The family eventually settled in Philadelphia and Halle Maria Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966.

The First Lady Laura Bush's great-great grandparents also made voyage from Britain the U.S, in 1865, as did the paternal great-great grandparents of Tom Hanks.

Some classic symbols of American industry such as the Buick, Campbell's Soups and US Steel, were created by Scots who travelled to far away shores to make their fortunes.

David Dunbar Buick was born in Arbroath, Angus in 1854, but left for Detroit, in Michigan at the age of two.

He founded the classic American car firm Buick Motor Company, which was formally incorporated on May 19, 1904.

Of course, it was not just the ancestors of the stars who made the journey by sea.

The lists reveal the touching tales of more ordinary passengers, such as 18-year-old William Smith, who met older woman Margaret Rankin, 21, on board The Standard as she sailed from Belfast to New York.

He fell in love and followed her to Brooklyn where they married in 1852.

Others couples were so enamoured they could not wait to reach shore and tied the knot on board.

People emigrated from all parts of the British Isles - many of them wanting to escape hunger, poverty and unemployment. The mass migration saw large stateside communities set up.

By 1860 so many Irish had arrived in New York that it became the largest Irish city in the world with more than 200,000 of its 800,000 residents Irish born.

Now for the first time the English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh US passenger records can be individually name searched to reveal date, departure port and destination of travel.

The records also detail age, nationality, occupation, accompanying family members, name of ship, purpose of travel and even who funded the voyage.

Ancestry.co.uk managing director Simon Harper said: "Without question, the millions of names in the Ancestry Passenger Lists represent brave and colourful individuals who played a significant role in shaping what has become modern America.

"The fact that one in five Americans alive today is a descendent of the English, Irish, Scots or Welsh is testament to the survival and success of many of these passengers."

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