| Section
2.3 - General Approach to Research Using the World Wide Web, National Archives, LDS Family History Center and Libraries to find Records Interactive Table of Contents (click on any link to view) |
| Introduction
2.3.1 Types of Passenger Lists (Before 1820, 1820 to 1890's, after 1890's) 2.3.2 General Research Approach (The three steps to organized research) 2.3.3 Using the World Wide Web (Ellis Island on line records and links to other sites) 2.3.4 Getting help on the Web -Using Ship's Mailing Lists 2.3.5 Searching at the National Archives 2.3.6 Using the Family History Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints 2.3.7 Using Libraries 2.3.8 CD-ROM's relating to Ship Passenger Lists |
Introduction
- This latest update to the guide places more emphasis
on using
the Web for your research. However, please note that the amount
of
information on the web is increasing, but it is still limited.
You
may start your search on the web, but you will probably find that
traditional
resources still must be used to find most of the information.
Since your chances of succeeding are greatly increased if you follow a prescribed methodology it is suggested that you review the general guidance discussed in this section. Then, it is suggested that you look at the "detailed guidance" ( in Sections 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0) which provide step-by-step descriptions and illustrated examples to conducting your search in the different time periods.
The first question frequently asked by people searching passenger lists on the internet is, "Where can I find a passenger listing for my .......... on the Web?" When I first started this Guide, my answer generally was ; "You can't! You will have to research these records at the National Archives, the LDS Family History Center, your library, or by inter-library loan." However, since then, many passenger lists databases (including the Ellis Island database and the Ship Transcriber's Guild records) and other information have been placed on the Web, and more information is becoming available every day. Therefore, I can now say that it may be worth while to search the Web before you go to one of the traditional resources. But, please remember, the amount of this information is still very limited and you may still end up using those traditional resources. (Click here for list of links to passenger list databases)
In addition to the databases becoming available on the Web, a number of other resources are becoming available to help in your research. There are very good ship's mailing lists on-line with knowledgeable people to help answer your queries about researching passenger lists and to provide information about your ancestor's ship. Also, CD-ROMs containing passenger lists and other data are becoming available. Your search can be greatly facilitated since these CD-ROMs are usually fully searchable by the name of the passenger.
| Another great resource has become available when the American Family Immigration History Center opened at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in April, 2001. A computerized on-line database that provides automated access to more than 17 million Ellis Island passenger records covering individuals who entered through New York Harbor between 1892-1924 is now available. Links to the Ellis Island database with search hints is discussed in Section 5.0. |
This latest update to this Guide places more emphasis upon using these "new" research tools, and includes many added links to on-line references and databases. However, the detailed guidance for using the traditional archived resources has also been expanded and clarified since most of your research will generally still involve the use of the National Archives, the LDS Family History Center, or the library.
2.3.1 Types of Passenger Lists - (Before 1820, 1820 to 1890's, after 1890's)
Prior to 1820, the passenger manifests that were deposited at the ports of entry were not controlled and subsequently you cannot find them in a single archive. Refer to Section 3.0 of this Guide for guidance on locating the pre 1820 records.
1820 to the 1890's - The Federal Government began to "control" immigration in 1820 as part of the Customs Service. Customs Passenger Lists were required to be filed with the collector of customs at the port of arrival. These lists were mainly used for statistical purposes. These lists contain some limited information regarding the passenger, and were used from 1820 to the 1890's. (See Section 4.0 for details)
After the 1890's - In the 1890's, the control of immigration
was shifted to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Immigration
Passenger Lists began at that time. The implementation of Immigration
Passenger Lists started in different years for the different ports
beginning in 1891. These lists contain substantial
data about the passenger and were continued until about 1957. (See
Section 5.0 for details)
Note: The Immigration
Passenger Lists for the port of New York prior to 1897 were
destroyed by a fire in 1897. However, the Customs Passenger
lists as described in Section 4.0 did survive, and these are used
for the port of New York until
1897.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has microfilmed the Custom Passenger Lists and the Immigration Passenger Lists, together with their indexes and other records. It is these records that are available at NARA, the LDS Family History Library, and via inter-library loan.
NOTE: Microfilms of all ship passenger lists do not exist. NARA only microfilmed the legible passenger lists that were turned over to it by the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service when this federal repository was established in 1935. It is estimated that about 10% of these records are missing. (This may be one explanation for not finding an immigrant ancestor on the passenger lists records).
