Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection
The collection consists of a Soundex indexes to the passenger lists for the years 1820 to 1897 NARR microfilm publication M327 and 1897-1952 NARA Publication T520. The passengers lists from 1820 -1948 and related records will be located in on FamilySearch.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 3

Inventory

 * For an inventory of all the films/digital folders in this collection see Maryland, Baltimore, Passenger and Crew Lists and Indexes - Inventory

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date and place of naturalization

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

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

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived, and then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts and then in state, county, or city courts. An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Learn the place of origin and find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records. Also search for military, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in census records
 * Search church records

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

 * Try viewing the original record. Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relatives that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Try variant spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Maryland.
 * Beginning Research in United States Immigration and Emigration Records
 * Maryland Guided Research
 * Maryland Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Index (Soundex) to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Baltimore, 1897-1952 : NARA RG85 publication T520
 * Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Baltimore, (city passenger lists) 1833-1866 : NARA RG85 publication M326
 * Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Baltimore, 1820-1897 (Federal passengers lists) : NARA publication M327
 * Maryland, Baltimore, passenger and crew lists of vessels and airplanes, 1954-1957
 * Passenger lists of vessels arriving at Baltimore, 1820-1948 ; Quarterly abstracts of passenger lists of vessels arriving at Baltimore, 1820-1869 : NARA M255, T844 and M596
 * United States, Eastern US ports, passenger lists
 * Michael H. Tepper, general editor; transcribed by Elizabeth P. Bentley, Passenger arrivals at the port of Baltimore, 1820-1834 : from customs passenger lists Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982 FS Library 975.26 W3p

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp. Preliminary inventory of the records of the Bureau of Customs, record group 36 Washington, D.C. : National Archives & Records Administration, Central Plains Region, 1968

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.