Texas, Eagle Pass Arrival Manifests and Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection consists of arrival manifests and an index to a portion of the arrivals. The index only covers 1929-1954, while the manifests cover from 1905 to 1954.

Passenger arrival lists known as customs manifests date back to 1820. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrants’ arrival.

For the index and manifest list currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Court records are made as a permanent record of the court proceedings. Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship privileges and responsibilities to foreign-born residents. The counties recorded naturalization procedures in the court records as legal proof of citizenship.

Information that was current at the time of the court was usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors.

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.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Record Content
The index lists the following:




 * Name
 * Citizenship
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Arrival date
 * Ship of arrival
 * Book, page and line number

Passenger lists generally include the following information:


 * Name
 * Birth place
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Occupation
 * Nationality
 * Last permanent residence
 * Destination
 * Name and address of relative or friend
 * Port and date of entry
 * Name of ship

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, look for your ancestor in the 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.

Compare the information in the index to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Use the locator information (arrival date, ship, book, page, and line number) to locate your ancestor in the passenger lists.

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, 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.

You may also find these tips helpful:


 * 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.

If you do not find the name you are looking for, try the following:


 * 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

 * Find Your Ancestors in One Step *http://www.genesearch.com/ports.html US Ports of Arrival and their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957]

Related Wiki Articles

 * Texas
 * Texas Emigration and Immigration
 * Texas History

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.

Citation Example for Records Found in This Collection
"Texas, Eagle Pass Arrival Manifests and Indexes, 1905-1954." digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 23 June 2011). Manifests &gt; 18 Feb 1939-30 Sep 1941 &gt; Image 99 of 4051 images, Antonio Riojas, arrived March 10, 1939; citing Arrivals, Manifests, 18 Feb 1939 - 31 Sept 1941, Image 99; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., United States.

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