I'm writing a Western set in the 1850s. In the year 1850, the main character travels from Britain to the US, and it is currently written so that he arrives in New Orleans. However, where he arrives is irrelevant to the plot and can be changed for realism without any issue. It seems like New York City might be more realistic from what I've gathered.
So, my question is, are there any records available showing the voyages from Britain to USA during the 1800s or 1850s? This particular voyage is happening during December, a month that can also be changed if needed. I know the ships required sufficient cargo to set sail.
If there aren't any records, could anyone tell me whether any boats did set sail in December, 1850, and where they docked? I don't need anything specific. If anyone were to tell me that the rate of ships travelling back and forth was like "3 per month" and "all ships docked in either NYC or Houston" (just an example), then that is enough info for me.
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.
For more general advice about doing research to inform a creative project, please check out our Monday Methods post on the subject.