2.3.2 General Research Approach (Three Steps to Organized Research)
Much of the search for your ancestors in the post 1820 time period entails the research of these passenger lists. However, the use of passport records, naturalization records, emigration lists, privately generated indexes, and resources which are becoming increasingly available on-line, can be valuable in your research. Refer to Section 4.0 for detailed procedures for researching the Custom Passenger Lists (1820 to circa 1891) and Section 5.0 for the Immigration Passenger Lists (circa 1891).
STEP 1. - The first step in searching for your ancestor is generally to locate his/her name on an index. Most of the passenger lists have been indexed by the WPA in the 1930's during the depression and are available on microfilm. You must first find the film number of the index containing your ancestor's name. To do this, you may search the NARA web site and/or the Library Catalog at the Family History Center as described below. (Unfortunately, indexes are missing for significant periods for the ports of New York and Boston. For suggestions and on how to perform research in the unindexed periods, see Section 4.0 ).
STEP 2 - The next step is to search the index to locate your ancestor's name and the ship and date of his/her arrival. With this information, you again must search the NARA web site and/or the Library Catalog at the Family History Center to locate the film number of the ship whose passenger list contains your ancestor. You then obtain this microfilm to search for your ancestors.
NOTE: You will find in the catalogs that there are two types of indexes; those arranged in alphabetical order, and those using the Soundex System. Refer to Section 2.4 for guidance with the Soundex Index.STEP 3 - The final step is to find your ancestor's name listing on the Passenger List and extract the applicable information.
2.3.3 - Using the World Wide Web (Ellis Island on line records and links to other sites)
This section provides links to Web sites and hints on how to use the Web to research Immigration and Passenger Lists. NOTE: Throughout this Guide, you will also find numerous links to Web sites that provide information that is directly applicable to the subject being discussed.
New information and databases are appearing on the Web almost daily. You may want to search the Web before using the traditional archive and library resources. However, a word of advice - the information on the Web is still limited and except for the Ellis Island database records of 1892 to 1924, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS TO FIND YOUR ANCESTORS NAME ON THE WEB AT THE PRESENT TIME
The Web can be used in different ways:
|
|
| Ellis Island Passenger Lists 1892 to 1924 - A great resource. A computerized on-line database that provides automated access to more than 17 million Ellis Island passenger records covering individuals who entered through New York Harbor between 1892-1924. Click here for details, hints, and links to search these records. |
| Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG) http://www.immigrantships.net/ This site is worthy of special mention. The ISTG is a group of volunteers who transcribe ships passenger lists which are then placed on the ISTG web site. As of this time, more than 5,000 transcriptions of passenger lists from the colonial days up to the 1900's have been uploaded to that site. The passenger lists are searchable by: (1) Date, (2) Ship's Name, (3) Port of Arrival, and (4) Surname. For information and links to additional resources, see ISTG's "The Compass." |
| Passenger Lists http://userdb.rootsweb.com/passenger/ A searchable database of passenger lists searchable by name, date, port of arrival. port of departure, or ship's name. |
| Web
sites having an extensive number of links to URL's with ships passenger
lists are listed below. NOTE: The lists at some of these different sites are arranged either in: 1) alphabetical order by the ship's name, 2) chronologically by year, or 3) randomly. Without an overall index, it may be time consuming to search through these sites. You should know either the ship's name or the approximate year of arrival before you start searching. HINT: After you open a Web page which contains one or more passenger lists, you may use your browser's search (or find) function to look for a particular passenger's name on that page. Shelia's Links to Passenger Lists on the Net: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/3575/Ships.html The listing of ships on this site is chronological by year. Note that many of the links on this page do not operate properly. The owner of that page has been notified but corrections have been slow in coming. (Please do not blame me) The Olive Tree Genealogy - Ship's Passenger List http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/index.shtml Over 1,200 ship listings, listed chronological by year and by numerous other categories. Don't miss the extensive list of links. On the Trail of our Ancestors- Ships' Passenger Lists: http://www.ristenbatt.com/genealogy/shipind1.htm Links to many early ships by Donna Speer Ristenbatt: Addie's Emigration / Ship Lists and Resources: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5978/Emigration.html Passenger Lists on the
Internet http://members.aol.com/rprost/passenger.html
Cyndi's Immigration and Ship's List:http://www.CyndisList.com/ships.htm Links to passenger lists of over 400 ships from the 1600's to 1900's listed alphabetically by subject Passenger Lists; Ships; Ship Museums: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cgaunt/pass.html Many references not included on the other lists. English America - Formerly
America Plantations and Colonies - The Vessels, Voyages, People,
and Places 1500 - 1825 http://www.english-america.com Irish
Passenger Lists http://freespace.virgin.net/alan.tupman/sites/irish.htm Immigrants
to Canada: http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/~marj/genealogy/thevoyage.html
Directory
of Passenger Ship Arrivalshttp://www.daddezio.com/genealogy/ships/index.html
|
NAIL - "NARA Archival Information Locator" http://www.nara.gov:80/nara/nail/nailgen.html NAIL is a project of the National Archives which will enable anyone connected to the Internet to search descriptions of NARA's nationwide holdings and view copies of its most popular documents. Presently, NAIL contains a database of selected holdings with only limited genealogical data. More data is added every week and it may be worth while checking out.
