Canada and details, intention to settle, ability to read and write, country of birth, race of people, destination (post office and province), occupation in old country, intended occupation in Canada, past work as a farmer or labourer, religious denomination, means to travel inland. Passenger lists may also include various markings markings, codes, and annotations written beside each passenger. For example, such annotations may indicate if the passenger was deported, detailed, quarantined or hospitalized.

Accuracy of Information

Ship passenger lists may contain false and misleading data. For example, patronymics or family nicknames are sometimes recorded instead of official surnames. In some lists, the nationality of Doukhobor passengers is mistakenly recorded as Polish or German. In other lists, the religion of Doukhobor passengers is mistakenly recorded as Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic or Jewish. All passenger list information should be cross-referenced with other material to confirm accuracy.

Completeness of Records

The ship passenger lists for over 3,200 Doukhobor immigrants are missing or incomplete. In particular, the passenger list for the S.S. Lake Huron, which arrived in Halifax on January 10, 1899, was lost in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Immigration Branch officials and is presumed destroyed. Also, the ship's purser on board the S.S. Lake Superior, which arrived in Halifax on February 17, 1899, recorded only 899 of the 1,997 Doukhobor passengers.

If your Doukhobor family immigrated to Canada in 1899 but does not appear in the ship passenger lists above, then by process of elimination, they probably sailed aboard the first voyage of the SS Lake Huron or the SS Lake Superior. As indicated above, these ship passenger lists are missing or incomplete. If they immigrated from Tiflis province, Russia, they probably sailed aboard the SS Lake Huron. If they immigrated from Elizavetpol or Kars province, Russia, they probably sailed aboard the SS Lake Superior. 

Spelling and Legibility

The names recorded in passenger lists are the original Russian, pre-Canadianized versions of names. Furthermore, they were written down by the ship's purser phonetically the way that they sounded. Therefore, do not expect to find your Doukhobor ancestor's name spelled as it is today; realize that your immigrant ancestor was probably illiterate and even if he or she could read Russian, they would not be able to recognize the written name since it was written in English. Researchers must be able to recognize alternate spellings for the surnames they are looking for. 

Worn and torn pages, faded or smudged ink, poor handwriting, and improper focus or exposure for microfilming all affect legibility of ship passenger lists, making them difficult to decipher. Sometimes pages may be microfilmed out of order or missing altogether.

How to Obtain Copies

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds copies of the original passenger lists of ships arriving at major Canadian ports for the period 1865-1935. Microfilm copies (see above for microfilm numbers) may be obtained directly or through interlibrary loan from LAC. Many libraries, archives and LDS Family History Centers across Canada also hold microfilm copies of LAC ship passenger lists. As well, electronic copies (see above for links) may be accessed online at the LAC Canadian Genealogy Centre website.

Indexes

The following indices have been prepared for Doukhobor ship passenger lists: 

• Kalmakoff, Jonathan. Index to Doukhobor Ship Passenger Surnames. This online index contains Doukhobor surnames extracted from ship passenger lists for the period 1898 to 1932. By searching for a surname, you will find the name of the ship(s) on which that surname was listed. Then use the Index to Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists (this page) to locate the original ship passenger lists.

• Lapshinoff, Steve & Jonathan Kalmakoff. Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists, 1898-1928  (Crescent Valley: self-published, 2001). ISBN 0-9689266-2-2. This 154 page book contains 5,196 names of Doukhobor passengers who sailed to Canada from Russia between 1898 and 1928 aboard 29 different ships. Includes the name, age, sex, ship, date of departure, date of arrival, port of departure, port of arrival and intended destination of each Doukhobor passenger. Full bibliographic references and index. 

