New York, New York, Index of Passengers Arriving at New York - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection "New York, New York, Index of Passengers Arriving at New York, 1902-1943" is a Soundex index of passengers arriving on vessels at New York, New York between 1902-1943. It corresponds with NARA publication, T621.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information:


 * Full name of immigrant
 * Name of person accompanying immigrant
 * Number on manifest sheet
 * Number on manifest
 * Port of embarkation
 * Passenger class
 * Port of entry and date of arrival
 * Name of ship
 * Age, gender, race and occupation of immigrant
 * Nationality of immigrant
 * Last permanent residence (town, country)
 * Destination

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The full name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of immigration

If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select NARA Roll Number - Contents to view the images.

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.

What Do I Do Next?
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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
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.
 * 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.

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

 * 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.

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of New York.
 * New York Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

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.