2.3.4 - Getting Help on the Web - Using Ship's Mailing Lists
Another valuable on-line resource are Mailing Lists associated with passenger lists. Queries may be made (or, just by "lurking" you may learn much useful information about particular ships, search procedures, etc.). Mailing lists currently on-line are:
The ShipsList mailing list-
TheShipsList is a mailing list to help those seeking information on
which vessel brought their ancestors to their new home.
This is
an international list. To subscribe, send a message to: TheShipsList-D-request@rootsweb.com
for the digest mode or TheShipsList-L-request@rootsweb.comfor
the mail mode
with the one word SUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Do not put anything in the Subject line.
The Emigration-Ships
mailing
list - To subscribe, send the
message
SUBSCRIBE EMIGRATION-SHIPS-DIGEST for the digest mode or SUBSCRIBE
EMIGRATION-SHIPS-LIST
for the mail mode to: majordomo@genweb.netm
The mailing address for posting messages is: emigration-ships@genweb.net
The Mariners mailing list- A list for the discussion of shipping and seamen rather than emigration. If you wish to be added to the mailing list for those researching their seafaring ancestors, send your SUBSCRIBE message to: MARINERS-L-request@rootsweb.com
BoatFolks -
A mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding
the ancestors and descendents of immigrants arriving in the United
States
prior to 1700. To subscribe, send the message SUBSCRIBE to:
Boatfolks-subscribe@egroups.com
The mailing address for posting messages is boatfolks@egroups.com
CASTLE GARDEN mailing list. May be of interest to those researching NY records in the 1855 to 1890 time period. To subscribe, put the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line and also in the body snd send to:
<CASTLE-GARDEN-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com> .
Backto the top
2.3.5 - Searching at the National Archives
The National Archives and the Family History Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints have all of the passenger list records. These are the places where you will probably end up doing most of your research. The microfilms of the passenger lists can be researched at the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) facilities in the Washington, D. C. area, or at the Regional Archives. To find the location of these Regional Archives, go to: http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html#regional
The NARA "Immigrant and Passenger Arrivals" Web site at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/immigration/immigrat.html
has the catalog of microfilms of the passenger
lists. There you can find the NARA microfilm roll number of the
index and/or passenger list that you may be interested in. You
will find detailed procedures and examples in Section 4.0
and Section 5.0
of this Guide which will show you how to use that catalog and how to
locate and use the microfilms of the passenger lists.
NOTE: The regional archives generally only hold microfilm
records pertaining to ports of entry located in the area of that
regional facility. For example, the New England Regional Archive has
records for the port
of Boston and a few others. The New York Regional Archive has
records pertaining mostly to the port of New York and some other
eastern ports. Refer to the above Web site to see which
microfilms are available at each of these locations. You may also
call the Regional Archive to determine what their holdings are (The
telephone numbers and addresses are listed
on the above Web site)
.
NOTE: Passport and Naturalization records may also be
available at these archives. (See Section 8.0 of
this Guide for guidance on using Naturalization records and Section
9.0 for Passport records)
Complete microfilm rolls can also be purchased from
NARA.
