Information from the Public Archives of Nova Scotia
Microfilm Reel 12511 (1904)

PASSENGER MANIFEST #716 (1904) Sheet 12

Ship: S.S. IONIAN		Master: John Brown
From: Liverpool To: Halifax & St. John, N.B.		Passengers:       21 cabin                         550 steerage                         571 total
Sailed: Dec. 15, 1904		Arrived: Dec. 24, 1904

Passenger No.	# of Railway Order	Amt. of Cash	Name of Passenger	Age of Adults		Children Under 14 Years	Able to		Married or Single	Profession	Nation or Country of Birth
				M	F		READ	WRITE
38	?	Aust.Pole	Anna Sumara		35		Y	Y	M	Wife	Austria Polish The letters "Je" were scratched out, indicating a mistaken (?) reference to "Jew"
37	?	Aust.Pole	Frank " "			10	Y	Y	S	child
38	?	Aust.Pole	Marie " "			8	Y	Y	S	" "
39	?	Aust.Pole	Albin " "			7	Y	Y	"	" "
40	?	Aust.Pole	Anna " "			Inf.	N	N	"	" "

I began the long, tedious search through the Archives' microfiche collection in the spring of 1997. When I did finally come across this manifest, after hours of searching through years of ship's documents (we hadn't narrowed down the year that our family had immigrated), it was quite a thrill. It also brought a surprising turn; I thought that the family had emigrated together. But the manifest listed only my great-grandmother Anna and her children. Where was the husband, Vencel?

We suppose that Vencel came earlier to settle and find work. The time could not have been very long, as Anna's youngest daughter (also named Anna) was still an infant. We know that after their arrival, the Sumaras moved to Sydney, Cape Breton and eventually to Hantsford, Cumberland County.

And the search continues, both to fill in the few blanks on this end of the journey, and more importantly, the time leading up to the Sumara's emigration.