A history of the Scottish Canadian family of shipowners behind the Montreal Steam Ship Company and the Allan Line. It begins with the birth in 1780 of Alexander Allan in Dundonald, Ayrshire and continues through until 1955, focusing on the family rather than the shipping line. Together with Alexander Harvey, James Gilkison, Samuel Paterson and John Wilson, Alexander Allan (Captain Sandy) commissioned their first ship, the Jean, launched in 1819. Making her first voyage to Canada that year, the Jean carried dry goods on the outward journey and timber on the return voyage. On the second trip the same year, she took a few passengers, the forerunner of the Allan Line's passenger service taking migrants to Canada. By the 1830s, the company was operating from offices in Montreal, Liverpool and Glasgow with all five of Allan's sons involved in the business. The text is illustrated with family photographs.