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SueB
New on board
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 02/09/2026 : 01:09:38
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| Hello. My ancestors came on the Ship Mary Bradford from LeHavre to New York City, arriving on May 22, 1855. I found the passenger list on Ancestry, but I can't find any information about the ship. Can anyone help locate information? Much appreciated! Sue |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9890 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 03:30:00
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Information obtained from Gemini AI
Key Historical Details
Vessel Specs & Rigging: She was a 3-masted sailing ship of approximately 700 to 701 tons.
Primary Routes: Operating during the mid-1800s, the ship frequently ran routes between major European ports—such as Le Havre and London—and New York City, transporting both general cargo and transatlantic emigrants.
Men With Custer
Historical Voyages:
May 22, 1855: The Mary Bradford completed a notable crossing carrying European immigrants (including passengers from France, Germany, and Luxembourg) from Le Havre to New York.
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
June 1, 1857: The ship arrived in New York carrying passengers and goods after departing from London.
Men With Custer
Passenger Conditions: Like many transatlantic packet ships of the 1850s, she provided steerage accommodations below deck for European families seeking settlement in the United States. Crossings typically took anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks depending on weather and sea conditions.
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Researching Passengers & Manifests
If you are looking for specific ancestors who traveled aboard the Mary Bradford on the Le Havre–New York route, ship manifests for this period are archived in National Archives (NARA) Microfilm Publication M237 (Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820–1897), which are fully indexed on genealogical databases such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, and the Castle Garden Passenger Index. |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9890 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 03:37:17
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There are 20 pages of passenger manifests for arrivals on the Mary Bradford in the Ancestry.,com list of
"All New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 results"
There seems to be a variety of Ports from which the ship came. |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9890 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 03:41:33
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| There are 272 passengers on lists from Le Havre to New York from various years from 1802 and 1855. That would be six pages. |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9890 Posts |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9890 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 03:51:29
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Again from the AI post
Key Visual Details from Maritime Paintings
Rigging: The ship is depicted as a full-rigged, three-masted vessel with square sails across all three masts, standard for transatlantic packet ships of that displacement (~700 tons).
Hull & Colors: Paintings show a classic black-painted hull with a white or light-colored gunwale stripe, typical of American merchant vessels operating along Atlantic trade routes.
Flags & Signals: Ship portraits from this era typically depict the vessel flying the U.S. flag at the stern and the shipowner's house flag at the mainmast to identify the line while entering
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7979 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 07:02:46
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Reported as arrived in The Evening Post Wednesday, May 23, 1855 New York, NY
Page: 3:
"Arrived this forenoon
.... Ship Mary Bradford of Warren R I. Thomson, fm Havre, Apl 5th, in ballast, with 271 passengers to Lane & West, 3rd inst. lat 40 15 lon 45 30 Saw ship Daylight, bound E." |
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SueB
New on board
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2026 : 14:25:52
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| You are SO helpful. Thank you! Are there other ships in your database that would be similar to the Mary Bradford - something that might show a diagram of the steerage area? I was able to find my ancestors on the Ancestry images. It was the Peter Ollinger family from Germany. Two of their children died during the voyage, as did about 6 other children. Is that typical or unusual? What might have been a common cause for the deaths, especially if they were all children? |
Sue |
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Ship Mary Bradford
