I am no computer whiz, but I use one every day. I have to, I’m a genealogist. It was not always this way, of course. For years, as technology crept into the field of genealogy, I managed to avoid learning how to use the new tools–CD-ROMs, the Internet, etc. I persisted instead in the traditional paths of research–paper, microfilm, microfiche–and I continued to experience some success. But not any more. No longer is it a matter of choice. To conduct an efficient and productive search of an immigrant ancestor’s arrival record today, you must use today’s technological tools.

To demonstrate, let me briefly review the traditional finding aids we have had at our disposal, then let me illustrate how these finding aids have been enhanced and expanded by CD-ROMs and the Internet.

For the pre-1820 period, name indexes to the published historical materials have been created. P. William Filby’s Passenger and Immigration Lists Index is the largest, but there are numerous smaller ones, such as The Early Settlers of Maryland, edited by Gust Skordas. To use these indexes, you must know the immigrant’s name, approximate date of arrival, and approximate age at arrival. When you come upon an index entry that matches that fundamental information, you can locate the published work cited therein and examine it to make sure the passenger is your forebear. Then, having discovered an ancestor’s ship, you will likely want to see what it looked like. You traditionally scour books for an image of the ship or its type.

For the federal arrival lists beginning in 1820, huge National Archives indexes are available on microfilm for the various ports. Searching port by port, process of elimination usually whittles the likely candidates down to a searchable few. But these indexes do not cover every passenger arriving at every port for every year. To fill in the gaps, we traditionally use commercially-published multi-volume book indexes, such as Ira Glazier’s The Famine Immigrants and Ira Glazier and P. William Filby’s Germans to America. Then, for a photograph of a steamship, we traditionally write to the Steamship Historical Society of America in Baltimore, or to a maritime museum, such as the Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

However, when neither National Archives indexes nor book indexes yield our ancestor, we turn to a variety of alternative strategies (depending on the facts we have to go on) using sources such as emigration lists of European ports and National Archives micropublication M1066, Registers of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919, to mention but two.

All of these traditional ways of finding an ancestor’s ship are still viable and may result in success; however, modern technology has supplemented these sources, facilitating the search and enhancing our chances for success. Let us consider CD-ROMs and the Internet.

1. Filby’s Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, the huge, multi-volume set already mentioned, is now available as CD #354 by Brøderbund. Rather than pour through ten or twelve books, you may purchase the entire set on this CD. [Filby’s Index is also available online to patrons of libraries that have subscribed to Gale’s AncestryPlus product.–eds]

2. Peter Wilson Coldham’s Complete Book of Emigrants (4 volumes) and Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage (1 volume and supplement) have been published jointly by Genealogical Publishing Company and Brøoderbund as CD #7350. It is entitled "The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607—1776," and it contains approximately 140,000 names of men, women, and children who emigrated from England to America.

3. Five of GPC’s books–New World Immigrants, volumes 1 and 2, Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819, Immigrants to the Middle Colonies, and Passengers to America–have been reissued through Broderbund as CD #7170. It is entitled, "Immigrants to the New World, 1600s—1800s."

4. The on-going series by Glazier and Filby, Germans to America, referred to above, is now available on two CDs, #355 (1850—74) and #356 (1875—88).

5. Michael Tepper’s Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1834, has been reissued and expanded on CD #259, "Passenger and Immigration Lists, Baltimore, 1820-1852," which lists about 89,000 names.

Other CD-ROM indexes, however, are entirely new publications covering years not included in any book or National Archives index. Here are two examples:

1. "Passenger and Immigration Lists: Boston, 1821—1850" (#256), is an alphabetical index containing about 161,000 names.

2. Passenger and Immigration Lists: New Orleans, 1820—1850 (#358), is an alphabetical index containing about 258,000 names.

Essential identifying information is given for each name, as well as the National Archives micropublication number and roll where that passenger may be found on the list. These CDs constitute a major contribution because not all pre-1848 Boston arrivals, and not all pre-1853 New Orleans arrivals, are included in National Archives indexes. Some are indexed in A Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports (Excluding New York), 1820-1874 (M233), but not all. A two-volume set by Milton P. and Norma G. Reider, New Orleans Ship Lists, covered arrivals of January 1820 through June 1823 only. Now these CDs fill in the rest of the wide gaps in Boston and New Orleans indexes.

