Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The collection contains an index and passenger manifests to Canadian border entries. Each month the records were sent to the INS District Office. The records that were located at the district office in St. Albans, Vermont, cover 1895-1954. The "Event Place" of Vermont references the district office location. It will be necessary to view the original record to determine the port of entry. The four microfilm publications in this collections are part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

You can browse through images in this collection by visiting the browse page St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings
 * Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District,1895-1924, M1461
 * Soundex Index to Entries into the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports,1924-1952,M1463
 * Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports,1895-1954,M1464
 * Manifest of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific Ports, 1929-1949,M1465

Collection Content
The cards list


 * Port and serial number
 * Name of immigrant
 * Names of accompanying individuals
 * Birthplace
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Marital status
 * Language
 * Race
 * Nationality
 * Last permanent address
 * Name and address of friend or relative in previous county
 * If previously lived in the US, dates and place
 * Who paid passage
 * Name and address of friend or relative in the US
 * Money with them
 * If ever arrested
 * Purpose for coming to the US
 * Physical description
 * Port and date of landing

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search 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 browse by image: To search this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate “NARA Publication number"

Look at each 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. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors. 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.

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.
 * 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.
 * 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
 * The passenger arrival list was used by legal inspectors 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.

What If I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Check for variant spellings. Realize that the indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings and misinterpretations.
 * Try a different index if there is one for the years needed. You may also need to search the passenger lists year by year.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.

Related Websites

 * NARA Collection Description M1461
 * NARA Collection Description M1463
 * NARA Collection Description M1464
 * NARA Collection Description M1465
 * NARA (St. Albans Lists) Article
 * Sample Card Manifest
 * NARA Microfilm Publications Relating to the Canadian Border Crossings
 * US Ports of Arrival and their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957

Related Wiki Articles

 * US Immigration Canadian Border Crossings
 * Vermont Emigration and Immigration
 * United States Emigration and Immigration
 * Vermont

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation: Image Citation