James emigrated in 1816, possibly on the Harriot which made two voyages from Dublin to P.E.I. in 1817. (During the year 1816 the first Roman Catholic church was built in Charlottetown. It was a small wooden structure built on the site of the present Basilica.) He was twentyone at the time, and like many of the so-calied 'Pre-famine Irish" (those who came prior to the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-47), was no doubt attempting to find a better life for himself in Canada. Ads in local papers said that tradesmen were required in large numbers in Canada.

It is possible that our James was working in Dublin in 1815. A London merchant named Louis Desmond contacted a number of tradesmen (seventy- seven in all) and enlisted them to travel to St. John's, Newfoundhnd on the brig Concord, whose Master was John Stobe. One of these tradesmen was definitely aJames Doyle. When the ship arrived in St. John's, forty-four of the seventy-seven passengers were ill. St. John’s had just sulfered a devastating fire and was in no condition to accept sick people who would put further strain on their already dwindling resources. A court order was thus issued instructing the Master to take them to Miramichi, where the ship was bound. Since the captain refused to take them without further payment, the Magistrate James Blackie, altered their passport so they could travel to Halifax aboard theKaty. They probably arrived there in July or August, 1817. (Bymc 9)

The voyage from Dublin, or another Irish port such as Waterford, would probably not have been a pleasant one. Travel was by boats under sail power, built to carry lumber from Canada back to Britain. To make the voyage more profitable, they were crudely outfitted to carry passengers on the voyage back to Canada, most often a six week journey-after they got started.

Immigrants would often have to remain on the crowded quays for days awaiting a favorable wind. We can imagine youngJames in the milling crowd, exchanging information with others about their hopes and fears for life in

“Hanna";— ' u” Wm (M11? \ ‘

T HE DEPARTURE

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