Ports of Departure and Arrival

In 1899, Doukhobors in the Caucasus and Cyprus departed from the ports of Batum and Larnaca, respectively. After 1899, Doukhobor immigrants took coastal ships from mainland Russia to Western European ports, where they boarded trans-Atlantic ships bound for Canada. Most departed through the English ports of Liverpool, Southampton, Bristol, Avonmouth, Glasgow and London. Some Doukhobor immigrants departed through the German ports of Hamburg and Bremen. Still others departed through the French ports of Bordeaux and Le Havre, the Dutch port of Rotterdam, the Flemish port of Antwerp or the Italian port of Naples. The number of Doukhobor passengers that departed from each port is as follows: 

Halifax, open year-round, was the most frequently-used port of entry by Doukhobor immigrants arriving in Canada. The next most-used port was Quebec, which was open from May to November. The port of St. Johns also welcomed Doukhobor immigrants, but at much lower levels. Not all immigrants bound for Canada came through Canadian ports. Some Doukhobor immigrants arrived through the American ports of New York and Boston, spending their first few days in North America travelling through the United States en route to Canada. The number of Doukhobor passengers that arrived at each port of entry is as follows: 

Ship Descriptions

For those seeking information on the vessels that brought their Doukhobor ancestors to Canada and the United States, visit the Index of Doukhobor Ship Descriptions by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff. Search this index alphabetically by ship name to learn about the physical dimensions and capacity, builders, launches, shipping lines, shipping routes and schedules, name changes, wreck and salvage data, and other information for over 67 Doukhobor immigrant ships. Also included are ship photos and links to other sites of interest.

Passenger Diaries and Memoirs

First person writings are among our best sources for understanding the immigration experience. The majority of Doukhobor immigrants to Canada, however, were illiterate and did not record their memories of these events. Fortunately, several exceptional narratives of their Atlantic crossing exist, in the form of voyage diaries, travel journals, memoirs and letters written by the Russian sympathizers who accompanied them.

The Tolstoyan educator and director Leopold A. Sulerzhitsky wrote a dramatic and inspiring diary of his voyages with the first (SS Lake Huron) and fourth (SS Lake Superior) parties of Doukhobors to Canada in 1899: see Sulerzhitsky, L.A. To America With the Doukhobors (Regina: University of Regina, 1982). As well, Sergei L. Tolstoy, Lev Tolstoy's son, set down a detailed memoir of his voyages with the second (SS Lake Superior) and third (SS Lake Huron) parties of Doukhobors to Canada in 1899: see Donskov, Andrew (ed). Sergej Tolstoy and the Doukhobors: A Journey to Canada (Ottawa: University of Ottawa, 1998). Doukhobor sympathizer Dr. Vera M. Velichkina also published her reminisces of her voyage with the third (SS Lake Huron) party of Doukhobors in 1899: see "With the Doukhobors to Canada" in Woodsworth, John (ed). Russian Roots & Canadian Wings (Ottawa: Penumbra Press, 1999). These accounts record, in extraordinary depth, the hardships and endurances of the Doukhobor immigration to Canada, as witnessed and experienced by their authors.

Terminology and Abbreviations

• Alien. A person who was not a British subject or a Canadian citizen.

• Deported. See "Rejected".

• First Class. The most expensive passenger accommodations on a ship.

• Landed Immigrant. A person who has been legally admitted to Canada for permanent residence.

• Purser. Ship's officer in charge of provisions, dispatches, accounts and compiling passenger lists. The purser compiled the passenger list during the voyage. Passengers were typically listed alphabetically, by ticket number, or in the order in which they boarded the ship. 

• Quarantine. Originally when a ship arriving in port was suspected of being infected with an infectious disease, its cargo and crew were obliged to forego all contact with the shore for a period of several days to several weeks, depending on the disease. Following a general medical examination, ship, passenger and cargo were fumigated and disinfected. Passengers were also vaccinated. Hundreds of Doukhobor immigrants were quarantined at the Immigration Stations at Grosse Isle, Quebec and Lawlor's Island, Nova Scotia to isolate and prevent the spread of small pox, measles and diphtheria. Several Doukhobors died in quarantine.

Note that no general quarantine records exist separate from ship passenger lists. However, some hospitalization records exist for those passengers who were hospitalized while in quarantine. For microfilm copies of Grosse lsle Quarantine Hospital and Quebec Immigration Hospital records, see National Archives of Canada RG 29, Vol. 768, File 412-12-19. See also the Index of Doukhobors in the Grosse Isle Hospital Registers for an online index of Doukhobor passengers hospitalized while in quarantine at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station. 

