Finding Immigration Records

The National Archives in Washington, DC has an extensive collection of immigration records and many of these records are indexed alphabetically by name or chronologically to facilitate retrieval. But problems abound. For instance, from 1846 to 1897, records for ships arriving at the port of New York (it wasn't named Ellis Island until 1892) are not indexed. Unless you have the name of the ship or either the month and year of the travel, such records cannot be located without many hours of work. The lists you do find are incomplete and often a passenger cannot be located even if an index is available.

One benefit of obtaining this information is discovering the exact name of the village or town from where your ancestor departed and to which city the immigrant was heading after arriving in port. Details like occupations, languages, and education levels are sometimes included, although primarily for arrivals after 1900.

Image of Immigration Records:

This particular record (dated April 11, 1901) provides the following information: Full name of passenger; age; sex; marital status; occupation; nationality; last residence; port destination; final destination; how much money passenger held; whether previously in U.S.; name and address of relative joining; condition of health; and whether a polygamist!

The best strategy for researching immigration records is to have low expectations and patience. A trip to the National Archives in Washington, DC is a must and you should be armed with names, dates, and ports of arrival to ensure some success.

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Created by James St. John. Last Updated April 1, 1996
Comments to: JSSN@DBV.CC.ROCHESTER.EDU