Immigration and Ships Passenger Lists Research Guide
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
  Last updated February 1, 2005

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 Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
"Passenger and Immigration Lists Index; a Guide to Published Arrival Records of Passengers who came to the New World from the 16th to the early 20th Centuries" by William P. Filby. This is a multi-volume set of books containing indexes for virtually every book or article published relating to immigration during this time period. The first three volumes were published in 1981;

          Volume 1:- A through F
          Volume 2:- F through N
          Volume 3:- N through Z
Supplementary volumes have been published yearly (at this time, there are 18 supplementary volumes ).   In doing your research, you must look in the initial volume and in each supplementary volume, since each supplementary volume only contains indexes for new references.  It must be noted that this is an index of immigrant names which then refers you to the original source of the information.  The following guidelines will help in using these printed volumes.
Note: This work is now available on CD-Roms and on the Internet (Ancestry.com).  These resources are fully searchable and also include the details of the references as part of the search results.

Hint:  Review the information in Section 2.1 of this Guide regarding information needed to start your search.  It is especially important to know the "Full" name (including  possible alternate first names, and possible alternate spellings for the name) and at least the approximate year of of immigration.  You should search every volume for all possible variations of the name.

You will find:  1) the year of arrival, 2) place of arrival, 3) surname of the individual along with a first name, 4) a numerical reference to the source of the information, and 5) the page in the source where you will find the information.
Following is an example of the format that may be found:

Henry 1732 Philadelphia Lange 717 119
This fictitious example refers to an ancestor Claus Heinrich Lange, where he apparently used the  Anglicized middle name (Henry) in the passenger list.  This example states the year and port of arrival as 1732 in Philadelphia.   The next number 717 indicates the source of information. , look in the front of the Filby book for that reference numberand make note of the full information about this source.  The name Claus Heinrich Lange would then be found on page 119 of this source.

 Many of the original books, etc., that are referencd in Filby's are available in the larger genealogical libraries.  Many are also available on microfilm or microfiche which may be available at the LDS FHC or by interlibrary loan.  Some of the original source material is also on the CD-ROM's.  However, note that some some sources have been published so recently and are covered by a copyright which does not allow for microfilming.

You can request a copy of the original source from the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit MI 48202.  Burton's maintain all the sources indexed in Filby's.  Remember to cite the source number with the reference. The charge is 20 cents per page copy plus $2.00 for postage and handling.