S.S. Kensington - April 1908

Ellen Mary and Children immigrate to Montreal

The third and final group of the Shill-Bartholomew family to immigrate to Montreal, Canada arrived on the S.S. Kensington, a ship of the Dominion Line. Ellen Mary, the mother, brought over Marion, Annie, Bert, Grace and the youngest, Ellen (Nell).

Ellen Mary and her children boarded the ship in Liverpool and arrived in Halifax on April 6th, 1908 at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon. Passengers in steerage were examined by both a Medical and a Civil Examiner between 4:45 and midnight. After the examinations were completed, they traveled onward to Montreal on April 7th on the Intercolonial Railway, leaving at 12:45 am. Only 52 others of the total 1083 passengers on board the ship traveled on to Montreal with them. The majority of passengers travelled from Halifax on the Canadian Pacific Railway or the Grand Trunk Railway.

Nell's Memory of Coming to Canada:

Mother brought the rest of us over. I don't remember what boat we came over on. That would have been 1908. It was a passenger boat, but it was not posh by any means. We would be in the Steerage. We didn't have the money to come. I don't know how, but it was paid by the Salvation Army and then you had to pay them back.

We had to go into rooms for a while until we got a flat, and gathered up a little bit of furniture and we were off and running. I was 9 years old. I don't remember too much of the crossing, because I was the youngest and I just went with the rest. The youngest travels behind.

Passenger Origins

The following table shows passengers' countries of birth. Unlike the previous two ships the family members traveled on, the passengers on the S.S. Kensington in April 1908 were almost exclusively born in England.

Of all 1083 passengers on board the Kensington, 95% (1030) claimed England as their place of birth. Add to these the 13 Irish-born, 3 Welsh, 6 Scottish, 3 from Guernsey, as well as 2 Australians and 4 Canadian-born, a total of 1073 passengers (99%) could claim British origins.

Canadian-Bound Passengers

Of the 1067 Canadian-bound passengers, 96% (1020) came from England. If you include all countries under British rule, 98% (1051) of the passengers bound for Canadian destinations were British-born. Only 16 (1.5%) passengers heading for Canadian destinations were not British: 15 from Holland and 1 from Hungary.

US-Bound Passengers

The Kensington carried no more that 16 US-bound passengers. Of those, 10 originated in England and 2 in Canada. One passenger born in the US returned home and 3 Russians represented a miniscule non-English contingent.

Click on the above image to see a larger view


Passengers' Canadian Destinations

Almost all of the passengers on the Kensingtonin April 1908 (1067 or 98.5%) headed for Canadian destinations.

The following pie chart shows the relative numbers of passengers destined for each Canadian province. You may notice a large number of passengers of unknown destination. Most pages on this manifest are damaged on the bottom right side making the destinations of some passengers illegible.


Montreal-Bound Passengers

The following is a list of the passengers of British origin who gave Montreal as their destination:

First Name Last Name Age Status Occupation
Harry C. Davies 30 M Accountant
Mabel Davies 23 M Wife
Ellen Wheeler 37 S Domestic
Albert Newton 24 S Stableman
Maggie Skinner 35 M to husband, cook
Maud Linnington 37 M wife to husband, mechanic
Fred Linnington 11 S child
Emily Linnington 9 S child
Arthur Linnington 2/12 S child
Charlotte Wright 27 M to husband, mechanic/carpenter
? Wright 4 S child
Norman Wright 2 S child
Margaret Hunter 28 S to marry detective/domestic
William Rog...? 38 M Railway inspector
Sarah Rog...? 36 M wife
Harding Rog...? 5 S child
James Rog...? 3 S child
Alice Rog...? 2 S child
Lydia Cu(a)rcher 26 S Domestic
Wm Geo West 36 M Stonemason
Louisa Marshall 30 M to husband, Mason
Jannett Marshall 4 S child
Thomas Marshall 3 S child
Louisa Marshall 2 S child
Florence E. Morton 24 M to husband, Gen. Lab.
Marjorie Morton 4 S child
Ellen M. Shill 46 M to husband, storeman CPR
Marion Shill 24 S Machinist
Annie Shill 15 S Domestic
Herbert Shill 13 S child
Grace Shill 11 S child
Ellen Shill 9 S child
Hugh B. Hughes 30 S clerk/Farm Lab
Emil Whitfield 34 M Boot Repairer
Ada Whitfield 32 M Wife
Arthur/Archer Smith 28 S Decorator
Louis G. Sutton 20 S Warehouseman
Francis Willson 24 S Railwayman
Richard ?...rman 46 M Gen. Lab.
Thomas Coleman 44 ? Labourer
Herbert W. Baker 20 S Plater
Wm. E. Smith 20 S House Decorator
Leonard Hewett 20 S Plumber
John R. Wright 34 S Farm Labourer
W. Herbert Collier? 29 S Warehouseman
Allen? Falconbridge 20 S Wheelwright/Farm Lab.
Fred Carter 22 S Gardener
Edw. Rulledge 24 S Printer
Ar.? Henderson 20 S Fitter
Saml C. Houlston 33 M Boiler Maker/to be deported
Fredk Meahurst 43 S Valet
John H. Beaumont 22 S Electrical Fitter
Harry S. Fernie ? S Electrical Engineer
Kate M. Marshall 38 M Dressmaker. To husband, clerk
Olive Marshall 20 S Boxmaker
Maud Marshall 16 S Domestic
Evan ? 31 S Cycle Fitter
David Owen 21 S Tailor


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