Let us say you are seeking Thomas Morley, an Irish ancestor in his early twenties who came to the United States in the mid-1840s. Insert the CD, "Passenger and Immigration Lists: Boston, 1821-1850" into your computer and key in his name. Seconds later the screen shows a likely candidate: "Morley, Thomas; Country of Origin, Ireland; Gender, male; Arrival Date, May 5, 1846; Age, 22; Occupation, [blank]; Microfilm Source, Series M277, Roll 20." Secure a copy of Roll 20 of M277 at an archives or library, scan the lists of ships arriving on May 5, 1846, and you will find Thomas Morley on board the Governor Davis. Now scrutinize the list for corroborating evidence that this man is your forefather. One supporting fact is his nationality: Irish. But you may spot another detail, perhaps the name of a relative or two, to confirm your find.

New CD-ROM indexes are appearing all the time. You may wish to visit the Web sites of the major publishers for their latest updates. This brings us to the Internet.

On the site’s initial screen, in the "Find a Passenger" box, key in the name of the ancestor you seek. In a few seconds, a roster of all passengers with that name in the database will be displayed with each one’s residence, year of arrival, and age on arrival. Using that identifying information, select the passenger you believe is your ancestor and click on the name. A screen will pop up with the nine transcribed items of information for that passenger. If the data matches your ancestor, click on "Ship Manifest" and the digitized passenger list will appear for you to enlarge and examine.

The power of this finding aid boggles the mind. The Ellis Island Web site simplifies to an astounding degree any search for a New York arrival between 1892 and 1924. This includes years for which no comprehensive index existed (1892—1896), and years for which the microfilmed index that does exist is difficult to use in most cases (1897—1902). A commendable effort was made to double-check the transcription of all data before entering them into the database.

As with all research tools, electronic or traditional, shortcomings exist and success in every search cannot be guaranteed. Nor is the Ellis Island Web site the only site for finding the ships of immigrant forebears. New York City, although it saw the lion’s share of immigration, was only one port among many, and the years 1892 to 1924, though peak years of immigration, was only one era in a much longer history. Let us examine a few other useful Web sites:

Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet at <www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm> links to numerous sites with information about ships, passenger lists, and crew lists. Sites are categorized under several headings: libraries; archives and museums; mailing lists, newsgroups and chat rooms; professional researchers; volunteers and other research services; publications; microfilm and microfiche; shipwrecks; and societies and groups. Sites vary dramatically in quality and usefulness. Most pertain to steamships rather than rigged vessels. Nevertheless, you cannot know what Web site might be helpful in your quest until you investigate them. And this is the place to begin your investigation.

The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at <http://istg.rootsweb.com/> is a group of volunteers who are transcribing passenger lists and uploading them to the Internet. The selection of ships is still very small, but the site contains quite a few lists of vessels of the pre-1820 period, and it is easily searched. As is the case with most Web sites that deal with ships and passenger arrival records, random new material is uploaded at irregular intervals, and editorial direction and control are minimal. Always be a critical user of the Internet. Never accept as accurate any information you find online until you have double-checked it against the source cited.

The Web site of the National Archives at <www.nara.gov> contains the entire Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States, all of the catalogs of microfilm (including Immigrant & Passenger Arrivals), and excellent essays on a variety of other records that sometimes lead to an ancestor’s ship, such as naturalization records, homestead records, and passport applications. It is a simple matter, for example, to check online if the CD-ROM index, Passenger and Immigration Lists: Boston, 1821-1850, is correct in indicating that Thomas Morley’s ship, arriving on 5 May 1846, is found on National Archives micropublication M277, roll 20. The online catalog, Immigrant & Passenger Arrivals, confirms this information.

Daddezio.com, the Web site of Illya James D’Addezio at <www.daddezio.com>, links to several hundred ship passenger lists posted on the Internet. However, beware of third- and fourth-hand materials. Always access the source cited to confirm accuracy. Even D’Addezio’s alphabetical "Directory of Passenger Ship Arrivals" is imprecise. It includes "pink" and "snow" as part of a ship’s name–the Pink Rose and the Snow George–when these are types of sailing vessels. The ship is not the Pink Rose, but the Rose, which happens to be a pink. Similarly, the ship is not the Snow George, but the George, which happens to be a snow. The error is repeated many times.

