[#1435] Sailing dates for emigrants

[Gjest Ronald DeWitt]

I have attempted to identify the ships on which my grandparents sailed from Kristiansand by comparing the dates listed in the register with sailing dates for the Scandinavian America Line. For the day on which my grandfather is listed as leaving Kristiansand there is a sailing listed, but from Christiana. Because it seems unlikely that a ship could sail from Christiana and pick up passengers the same day from Kristiansand, I tried to match the departure with an earlier sailing from Christiana. But the next earlier sailing is two weeks earlier, and that seems to me to be too long an interval of time. Am I correct in assuming that the dates given in the emigrant register data base are the dates on which the ship departed Kristiansand? Could the dates correspond to the start of the ship's voyage in Christiana?

[Gjest Yngve Nedrebø]

The dates given in the emigrant rolls are often the date the emigrants registered at the local Police department. It could be several days before they actually boarded the ship. Many Norwegian emigrants did also go from Norway to e.g. England or Scotland before entering the emigrant vessel. In your case it seems rather likely your grandparents left on the ship that left Christiania on the day they registered in Kristiansand.