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This is the third volume by David Dobson to identify vessels that traveled from Ireland to North America before 1850 and were known to, or were likely to, carry passengers. Based on research in contemporary sources--particularly newspapers--on both sides of the Atlantic, this work identifies an additional 1,500 ships that were involved in transporting immigrants to the U.S. or Canada. Dr. Dobson's purpose in compiling these ship references is to help researchers overcome some of the obstacles they face when attempting to trace Irish ancestors. The fact is that there are no official records of arriving immigrants for the U.S. prior to 1820, or for Canada prior to 1865. On the other hand, if the researcher can establish that an immigrant ancestor lived in or near a certain port of entry at a particular time, he/she may be able to "jump" the Atlantic by tapping into the records of the vessels known to have participated in the transportation.

For each vessel cited in this new book, we learn the dates and ports of embarkation and arrival, the source of the information, and frequently the number of passengers and the name of the ship's captain. Readers will find a table of sources at the back of the volume. The following is a representative entry:

BARWELL, arrived in the York River, Virginia, during May 1752 with "tradesmen, farmers, seamstresses, mantuamakers, etc." from Ireland; master Thomas Causzar, arrived in the York River, Virginia, on 11 March 1755 with 40 servants from Dublin [VaGaz#71/220]

See also Ships from Ireland, Vol. I and Ships from Ireland, Vol.II.