James Rintoul and Annie Morton Smith were both born and raised in Loudoun Parish, Ayrshire. They were married on June 7, 1850. James was 23 and Annie was 18. Eight days later, they set out for Montreal, Canada on Saturday, June 15, 1850, at 4:30 p.m. on a new iron ship called The Three Bells. They were first landed at Grosse-Ile and then at Quebec City, where they made a tour of the city. They continued toward Montreal and then arranged to transfer to the steamer Comet which came alongside the Three Bells and offered to trade passengers. The Comet stopped in Toronto, where they toured the city and then carried them to Hamilton, Ontario. James kept a journal of the voyage, the contents of which still survive.
This is the Sanitation Building at Grosse-Ile, where James and Annie, like almost all immigrants of the period, first arrived in Canada and were "condemned to wash our clothes". There had been a serious Typhus epidemic among the immigrants of Grosse-Ile a few years earlier.
This is a painting of the Port of Quebec from the period. James
described it as follows: "The steeples and towers were glistening
in the sun and the roofs of the houses which were all covered with tin.
Then the castle frowning over the town, bristling with canon." The
"castle" he refers to is the Citadel at upper left. James and Annie
toured the city and were a bit taken aback to find that "the people mostly
all speak French".
This is a photograph of the Port of Montreal from the period.
For those who know present day Montreal, the street in front of the row
of buildings at the far left is Rue de la Commune.
You can read the full text of the journal by choosing any of the links below:
Part 1: Farewell to Scotland
Part 2: Across the North Atlantic
Part 3: The East Coast
Part 4: Arrival at Grosse-Isle
Part 5: Quebec City
Part 6: Aboard the Comet