The procedure for ordering microfilm rolls or single pages of passenger
lists is contained on The NARA "Immigrant
and Passenger Arrivals" web site and is repeated here
for your convenience.
|
|
| For a researcher who doesn't wish to buy an
entire roll of film to look for a single name, the National Archives
will provide, for a fee, copies of single pages of passenger lists. If
the list is indexed, the Reference Services Branch of the National
Archives in Washington,
D.C. will consult the index to find the correct page of the passenger
list
to copy. Philadelphia Index starts in 1800, Baltimore 1820-1952, Boston
Jan
1 1902-Dec 31 1920, Aug. 1, 1891-1935, book indexes 1899-1940 etc.; New
Orleans is indexed for 1853- 1952. New York is indexed 1820-1847 and
1897-1954. The minimum information required for a search of the index is: Full name of the person being researched The port of arrival The approximate date of arrival Either the name of the ship or the exact date of arrival Additional information such as the age of passenger and names of accompanying passengers can be useful. The fee for this service is
$17.25 payable only when the records requested are found. If it
is not possible to find records, no payment is required. http://www.archives.gov/research_room/orderonline.htmlYou can still make your requests on a paper form, NATF Form 81, "Order for Copies of Passenger Arrival Records." Paper forms can be ordered by e-mail to Inquire@nara.gov or by calling the toll free number, 1-86-NARA-NARA (1-866-272-6272).Be sure to provide your name and mailing address and specify "Form 81" and the number of forms you need.Alternatively, you can obtain the NATF Form 81 by going to www.archives.gov/global_pages/inquire_form.html or by writing to: National Archives and Records Administration, Attn.: NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001. |
2.3.6 - The Family History Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS)
The Family History Library (FHL) located in Salt Lake City has the microfilms of all of the NARA Passenger Lists. These microfilm records are available for distribution to the individual Family History Centers (FHC) located throughout the country.
The Family History Centers (FHC) are normally located at a local Church of the Latter Day Saints. You may find the location of a local FHC in the phone book under Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or on-line at the LDS Web page:
http://www.familysearch.org/Browse/BrowseLibrary.asp
Use of these facilities is free. It is advisable to call ahead to find out what hours they are open since these centers are staffed by volunteers. If you have never visited a Family History Center, review the following information., You may also want to visit the Web sites listed below for further information. Don't worry, they will not try to proselytize you. All faiths are welcome.
NOTE: The FHL uses different numbers for their passenger list
microfilm rolls than are used by NARA. You must refer to the Family
History
Library Catalog at the FHC libraries to find the FHC microfilm number
(See the procedure in the following box).
|
|
| The Family History
Library, found in Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the best libraries
for researchers of their family history. With over 2 million
reels of microfilm (many with more than one source on them), that
encompasses records worldwide,
a researcher can accomplish large amounts of research without having to
spend large amounts of money.
While the Family History Library (FHL) is in Utah, there are Family History Centers worldwide which act as branches of the FHL. The Family History Centers (FHC) are normally located at a local Church of the Latter Day Saints. By visiting your local FHC, you can request many of the materials available at the FHL, including the passenger lists and their indexes, to be sent to your local FHC. Each FHC has certain standard resources available in their local collection. Among these are the FamilySearch data CDs, the "International Genealogical Index" (IGI), and the AIS census index. They may also have other resources that may be of local interest including the Social Security Death Index. The Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) is the catalog to all of the holdings of the FHL. It is available on fiche and CD at the FHC. You refer to the FHLC to find the FHC microfilm number of the passenger lists by searching under Emigration and Immigration for the port of interest (EXAMPLE - New York, New York - Emigration and Immigration). An alternative and a faster method to search the Computer Catalog on CD for passenger lists follows:
You can borrow the films for an initial
period of 30 days. Then you can renew for an additional 60
days.
Subsequently, if your FHC allows, you can renew a second time which
makes
the film reside at your local FHC indefinitely. |
For further information on the Family History
Centers and their usage, go to:
http://www.firstct.com/fv/lds1.html
which describes the Family History Centers and their usage.
There is a list of available free publications at http://www.firstct.com/fv/lds4.html You can get these publications by calling (toll free) Salt Lake City. There are also instructions at this site on how to use and order the various materials from your FHC.
Another link to what is available at the Family
History Centers is:
http://www.genealogy.com/genealogy/links/c/c-family-history-centers.html
NOTE: The LDS has issued a Research CD-ROM disk which includes their research guides. It is reasonably priced and is available from 1-800-537-5950 in the USA.
