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

Webpage Credits

Description of the Mormon Immigrant Database

Tabulation of the Mormon Grimshaw Immigrants

Description of the Ships and Voyages

Additional Information

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.

ImmigrantBornShipDepart
GRIMSHAW, Eliza Maria
<1819> Ellen

 

 

1851

 

 

GRIMSHAW, Jonathan

 

<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

 

GRIMSHAW, Duckworth

 

<1817>

 

Emerald Isle

 

1855

 

GRIMSHAW, Faith

 

<1817>

 

Emerald Isle

 

1855

 

GRIMSHAW, Hannah

 

<1828>

 

Antarctic

 

1859

 

GRIMSHAW, George

 

<1827>

 

John J. Boyd

 

1862

 

GRIMSHAW, Duckworth

 

<1842>

 

John J. Boyd

 

1862

 

GRIMSHAW, Alice

 

<1811>

 

Antarctic

 

1863

 

GRIMSHAW, John

 

<1812>

 

Antarctic

 

1863

 

GRIMSHAW, John

 

<1812>

 

Antarctic

 

1863

 

GRIMSHAW, Hannah

 

<1826>

 

Antarctic

 

1863

 

GRIMSHAW, Sarah A.

 

<1848>

 

Antarctic

 

1863

 

GRIMSHAW, Elizabeth

 

<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);
Customs #798 (FHL #175,655)

 

 

 

 

 

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.