|
"Along Those Lines"
7/12/2002 - Archive
Taking the Plunge on Ships' Passenger Lists
There was a time when I thought that undertaking a search for my
ancestors on ships' passenger lists would be as perilous as the journey they
took to cross the ocean. I'll be the first to admit that I was a coward, intimidated
by what I thought was certain to be a hopeless waste of time. Most of my ancestors
arrived prior to the American Revolution, you see, and I had been told that
passenger lists from that time had been maintained in the port of entry, and
that most of them had probably been lost or destroyed. Boy, how is that for
discouraging news!
What I have learned over the years, though, is that there really is a huge collection
of passenger lists available. Most of the records have not been digitized and
placed online on the Internet or in databases, but there certainly are indices
that can help you locate where to search for the originals, or for microfilm
and scanned images. In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, I want to provide
a high level overview to help dispel some myths, and to point you to some excellent
resources to begin your own search for those invaluable passenger records.
Why Should I Look for Ship's Passenger Lists?
Ships' passenger lists can provide important clues to locating your ancestors'
places of origin on the other side of an ocean. At some point, you will probably
exhaust the number of resources you want to examine in the U.S. for your ancestors,
and you will be driven to know just where they came from and when. It is important,
though, that you DO invest as much time and energy investigating and verifying
your ancestors' life facts here in the U.S. because it is essential to have
as many details as possible about them in order to locate the right ancestor
at the right time on the right ship. Otherwise, you risk heading down a completely
incorrect research path tracing an ancestral line that isn't even yours!
Background on Ship's Passenger Lists
If you ask the average American to name the point of entry for his or her immigrant
ancestors, they will probably say Ellis Island. The truth is that there have
been scores of points of entry in what became the U.S. and Canada, and that
Ellis Island was only one site—and it was only in operation from the 1892
until 1954.
Research on passenger lists can be divided roughly into two eras: before 1820,
and between 1820 and the 1950s. What separates these two time periods is an
act of Congress in 1819 that regulated the number of passengers who could be
transported on a vessel, and that number was determined by the total tonnage
of the ship. The idea was to help improve the conditions for the huge numbers
of immigrants while also trying to mandate maintaining lists of arrivals in
this country. The law required that six pieces of information be listed on a
passenger list. These included the passenger's name, age, sex, occupation, nationality,
and the intended destination country. With the passage of this law, we have
the basis for extraordinary research.
While there were other acts passed in the 1800s, the 1882 Passenger Act added
some additional informational requirements. Perhaps the most important was the
inclusion of the passenger's native country. This is important because vast
numbers of people often traveled from a non-coastal country to one with seaports
in order to embark on their emigrant journey. Therefore, this piece of information
is a vital link for many researchers.
In 1891, there was great national concern about the influx of immigrants. Congress,
as a result, passed another piece of legislation. This one established the U.S.
Bureau of Immigration under the Treasury Department. Its functions included
establishing consistent controls over the entry of immigrants at all U.S. ports,
standardizing the immigration processes and paperwork, exclusion of undesirable
persons, and centralizing immigration paperwork. At this time, even more information
was required on passenger lists.
Over time, the National Archives and Records Administration acquired a wealth
of passenger lists. Some may have been lost prior to this time, but there are
nowhere as many 'lost' lists as some of us may have assumed. NARA has organized
and microfilmed passenger lists and these are as complete a record as possible
for the dates 1820-1954 and for some periods before 1820 as well.
What you will need in order to conduct your research is the passenger's name,
the approximate date of arrival, and his or her approximate age at the date
of arrival. Any additional information you have will be a bonus, including nationality,
the name of the ship, the port of departure, the port of arrival, and names
of other people with whom they were traveling. Any and all of these can help
narrow your search, but be prepared for family stories to provided inaccurate
details. Be flexible in your willingness to broaden your search.
For passenger arrivals prior to 1820, there may or may not be passenger lists.
You will find some index resources listed below which can help you locate your
ancestor in the older extant lists. Where they don't exist or are more difficult
to locate, you may have success locating other, alternate records in the place
where your ancestor settled to help you determine their place of origin. These
include Bibles, diaries, church records, naturalization records in the courts,
and a host of other sources.
For passenger arrivals after 1820, microfilmed records at NARA will generally
be your best bet. However, there are a number of books that have been published
which may help you locate immigrants in specific geographical areas. The massive
"Passenger and Immigration Lists Index" series and supplements by P. William
Filby are the definitive reference for most of the passenger lists, with other
local-focused books providing additional assistance.
Reference Books
There are some wonderful reference books available to help you in your
research. These include the Filby index series listed above, as well as his
Germans to America. Among the very best references are those listed in
the following bibliography:
Colletta, John Philip. They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant
Ancestor's Arrival Record. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry. 1993.
NOTE: A new edition of this book is due out in a few weeks.
Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook
of American Genealogy. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, Incorporated. 1997.
NOTE: Chapter 13 provides a detailed exploration of available records and research
methodology.
Szucs, Loretto Dennis. They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records
and Ethnic Origins. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, Incorporated. 1998.
Meyerink, Kory L. Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records.
Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, Incorporated. 1998. NOTE: Chapter 14 covers printed
resources for literally millions of immigrants.
Internet Resources
There is a growing set of resources on the Internet for learning more about
ships' passenger lists and researching them, as well as a number of online indexes.
One place I always check for "how-to" materials is the Library at Ancestry.com.
It contains scores of articles about this subject.
In addition, there are a number of online resources, which include:
The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at RootsWeb.com
The American Family Immigration Center at Ellis Island
Cyndi's List's
Passenger Lists on the Internet
Immigration And Ships Passenger Lists Research Guide
In addition, there are a number of CD-ROM products published by companies around
the world that may be of help to your research
Making the Connection
What you will find in this age of online genealogical resources is that the
search for your immigrant ancestors' passenger list records isn't necessarily
a few keystrokes away. It requires some old- fashioned research, using books,
indexes, and microfilm records. However, don't make the assumption that it is
an impossible task. Yes, it takes work but there are literally millions of records
out there for you. You just need to approach the search in an orderly fashion,
exercise some patience, and enjoy the thrill of the chase. The rewards can be
staggering because, once you make the leap across the ocean, a whole new world
of old world records may open up to you.
Happy Hunting!
George
George G. Morgan would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com
but, due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail
message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual
research. Visit George's website at http://ahaseminars.com/atl
for information about speaking engagements.
Copyright 2002, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