• Rejected. Permission refused by an immigration official for an individual to enter Canada.

• Released. Person released from quarantine, hospitalization or medical examination and permitted to enter Canada.

• R.M.S. This abbreviation has various meanings including Royal Mail Ship, Royal Mail Steamer, Royal Merchant Ship.

• Returning Canadian or Ret'd Canadian. A returning Canadian resident.

• Second Class. A caliber of accommodations on a passenger ship, less roomy and elaborate than first class. Also referred to as "cabin class".

• Steerage. With few exceptions, the Doukhobors sailed to Canada in steerage class. The term "steerage" was synonymous with the hardships of trans-Atlantic emigration as passengers were packed into dangerous quarters and each was allotted a small berth that served as bed and storage place. It was the only class most Doukhobor emigrants could afford and was literally next to the ship’s steering equipment, below the water line.

• S.S. Abbreviation for Steam Ship.

• Third Class. See "Steerage".

Bibliography

• Donskov, Andrew (ed). Sergej Tolstoy and the Doukhobors: A Journey to Canada (Ottawa: University of Ottawa, 1998).

• Drolet-Dube, Doris. (Parks Canada) Memo to J. Kalmakoff Re: Quarantined Doukhobors, 1911, December 8, 1999.

• Lapshinoff, Steve & Jonathan Kalmakoff. Doukhobor Ship Passenger Lists, 1898-1928 (Crescent Valley: 2001).

• Lewchuk, Gary. Recalling the Titanic in ISKRA No.1850 (Grand Forks: U.S.C.C., March 25, 1998).

• Library and Archives Canada, Microfilm Reel Nos. C-4519, C-4542, C-4784, C-7341, T-481, T-482, T-483, T-484, T-485, T-486, T-494, T-497, T-498, T-505, T-513, T-518, T-4692, T-4699, T-4721, T-4738, T-4741, T-4744, T-4745, T-4768, T-4769, T-4774, T-4775, T-4776, T-4777, T-4778, T-4779, T-4783, T-4784, T-4785, T-4787, T-4788, T-4789, T-4790, T-4794, T-4795, T-4823, T-14715, T-14729, T-14734, T-14746, T-14801, T-14811, T-14815, T-14816, T-14825, T-14826, T-14829, T-14931, T-15160 and T-15224.

• Library and Archives Canada, Immigration Branch, Central Registry Files (RG 76, Volumes 183 to 185, Parts 1 to 14) Microfilm Reel Nos. C-7337 to C-7341.

• Library and Archives Canada, Sessional Documents. Annual Report of Dr. G.E. Martineau, Superintendant of the Quarantine Station of Grosse Isle and different Emigration Agents' Reports (RG 29, Volume 768, File 412-13-19; RG 17, Volume 2434).

• O'Gallagher, M., Grosse Ile: Gateway to Canada 1832-1937 (Quebec: Carraig Books, 1984).

• Popoff, Eli. Memo to J. Kalmakoff Re: Doukhobors on the 1905 Voyage of the SS Southwark, October 15, 1999.

• Sulerzhitsky, L.A. To America With the Doukhobors (Regina: University of Regina, 1982).

• Tarasoff, Koozma. New Information on S.S. Lake Huron in ISKRA No.1865 (Grand Forks: USCC, January 13, 1999).

• Tarasoff, Koozma. The Doukhobors at the Quarantine Station on Lawlors Island in ISKRA No.1869 (Grand Forks: USCC, March 10, 1999).

• Tarasoff, Koozma. Parks Canada Unveils Interpretive Panel on Grosse Ile in ISKRA No.1878 (Grand Forks: USCC, September 15, 1999).

• U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Microfilm Reel Nos. T715-293, T715-497, T715-445, T715-480, T715-489, T715-577, T715-3220, T715-3588, T715-3905, T715-4374 and 547.

This index was reproduced by permission in ISKRA Nos.1896, 1897, 1903, 1912, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1948, 1958, 1960 & 1967 (Grand Forks: USCC, 2000-2005).

Contents of the Doukhobor Genealogy Website Copyright © 1999-2013 Jonathan J. Kalmakoff. All rights reserved.