Previously I've mentioned that New York City was a popular destination for immigrants because they could hop on a train and get almost anywhere in the nation by train. I feel sure that, though there was great demand for tickets, there must have been competition as well, reflected in fares.
I know that winter seas were generally rough and the fear of icebergs and sinking existed before the Titanic disaster. A rough Atlantic Ocean could make that steerage compartment a terrible ride and raise the risk of illness also because of close quarters, crowding, and shared air. (You wouldn't want to be in steerage with a virus.) A ship could carry over 1000 passengers in steerage. (The largest ships could carry near 3000 passengers - 800 or so being crew.)
Other ships besides the Titanic did sink. It was the Titanic that was marketed as unsinkable and we've never gotten over the irony.
Winter tickets were less expensive than summer. In 1900 an average steerage ticket is said to have been about $30. That is over $900 today.
Try to research the price of a ticket by ship, ship line, voyage, and season.
New York Harbor and Castle Garden, which has its own online database, or Ellis Island were not the only destinations for ships full of immigrant passengers.
Consider:
Canadian ports including Great Lakes ports. (Immigrants sometimes walked into the United States from Canada. They may or may not be listed in Border Crossings.)
Baltimore: A bustling port. Popular for immigrants who wanted to avoid New York. Railroad service also very good. If they settled on the east coast, this might be the port they used.
Boston : a favorite of the Irish. Why arrive in New York or Phili instead?
New Orleans : A popular port for the Gulf of Mexico and Southern states.
Philadelphia: Popular among those heading for life in Pennsylvania and New Jersey but also the Southern states. Some competition with New York.
San Francisco: Ships brought Chinese and other Asian immigrants including Hawaiins to America along with European passengers and some coming from Central and South America. (Including Picture Brides.)
Also consider:
San Diego : note also Border Crossings (on foot) from Mexico.
Los Angeles (San Pedro -Long Beach)
Alaska (multiple ports)
Mobile, Alabama
As steam ships got bigger, they needed deeper water ports. Smaller ships continued to run. 1870 is about the time steamships took over from sail ships re immigrants.
Many on-line indexes exist for ports including at FamilySearch.
C 2021
