Information sur la source

This database is an index to the passenger lists of ships arriving from foreign ports at various Atlantic ports (see below for a specific list of ports and the year range this database covers for each). In addition, the names found in the index are linked to actual images of the passenger lists, copied from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm (see above under the Source for microfilm series and roll information).

This database may also contain a few records of immigrants who entered the U.S. at other ports or border crossings and were later asked to fill out immigrant arrival information on passenger lists. Therefore, you may find individuals in this database whose port of arrival is not one of those listed below. You may also occasionally find passenger lists of smaller ports whose records have been grouped with those of the ports in this collection.

Information contained in the index includes:

• Given name
  
• Surname
  
• Age
  
• Gender
  
• Ethnicity
  
• Last residence
  
• Arrival date
  
• Port of arrival
  
• Port of departure
  
• Ship name
  
• Microfilm roll and page number
  

If a name of a friend or relative whom the individual was going to join with, or a place of nativity was provided, that information is included in the index as well. Many of these items may be used to search the index in the search template above. Additional information may be available on the actual passenger list and can be obtained by viewing the corresponding image.

Many passenger list forms, especially those from the twentieth century, were two pages long. Be sure to click the "Previous" and "Next" buttons in order to see all the images pertaining to a particular manifest.

It is important to note that the port of departure listed on these passenger lists is not always the original port of departure for these individuals. A ship could make several voyages throughout the year, making several stops along way. Oft times the port of departure found on these lists is the most recent port the ship was located at prior to arriving in America. Therefore, if your ancestors emigrated to the U.S. from Germany, they could be found on a passenger list coming from Liverpool, England (if, in this case, the ship left from Bremen, Germany then continued on to Liverpool, England before arriving at a port in America).

The microcopies of the passenger lists found at NARA are arranged chronologically by arrival date of vessel. If you do not wish to search this database using the search template, the images may be browsed following the chronological arrangement. To browse the images first select the "Port" in which you would like to search followed by the "Year", then "Month", and finally the "Ship Name".

To learn about researching in passenger records consult John P. Colletta's book, They Came In Ships (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993).