Massachusetts, Salem and Beverly Crew Lists and Shipping Articles - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States  Massachusetts Essex County

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of the following three NARA collections:


 * Crew Lists and Returns of Seamen for the Port of Salem and Beverly, compiled 1797-1818 (NAID 1600758)
 * Shipping Articles for the Port of Salem and Beverly, compiled 1810 - 1899 (NAID1600870)
 * Crew Lists for the Port of Salem and Beverly, 1797-1934 (NAID 1600759).

The Collections were filmed at the NARA Regional Facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. The records are arranged chronologically for the most part.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The content of the records vary by record type. You may find any of the following:


 * Name of ship and port of departure
 * Ship's arrival date and port of entry
 * Names of crew members
 * Position in the ship's crew
 * When and where engaged as a member of the crew
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Race
 * Nationality
 * Height
 * Weight
 * Physical marks or peculiarities

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name
 * Other identifying information such as the age and nationality

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" which takes you to the images.

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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details and lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, you can use passenger lists to:


 * Learn an immigrant’s place of origin
 * Confirm their date of arrival
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct.
 * Continue to search the passenger lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have immigrated at the same time.
 * If your ancestor has an uncommon surname, you may want to obtain the passenger list of every person who shares your ancestor’s surname if they lived in the same county or nearby. You may not know how or if they are related, but the information could lead you to more information about your own ancestors.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings. Realize that the indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings and misinterpretations.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: