Mormon Grimshaw Immigrants from England to the United States
The Mormon (LDS) church in the decades following the migration of the main body of the church to what is now Salt Lake City dispatched many missionaries to England seeking new converts. Many of those who converted to Mormonism subsequently traveled by ships – many of which were commissioned by the church – to join the main church body in America. Among these Mormon immigrants were some 32 Grimshaws who came over on eight separate voyages from 1851 to 1868.
Contents
Description of the Mormon Immigrant Database
Tabulation of the Mormon Grimshaw Immigrants
Website Credits
Thanks go to the LDS church for making available to the public the information in its records on Mormon immigrants to the U.S.
Description of the Mormon Immigrant Database
In support of its vast family history program, the LDS church has for many years collected all available information on the emigration voyages and the immigrants who made the trip. In recent years these data have been compiled into an electronic database that is available for sale on compact disk. The database includes church records, civil records (e.g., customs) and information from descendants of the immigrants. Also included are a powerful search function and a tool for downloading the information. The database is also available online at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. According to the cover of the CD case, “This compact disc contains information about LDS immigration voyages to the United States for years 1840-1980. This information is taken from personal voyage accounts, the European Emigration Card Index, European mission registers, LDS publications, and customs lists.”
Tabulation of the Mormon Grimshaw Immigrants
The 32 Grimshaws who came to the U.S. on Mormon emigration ships are shown in the table below. The Grimshaws arrived in 1851, 1855, 1859, 1862, 1863, 1866 and 1868 (two voyages). The John Grimshaw who departed in 1863 appears to be entered twice. The Duckworth who departed in 1855 (uncle to the one who departed later, in 1862) was not Mormon even though he was traveling with his sister who was LDS.
| Immigrant | Born | Ship | Depart |
| GRIMSHAW, Eliza Maria | <1819> | Ellen
| 1851
|
|
|
<1819>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Elizabeth
|
<1843>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Emma
|
<1844>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Maria
|
<1848>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Arthur P.
|
<1849>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Fanny C.
|
<1851>
|
Ellen
|
1851
|
|
|
<1817>
|
Emerald Isle
|
1855
|
|
|
<1817>
|
Emerald Isle
|
1855
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Hannah
|
<1828>
|
Antarctic
|
1859
|
|
|
<1827>
|
John J. Boyd
|
1862
|
|
|
<1842>
|
John J. Boyd
|
1862
|
|
|
<1811>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
|
<1812>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
|
<1812>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
|
<1826>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Sarah A.
|
<1848>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
|
<1850>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Alice
|
<1853>
|
Antarctic
|
1863
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Margaret
|
<1826>
|
Arkwright
|
1866
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Hannah
|
<1838>
|
Arkwright
|
1866
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Elizabeth
|
<1840>
|
Emerald Isle
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Sarah A.
|
<1864>
|
Emerald Isle
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, George
|
<1813>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Mary
|
<1814>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, James
|
<1837>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Ellen
|
<1839>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Margaret
|
<1841>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, John
|
<1848>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, George, Jr.
|
<1852>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, David
|
<1854>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
|
GRIMSHAW, Hugh
|
<1864>
|
Colorado
|
1868
|
As might be expected, generally each of the voyages had Grimshaws who were in a family unit or were otherwise related. Where the immigrants are described on a separate webpage, a hyperlink to the webpage is included with the immigrants name.
Description of the Ships and Voyages
The eight voyages are described in the tabulation shown below. All of the ships departed from Liverpool , and all but one arrived in New York (the exception was the first voyage, which landed in New Orleans). The trips took generally about five or six weeks; the longer trip to New Orleans took more than two months. The last voyage shown made the trip in a remarkable 14 days. The average number of immigrants on each ship was about 500.
|
Ship:
|
Ellen
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
8 Jan 1851
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
466
|
Church Leader:
|
James W. Cummings
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
14 Mar 1851
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New Orleans, Louisiana |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1043, pp. 97-113 (FHL #025,690)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Emerald Isle
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
30 Nov 1855
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
350
|
Church Leader:
|
Philemon C. Merrill
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
29 Dec 1855
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1045, pp. 1-17 (FHL #025,691); Customs (FHL #175,515)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Antarctic
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
10 Jul 1859
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
30
|
Church Leader:
|
James Chaplow
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
21 Aug 1859
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1046, pp. 132-133 (FHL #025,691); Customs (FHL #175,551)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
John J. Boyd
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
23 Apr 1862
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
702
|
Church Leader:
|
James S. Brown
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
1 Jun 1862
|
Port of Arrival: |
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1047, pp. 87-125 (FHL #025,691); Customs (FHL #175,575)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Antarctic
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
23 May 1863
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
486
|
Church Leader:
|
John Needham
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
10 Jul 1863
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1047, pp. 257-276 (FHL #025,691);Customs #703 (FHL #175,587)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Arkwright
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
30 May 1866
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
450
|
Church Leader:
|
Justin Wixom
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
6 Jul 1866
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1048, pp. 267-287 (FHL #025,692); Customs #766 (FHL #175,624)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Emerald Isle
|
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
20 Jun 1868
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
876
|
Church Leader:
|
Hans Jensen Hals
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
14 Aug 1868
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1048, pp. 322-332,370 (FHL #025,692); Customs (FHL #175,654)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ship:
|
Colorado |
|
|
|
Date of Departure:
|
14 Jul 1868
|
Port of Departure:
|
Liverpool, England |
|
LDS Immigrants:
|
600
|
Church Leader:
|
William B. Preston
|
|
Date of Arrival:
|
28 Jul 1868
|
Port of Arrival:
|
New York, New York |
|
Source(s):
|
BMR, Book #1049, various pages; BMR, Book #1041, pp.21-44 (FHL #025,692);
|
|
|
The sources of information are also indicated for each voyage. The BMR, an LDS church record, is clearly the principal source, with customs, a civil record, also playing an important role. FHL# refers to the number of the microfilm at the Family History Library that contains the referenced record.
Additional Information
A great deal of information on the voyages and immigrants is available at the LDS Family History Library. Numerous diaries and other personal accounts of the voyages were prepared by the immigrants and are available in the database or by reference to other sources, nearly all of which are in the possession of the library. One of the most notable of these sources is the Journal of Jonathan Grimshaw, authored by the earliest Grimshaw immigrant listed above; it is presented on the webpage for Jonathan and Eliza (Topham) Grimshaw
Webpage History
Webpage posted December 2002. Banner replaced April 2011.