Boat Fare Cost

choprjohn · Mem Joined: Nov 29, 2009 Posts: 70 Location: Florida

As a relative newcomer here, I dont know if this question was asked before. My Grandfather came to the US in 1909 sailing out of Naples to New York, does anyone know how much the boat fare was? My GF was a charcoal maker in Italy, so it may have seemed like a fortune given his income. Thanx Johnnie

nuccia · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 5:22 am Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

I heard this question before and yet I can't remember what the price of a ticket was in the early 1900's. I do know that many times, Italians (men) had their trips paid for them by large companies who they went to work for in the US. This is sometimes why they had several immigrants going to the same address (ie: 155 Mulberry St). It generally meant that the immigrant had been sponsored to go to the US.

I'll try an look for that article to see if I can find the answer for you.

tjbrn · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

I believe this was discussed in the forum a while ago; however, I didn't do a search to find the thread. I know that I read that the average ticket cost around 1900 or so was approximately $35. Using an online inflation calculator $35 in 1913 dollars would be the equivalent in today's money to $766.

Here is the thread I found for this subject on this site:

www.gentedimaregenealo...st+passage

choprjohn · Mem Joined: Nov 29, 2009 Posts: 70 Location: Florida

Thanx to both of you...Johnnie

nuccia · Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:55 pm Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

Thanks Tom! Too bad the person who had that site originally took it down Not sure if he moved it - it was a geocites site.

lilbees · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:20 am Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

Hey Nuccia, Yahoo eliminated all of that. None of the sites exist on Yahoo now.

lilbees

nuccia · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:28 am Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

I noticed that. I even tried the Wayback Machine archives (which does hold many of the original sites) but I could not find it. Even the webmasters email bounced back when I tried contacting him. Sad

lilbees · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:30 am Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

Yep! No more family trees or references. Nothing. I know it has now been over 6 months.

lilbees

charliemis · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:19 pm Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

I have this info in reply to a post I made a while back on another list:

Fares in 1894. Mediterranean Service. [from New York] To Genoa or Naples, 1st cabin $60. Steerage $22. From The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation, by Henry Fry, 1896

---
"The cost of the transatlantic fare varied from ship to ship and depended on the time of year, available accommodations, and price competition among ships. A large percentage of emigrants traveled when they were single or without children. Very young children sometimes traveled at no cost, but the cost for older children was often two-thirds an adult fare. "

www.ancestry.com/learn...ticle=4130

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"In the first decade of the 20th Century, the Atlantic crossing in an iron
steamship took six to twelve days...Most immigrants booked into the less
expensive Osteerage" class, which cost at least $25... Second class cabins
cost about $20 more. "

www.akvhs.org/their_jo...merica.htm

--
"Steerage was enormously profitable for steamship companies. Even though the average cost of a ticket was only $30, larger ships could hold from up to 2,000 immigrants, netting a profit of $45,000 to $60,000 for a single one-way voyage. "

www.genealogyweb.com/island.html

--
And finally here's a scholarly article [pdf, 22 pages] on the age of mass
immigration:

cepr.anu.edu.au/Staff/...ngston.pdf

I have not checked out the links.

choprjohn · Mem Joined: Nov 29, 2009 Posts: 70 Location: Florida

Charliemis Thank you that was very informative, especially the 1st link to Ancestry.com. I never realized how bad they had it....scary

nuccia · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: Boat Fare Cost

Thanks Charlie! I learned something too today. Smile