A few large libraries, such as the New York Public Library and the Allen County Public Library (in Fort Wayne, IN) have the microfilms of the passenger list records in their collections. Other libraries may obtain these microfilms by interlibrary loan. You can then research these films using the library's microfilm readers. Some libraries may not charge for this service, however, many libraries may charge a small fee for the rental. Contact your library to find out what their policy is regarding renting these films. If they will not rent these films, the librarian may find a nearby library library that will.
The American Genealogical Lending Library (AGLL) , now part of
Heritage Quest, is a source for the rental of these microfilms.
Heritage
Quest members and institutions have rental privileges to a microfiche
collection of over 200,000 titles. You may view these records for a
full
30 day period. Rentals are $3.25 per roll or fiche title. These records
use the same numbers for the microfilm rolls as NARA uses. The Heritage
Quest Microfilm Purchase and Rental Guidelines web site provides
details
on ordering these microfilms at: http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/microfilm/html/purchase_rental_info.html#rentalcharges
|
You may find that various libraries may respond differently to your request for a microfilm of a ship's passenger list. Such a request may generally be handled differently than a request for a book that may be available via interlibrary loan (ILL). (The book is obtained from another library -via ILL- that has it available to circulate to your library.) However, most, if not all, major libraries that have the NARA microfilms in their collections, do not loan them out on interlibrary loan to other libraries. Therefore, your library has to obtain these microfilms from a service such as the American Genealogical Lending Library (AGLL). Some libraries will search for an ILL source for the microfilms, and if they cannot find one, they may order it from AGLL and pass the rental charges on to you. Other libraries will routinely order microfilms from AGLL and charge about $4.00 a roll. Some libraries do not charge those people living in the same town and having a valid library card. It should be noted that microfilms of Canadian passenger lists may be obtained by routine inter-library loan. THE BOTTOM LINE IS -- talk to the
reference librarian at your local library and try to convince |
Library Film Rental from NARA
As an aside, the National Archives now rents census
microfilms as part of the National Archives Microfilm Rental Program.
They do not rent passenger list films at the present, but you
may
want to check with them in the future. There are two ways to get
these census films;
1) by ordering them direct as a member, or
2) through a participating library. More
than 6,000 libraries nationwide participate in the National Archives
Microfilm Rental Program. Your local library can find out the
participating library in your area. Or call NARA at 301-604-3699.
2.3.8 - CD-ROM's relating to Passenger Lists
Different commercial companies are releasing CD-ROM's containing scan's of passenger lists and other databases related to immigration and passenger lists. You may purchase these CD-ROM's. You may also place a query on one of the ship mailing lists as previously suggested; there is usually someone willing to do a look-up for you. Following are some examples of what is available. Links to the Web pages of these companies are shown so you may look for recent CD-ROM releases.
Family Tree Maker
This company has CD-ROM's available for different
genealogical subjects. Go to: http://www.familytreemaker.com/immigran.html
and view passenger list CD-ROM's that are available.
Of special interest is CD-Rom number 354. This CD-ROM contains listings of approximately 2,750,000 individuals. The information was collected from published passenger lists, naturalization records, church records, family and local histories, as well as voter and land registrations. You must use it in conjunction with Family Tree Maker or with Family Archives Viewer for Windows. The index is searchable by name, place, year, source code, or source page number. http://www.familytreemaker.com/354facd.html provides further information.
For each individual listed on that CD-ROM, you
will find the following information:
Name and age of immigrant
Year and place of immigration
Full source information
Source code of immigration record **
Names of family members with whom they traveled
This knowledge may help you
determine additional information such as the name of the ship on which
your ancestors sailed and the location of their naturalization. For
your convenience
and to make this important reference accessible, Broderbund has
provided
an electronic name index that allows you to search for
your ancestors on this CD before you purchase it.
** Remember: As with any genealogical index, the records on this CD-ROM are "pointers" to where the original entries were found. Indexes are great resources, but you always have to look at the source that is cited to obtain all the details.
Heritage Quest
This is an on-line store selling CD-ROMs from
various publishers and therefore may have a larger listing of CD-ROM's.
Go to: http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/software/index.html
Then, select search for Data CD-ROMS, type Migration
in the next box, then click on the Search button
Continue to Section 2.4 - Guide to the Soundex System
E-MAIL arnielang@att.net
Copyright (c) Arnold H. Lang