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PhilMyhre
Junior member
New Zealand
51 Posts |
 Posted - 27/01/2025 : 20:28:11
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| I am revisiting a voyage of the SS Courier and trying to locate a passenger list for the sailing in 1857 from Christiana/Christiansand to Hull of a family relative shown as arriving in Hull - 'Myhre'. |
Philip Myhre |
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Borge
Veteran Moderator
Norway
1312 Posts |
Posted - 28/01/2025 : 16:09:42
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| There are no surviving passenger lists for the intermediate ships between Norway and England from that period. |
Børge Solem |
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Borge
Veteran Moderator
Norway
1312 Posts |
Posted - 28/01/2025 : 16:09:50
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| How do you know they were on that ship? |
Børge Solem |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 28/01/2025 : 16:55:46
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| " family relative shown as arriving in Hull " Also I would be curious as to the source of this information. |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 28/01/2025 : 16:59:06
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Borge, when I posted my comment above this is what pops up on my computer screen.
"The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred."
However when I close my connection to Norway Heritage and reconnect I see that my comment posted as normal.
What's our with that?
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Borge
Veteran Moderator
Norway
1312 Posts |
Posted - 28/01/2025 : 23:17:36
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quote:
Originally posted by AntonH
Borge, when I posted my comment above this is what pops up on my computer screen.
"The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred."
However when I close my connection to Norway Heritage and reconnect I see that my comment posted as normal.
What's our with that?
It is caused by a technical problem, likely just another issue related to the ones we have discussed before. |
Børge Solem |
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PhilMyhre
Junior member
New Zealand
51 Posts |
Posted - 23/06/2026 : 05:00:43
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quote:
Originally posted by AntonH
" family relative shown as arriving in Hull " Also I would be curious as to the source of this information.
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Philip Myhre |
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PhilMyhre
Junior member
New Zealand
51 Posts |
Posted - 23/06/2026 : 05:11:14
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[quote]Originally posted by PhilMyhre
[quote]Originally posted by AntonH
" family relative shown as arriving in Hull " Also I would be curious as to the source of this information.
I hope you see this as it is quite some time ago your comments were posted.
I have a copy of an arrival record for the ss Courier arrival Hull 1857, from 'Christiania' with two others, one ' Peter Ulleberg' ? and 'Myhre', occupations 'Mechanick' and, 'M ??stee' occupation 'Merchant'. |
Philip Myhre |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 23/06/2026 : 05:23:00
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| Phil, you stated above that you have a copy of an arrival record for the SS Courier arrival into Hull in 1857. Can you post or upload a copy of that document for viewing. |
Edited by - AntonH on 23/06/2026 21:58:41 |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 23/06/2026 : 22:00:57
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Just for curiosity sake, I queried the Google AI tool Gemini. Here is its response..
The short answer is no, there are no surviving passenger lists for the Courier (or other feeder ships) traveling from Norway to England or Germany during this specific period.
If you are tracking an ancestor who took this route in 1857, it can be an incredibly frustrating roadblock. This context explains why these records are missing and outlines alternative strategies to track down your family's journey.
Why the Records Are Missing
The paddle steamer S/S Courier (operated by the North Europe Steam Navigation Company and later the Wilson Line) was a well-known "feeder" ship. In 1857, under the command of Captain D. Fairburn, it regularly ran a route from Christiania (Oslo), calling at Christiansand, and crossing the North Sea to Hull, England.
Norway Heritage
The lack of passenger lists comes down to how these voyages were legally classified:
The British Loophole: The British Board of Trade strictly mandated passenger manifests for transatlantic ships leaving UK ports. However, ships arriving from continental Europe or Scandinavia were viewed as short-distance, domestic-style ferry runs. Manifests for these short North Sea crossings were rarely generated, and the few that were have not survived.
The Norwegian Paradox: Norway did not begin legally requiring police departments to keep comprehensive, centralized emigrant protocols until 1867. Before that year, departures on local steamships were largely treated as routine commercial travel rather than historic emigration events.
Alternative Strategies to Trace Your Ancestors
Just because the Courier’s direct manifest is gone doesn't mean the trail goes cold. Because most passengers taking the Courier to Hull or Germany were using it as the first leg of a much larger journey (often to the United States or Canada), you can look for their footprints before they boarded or after they landed.
1. Norwegian Church Parish Records (Kirkebøker)
Before leaving their home parish, Norwegians were legally supposed to clear their move with the local pastor. Look for the "Utflyttede" (Emigrated/Departed) section of the parish register for 1857.
