Indiana, Gary and East Chicago Crew Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Indiana Lake County

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains crew lists of vessels arriving at East Chicago, Indiana, from April 12, 1945 to November 25, 1956, and at Gary, Indiana, on May 1, 1955, and on August 25, 1955. These records correspond with NARA publication A3475 and are part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The collection is arranged by port then chronologically.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
The records usually include:


 * Name of the vessel
 * Ports and dates of departure and arrival
 * Full name of crew member
 * Position in ship’s company
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Race
 * Nationality

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a parent or spouse

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

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the index and to find additional information.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference; see the section Citing this Collection for assistance. Save or print a copy of the image
 * Use the information found in the record to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests.
 * Use the record to learn your ancestor’s foreign and “Americanized”.
 * Use the record to learn the place of origin and find their church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and probate records.
 * Use the record to see if other family members who may have immigrated with the person you are looking for are listed and have additional information or leads; you may also find additional information on new family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived. Then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts, 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.
 * Check other possible ports of entry
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

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:

Top of Page