Today’s post is about US Port Passenger Lists from 1820-1957. Immigration records are a particular delight to me, as the great-granddaughter of eight immigrants from seven different places in Europe and Scandinavia. (The featured image above is the arrival of RMS Olympic in Baltimore, 1911, Maryland Historical Society).
US Port Passenger Lists 1820-1957
Do the family stories about your immigrant ancestors say they came through Ellis Island? But what if your ancestors arrived in Boston, Baltimore, New Orleans, other U.S. ports, or through Canada?
Frederick Schumann, arriving in Baltimore on the SS America, with children Marie and Friedrich Jr.
Joe Beine’s US Ports of Entry
One essential guide is Joe Beine’s US Ports of Entry and Their Immigration Records and Passenger Lists. Arranged by states, Joe Beine’s site is especially valuable for comprehensive coverage of existing records for all U.S. port
Want to Know More About Passenger Lists?
If your ancestors arrived at Canadian and US ports other than New York, I can help. My presentation, The Migration of European Ancestors: The Voyages and the Records, premieres on Wednesday. Register here for free. Can’t make that time? It’s in the Legacy Family Tree webinar library to view at your convenience.
Explore what your ancestors experienced as they left their homes and sailed to New World, passed through immigration inspections, and entered the country.
Using resources of the National Archives, Library of Congress, academic archives, and genealogy sources, this Sassy Jane Guide covers the complete US immigration experience of your ancestors in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. Focusing on the second and third waves of immigration, from 1855 at Castle Garden through 1920 at Ellis Island, Discovering Immigrant Ancestors at Castle Garden and Ellis Island also includes an extensive section on immigration records for all US ports, complete with hot links to resources to aid your family history research.
Searching for US Port Passenger Lists 1820-1957 is a great way to acquaint yourself with the resources that exist for immigration records in each of the 50 states. If you can’t make it to the meeting on Saturday in San Diego, the resources listed in this post can still advance your immigration research and help you discover what life was like for new immigrants and what records survive today helps your research.
[…] Best known of all immigrant arrival ports in the U.S., Ellis Island operated for just over 60 years. Most immigrants entered the United States through New York Harbor via the great steamship companies like Hamburg-America (HAPAG), White Star, Red Star, and Cunard. Others arrived in ports such as Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Savannah, Miami, and New Orleans. Late-19th- and early 20th-century inspections were common experiences regardless of port. If you are unsure about which port your ancestors came through in the U.S., check out my post on available passenger lists and links for all U.S. ports. […]
Have a grand experience in San Diego, Nancy. Thanks for today’s refresher course on Immigration. Nice to be updated on old websites and their new content (since my last visit, that is!)
Cari