How to Get to Cleveland in the 1870s

Cleveland in the distance taken from Euclid May, 2012

So... there you are, a sea-weary new immigrant fetched up in the port of Quebec in 1871.  What do you do next?  Have you already got a final destination further on, and arrangements made to get there?  Have you got a job waiting, or  a vague promise of one that is certain to materialize when you present yourself?  Were you chosen for emigration, and perhaps had your passage paid, because you have a skill the New World needed in abundance?  [Stone masons certainly fitted into that category in the late 19th century.]  Quebec City was the main transfer point for European immigrants heading to the mid-west and western United States during the last four decades of the 19th century, as it was linked by waterway and railroad right out to the Pacific by then.  Apparently, the ship fares to travel to Canada were cheaper, which was a major factor in choosing to come through Quebec rather than a U.S. seaport.

Bartholomew Pearce could have made his way from Quebec City to Cleveland either by railroad or by an inland passage lake or river steamer.  It would be very interesting to find out what happened after he landed in Quebec, but other than finding out his port of entry into the U.S., and then perhaps being able to infer from that how he traveled, there may not be an awful lot more to discover at the moment about any of this.  It wasn't until 1895 that something called "St. Albans records " were started, which recorded all immigrant  border crossings from Canada into the U.S.

There is a webpage I've just found devoted to "Visions of a City in 1872" on the Cleveland Area History blog.  These are two views of the city at the time Bartholomew Pearce arrived.  

picture credits: http://www.clevelandareahistory.com/2011/03/visions-of-city-in-1872.html