Treaties & documents · sailed 6 February 1820
The ship Elizabeth
The first ACS emigrant voyage: 88 passengers from New York to Sierra Leone under naval convoy.
Biography
The Elizabeth left New York on 6 February 1820 carrying eighty-eight emigrants and three white agents, convoyed by the U.S.S. Cyane, and reached Sierra Leone in March.
The party — including Daniel Coker, whose journal survives, and Elijah Johnson — moved to Sherbro Island, where fever killed the agents and a quarter of the emigrants within months. The survivors regrouped and were part of the movement that reached Cape Mesurado in 1822.
Historical significance
The voyage that begins the settlement story, and whose passenger list is the best-documented human record of it.
Timeline
- 6 Feb 1820Departs New York with the U.S.S. Cyane
- Mar 1820Arrives Sierra Leone
- 1820Sherbro settlement fails; heavy mortality
Related entries
References
- Coker, Daniel (1820). Journal of Daniel Coker.
- ACS Annual Report (1820).
Suggested reading
- Coker (1820) — a first-hand account in the emigrants' own voice.