New York, New York, Index to Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1820 to 1846.

The content of earlier lists, known generally as “customs manifests,” was not regulated. Formats varied widely and a specific place of origin was not always listed. In 1883, the federal government mandated the creation of ship manifests, which included columns for an exact birthplace or last residence. This information was also kept on passenger arrival lists of later periods.

The lists consist of large sheets of paper divided into columns and rows. Earlier lists are handwritten, while most after 1917 are typewritten. Lists after 1906 usually occupy two pages.

These collections also include a card index to passengers arriving in New York City from 1820 through 1846.

Passenger arrival lists known as customs manifests date back to 1820. However, the first official emigration station for New York was Castle Garden, located at the tip of lower Manhattan. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrants’ arrival. After January 1892, passengers arriving in New York debarked at Ellis Island, located east of Manhattan in the New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1924, almost all immigrants entered the United States through the port of New York.

For an alphabetical list of names currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

The passenger arrival list was used by legal inspectors at Ellis Island to cross-examine each immigrant during a legal inspection prior to the person being allowed to live in America. Only two percent of the prospective immigrants were denied entry.

The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Digital images of originals housed at various municipal archives throughout New York.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content


The card index to passenger lists includes the following information:


 * Name of immigrant
 * Accompanied by
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Occupation
 * Nationality
 * Last permanent residence
 * Destination
 * Port of entry
 * Name of vessel
 * Date of arrival



Passenger lists, particularly later lists, include the following genealogical information:


 * Names of immigrants and close relatives
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Birthplaces, former residences, and intended destinations
 * Marital status
 * Nationality and race
 * Occupations
 * Date of arrival
 * Port of departure

How to Use the Records
To begin your search, look for your ancestor in the card index. It is helpful to know the full name of your ancestor and the approximate date of immigration. If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900.

Search the Collection
To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the Name Range which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

Using the Information
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 that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, 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.
 * Arrival lists was used by legal authorities to gather personal information about immigrants prior to the person being allowed to live in the United States.
 * The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names.
 * Please note that when you select an image to view, sometimes the manifest includes more than one page, and when you use the "click to enlarge manifest" link, the image that appears is not always the first page of the record. You may need to click on the "previous" or "next" links to view the remaining pages of the full manifest.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the name.
 * Look for other indexes. Records are often indexed by local historical and genealogical societies.
 * Search the passenger lists year by year.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.

Related Websites

 * Ancestor Search
 * The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
 * Ellis Island JewishGen has advanced search tools and access to lost manifests.
 * Ellis Island WikiMedia Commons

Related Wiki Articles

 * New York
 * New York Emigration and Immigration
 * New York History
 * New York, Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island) (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Free Online New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1897

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 29 August 2012), Alphebetical Surname List&gt;Image 1600 of 5091, Joseph Bavillrede, age 18; citing Passenger Lists; United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, D.C.