What you'll find: These lists usually note the date of departure, the names of the individuals or families, and their intended destination (often generically listed as "Amerika").
2. Transatlantic Arrival Lists (The Second Leg)
If your ancestors were crossing the North Sea to Hull, they likely took a train across England to Liverpool, where they boarded a larger sailing ship bound for North America.
Quebec Arrivals: In 1857, the vast majority of Norwegian emigrants chose to sail to Quebec because British navigation laws made it cheaper than sailing directly to US ports.
New York Arrivals: Look through the Castle Garden passenger lists for late spring or summer 1857.
3. Passport and Moving Records
Check the local city or regional digital archives (Statsarkivet) for Christiania or Christiansand. While full passenger lists are missing, some local police jurisdictions kept records of passports issued or travel permits granted to citizens heading abroad in the 1850s. |
Edited by - AntonH on 23/06/2026 22:01:34 |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 23/06/2026 : 22:30:38
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A extension of my original prompt gets this info.
The collection you found on Ancestry, "England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869," is technically a digitised version of the Home Office and Customs records (specifically series like HO 2, HO 3, and CUST 102).
1. The Nature of the Collection
This collection is essentially a combination of various administrative records regarding "aliens" (non-British citizens) in the UK. Most of these records are not comprehensive passenger lists. They are fragmented, incomplete, and often focused on specific ports or administrative requirements that were inconsistently applied.
GenGuide
HO 3 (Returns of alien passengers): These were reports the ships' masters were supposed to file under the Aliens Act of 1836. By 1857, compliance with this act had significantly declined, and many masters simply stopped filing these lists.
The National Archives
Missing Data: Many of these records for the mid-19th century were never preserved, or were destroyed in the decades following their creation.
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PhilMyhre
Junior member
New Zealand
51 Posts |
Posted - 26/06/2026 : 05:55:20
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Hei Anton,
You have located the document I have a copy of. Note the spelling Myhre. Regrettably no Christian name. Great to have the other two names 'translated'. Thanks so much for your informative response.
My great grandfather Helge August Myhre was born in Drammen 1831 and travelled to England c1851. He married Emily nee Brunette in 1859 in London, they had two children, one my great grandfather. Helge died aged 32 and his widow and two children came to New Zealand in 1874.
Helge had a brother Christian Henrik Myhre b1828 also in Drammen. We understand he also travelled to England, but the only reference we have is this arrival entry into Hull 1857. The dates line up, but of course it may not be 'our' Christian. We have no information whether he met up with his brother in London. We have no ship or dates of Helge's travel to England or the vessel.
This is a real 'needle in a haystack' quest !! |
Philip Myhre |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 26/06/2026 : 16:30:47
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Ancestry.com has several references to your Helge August Myhre but none for a Christian Henrik Myhre. Of course he could have anglicized his name and made the search more difficult. The most common name that pops up is Christian Meyer born about 1830 in Norway. Difficult to tell if either of the two best matches are of any value.
Two of them are found in the 1871 England Census records.
Name Christian Meyer
Age 32
Estimated Birth Year 1839
Relation Lodger
Gender Male
Where born Bergen Norway
Civil parish St Giles in the Fields
Ecclesiastical parish St Giles
Town London
County/Island London
Name Christian Meyer
Age 39
Estimated Birth Year 1832
Relation Son-in-law
Gender Male
Where born Norway
Civil parish Liverpool
Ecclesiastical parish St Mark
County/Island Lancashire
Country England
Registration District Liverpool
Sub-registration district St Thomas
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Edited by - AntonH on 26/06/2026 16:45:16 |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9794 Posts |
Posted - 26/06/2026 : 16:49:24
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There is a Tree on Ancestry for this family
Helge August Olsen Myhre
Geneanet Community Trees Index Share Show more
Name Helge August Olsen Myhre
Gender M (Male)
Birth Date 4 oct. 1831 (4 Oct 1831)
Birth Place Dramen Norway, Norvège (Norway)
Marriage Date 23 juil. 1859 (23 Jul 1859)
Marriage Place St Boltoph's Church, London (London), London, England, United Kingdom
Death Date 10 juin 1864 (10 Jun 1864)
Death Place London, London, England, United Kingdom
Father
Ole Hansen Hansen Myhre
Mother
Sara Marie Stoltenberg
Spouse
Emily Brunette
Child
Charles August Myhre
Emily Maria Myhre
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Passenger list SS Courier 1857
