United States, Famine Irish Passenger Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of an index to records for passengers who arrived at the port of New York during the Irish Famine 1846-1851. Created by the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Center for Immigration Research.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Facts found in this collection may include:


 * Name of immigrant
 * Date of immigration
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Country of origin
 * Name of ship
 * Port of departure
 * Port of entry
 * Literate

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of immigration.
 * The name of the ship which your ancestor traveled on to the United States.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the passenger index, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Continue to search the index and records to identify other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

"United States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Citing NARA NAID 569666. National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

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