You can now search the White Star Line passenger lists on Digitalarkivet, as part of the Swedish National Archives’ celebration of the Year of Migration.
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the first organized emigration from Norway to America. This is marked with the national anniversary Crossings 200. The National Archives is participating in the celebration by making important source material that sheds light on Norway’s migration history available on Digitalarkivet.
– Migration is a central part of Norway’s history, and the commemoration of the Year of Migration gives us an opportunity to reflect on how this has shaped our country,” says the National Archivist. Inga Bolstad: “By making these sources digitally available, researchers will have better access to historical data and it will be easier for private individuals to find their ancestors.
White Star Line and Titanic
First up is source material from the White Star Line. The British shipping company, often referred to as the White Star Line, was established in 1845. The company transported emigrants from Europe to America, and is best known for the ship RMS Titanic. This ship sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg.
Among the material published on Digitalarkivet are passenger lists for the ships. While the passenger lists were previously only available as digitized sources, they are now printed and searchable. The passenger lists include names, departure points and destinations.
There were 31 Norwegian passengers on the Titanic, and the passenger lists in the Digital Archives also contain information about these travelers. The lists show how a number of Norwegians started their journey on the excursion ship “Oslo”, before boarding the Titanic in Southampton.
Marketing and postal history
In addition to passenger lists, a scrapbook has been published. This documents how the shipping companies marketed the journeys, in addition to price lists and various documents being preserved in the book.
A postal receipt book has also been published for the period 1886-1888. This provides an overview of mail that was transported by White Star Line’s boats to named recipients both in Norway and abroad.
Several important sources for the Norwegian migration history
The National Archives will make more sources of Norwegian migration history available throughout 2025. There will be both new sources published on Digitalarkivet, and previously published sources that will now be possible to search.
Go directly to all White Star Line content on the Digital Archive