Let us use this site to learn whether the list of Thomas Morley’s ship, the Governor Davis, is transcribed somewhere on the Internet. It is. D’Addezio links us directly with the "Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild" page containing the list of the Governor Davis. But is this the list for Thomas Morley’s Liverpool-to-Boston crossing of April-May 1846, or some other crossing? It turns out to be a Liverpool-to-Boston crossing, sure enough, but one that was made in 1847, a year too late to be the list with Thomas Morley’s name on it. Online search results are always "catch as catch can."

Hamburg Emigration Lists (1850—1934). Emigration lists compiled in European ports of debarkation, mentioned above, have long served as an alternative source for getting to an ancestor’s arrival record in the United States. Particularly valuable, given the Germanic heritage prized by so many Americans, have been the Hamburg Emigration Lists (1850—1934), which are available on microfilm. Now, beginning with the lists of 1890, they are being transcribed to the Internet at <www.hamburg. de/LinkToYourRoots/english/welcome.htm>.

Let’s say you are looking for your Bavarian ancestor Christoph Mueller who came to the United States around 1891 with his wife and children. Simply click on "Search for Passenger," fill in the blanks with the information requested, such as family name, given name, gender, approximate year of birth, etc., and then click on "Run Report." If a passenger of that description appears on the Hamburg Emigration Lists, a screen will appear displaying the information about him: place of residence (town), state of residence (German state), profession, place of destination, date of departure, ship’s destination, ship’s name, shipping company, accommodation (cabin class or steerage), and more. And there is Christoph Mueller. He is listed under the original spelling of his surname, Müller, with a wife and children traveling in steerage on the steamship Augusta Victoria. The Augusta Victoria left Hamburg for New York on 4 September 1891. (Note that the date is given in the European fashion, 04/09/91, as these are German records.) To find the passenger arrival list in the National Archives microfilm, you need to learn when the Augusta Victoria arrived in New York. This, too, can be done online.

Cimorelli Immigration Man- ifests Online. The Morton-Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals is another tried-and-true resource used for years in book form. It lists by year, and thereunder by steamship line, the names and dates of arrival of all passenger liners that came from Europe to New York from 1890 to 1930, and to Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia from 1904 to 1926. Now this tool is available online at Cimorelli Immigration Manifests Online at <www.cimorelli.com/safe/shipmenu.htm>. Searching for the Augusta Victoria in the year 1891, for instance, results in six arrival dates. Since you already know the steamship left Hamburg on September 4th, the arrival date that fits is "9/14/1891." (Note that Cimorelli gives the date in the American way, month/day/year, as the directory is an American publication.) Now all you have to do is consult the New York lists (National Archives micropublication M237, roll 575) to see Christoph Mueller’s arrival record, or write to the National Archives using NATF Form 81 for a print of the page containing his name.

FamilySearch. The extraordinary Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at <www.familysearch.org> provides the entire catalog of the Family History Library, plus enormous databases of millions of names. Now from your own home, you may search to see exactly what passenger arrival information the library has on microfilm, and then you may borrow it at any family history center worldwide.

This sampling of useful Web sites is selective; many others may prove helpful in your search.

Another Web site, Kinshipsprints at <www.kinshipsprints.com> offers reproductions of prints, mostly old postcards, of over three hundred ships. However this site shows no Augusta Victoria.

Conducting an efficient and productive search for an ancestor’s ship means making full use of the new technological tools: CD-ROMs and the Internet. For maximum effectiveness, the ever-mutating electronic resources should be used in conjunction with traditional materials in paper and microform. Tried-and-true principles of sound methodology still apply. This means that genealogists, whether traveling the old or the new path, should bring to their research a good dose of skepticism. Always look to see where the editor or compiler or publisher found the information, and then access that source to confirm that he or she got it right. It is getting easier and easier to do, even if, like me, you aren’t a computer whiz.

Return to the Ancestry Magazine November/December 2001 Table of Contents.