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Ships Passenger lists
Home » Genealogy » Genealogy - Immigrant Ancestors » Ships Passenger listsPosted by Your Guide on July 6, 2006 9:37 PM
Ellis Island may be the most well known port of entry, but it is not the only port that processed immigrants from all over the world. People arrived in America in a variety of ships at many different ports, leaving behind everything they had ever known, hoping for a better life between this nation's shores.
For each of the ports that accepted and processed immigrants, a list was kept of each passenger who arrived at the port. There are gaps, but the lists are quite large. The problem with these lists is that they are not housed together at the National Archives. Each port has maintained their own records over the years and you may need to search the records in each state archives for the port(s) through which you believe your immigrant ancestor may have come. If the search through the records at the state archives proves unyielding, you can also contact each port directly and inquire as to where they house the records of immigration. The internet can be a helpful tool in helping develop a list of all the possible ports through which your ancestor(s) may have traveled.
Ships Passenger lists do not include immigrants who came across the border between Texas and Mexico or between the United States and Canada. Many times people who crossed these borders were not documented at all. However, if you do not find your ancestor on a ships passenger list in the United States, it may be helpful to search among the records in Canadian or South American ports passenger lists.
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