Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1923-1956.

This collection contains manifests of vessels arriving at Chief Mountain, Cut Bank, Del Bonita, Gateway, Great Falls, and Roosville, Montana, 1923-1956, and of departures from Great Falls, Montana, 1944-1945. The records usually include the person’s name, gender, age, marital status, citizenship, race, place of last permanent residence, and destination, how long they intend to remain in the U.S., and whether they intend to become a U.S. citizen. These records correspond with NARA publication A3447 and were filmed at the NARA facility in College Park, Maryland.

Record Content
[Images should be in this section]

Passenger List records may contain the following information:
 * Name of passenger
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Citizenship
 * Race
 * Last residence
 * Place of departure
 * Destination
 * Citizenship intentions

How to Use the Record
When searching: As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, estimated travel year, and family relationships.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the 'NARA Roll Number' category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information

 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date.
 * Use the last residence and destination to find family in census records.
 * Use the citizenship information to find birth records if born.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for an index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military units, counties, parishes, etc.).

General Information about These Records

 * Physical description or format of the original material
 * History of the record
 * Why the record was created
 * Reliability of the information in the record
 * Percentage of the population covered in the record
 * Preservation quality of the record

Related Websites

 * Montana Immigrant - University of Montana Collection
 * Coming to Montana - Montana State Historical Society

Related Wiki Articles

 * Montana Emigration and Immigration

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. 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. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation:

Image Citation: