Brazil, Bahia, Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection of passenger arrival lists into the port of São Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, includes the years 1855-1964.

These records may be used to document your immigrant ancestor's trip to Brazil, but do not overlook the possibility of finding ancestors that were merely vacationing, visiting relatives, or traveling on business.

Reading These Records
For help reading these Portuguese records, see the following:
 * Portuguese Genealogical Word List
 * Brazil Language and Languages

What Can These Records Tell Me?
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 Brazil. As immigrants arrived to the port of Salvador, they were registered by the Agência Central de Imigração (Central Agency for Immigration).

Passenger lists were issued at time of embarkation to account and document all passengers traveling on board a ship. On arrival at the destination, these passenger lists were used to register each passenger as they disembarked. The following information may be found in these records:

Passenger lists
 * Name of passenger
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Nationality
 * Occupation
 * Date of arrival to Brazil
 * Port of arrival
 * Port of departure
 * Sometimes place of origin or birth place

How Do I Search This Collection?

 * Your ancestor's given name and surname
 * The year and month your ancestor traveled to Brazil

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.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference
 * You can use passenger lists to learn an immigrant’s place of origin, confirm their date of arrival, learn foreign names and their Portuguese translations, and find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests
 * You can use passenger lists to learn an immigrant’s place of origin, confirm their date of arrival, learn foreign names and their Portuguese translations, and find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests
 * If just the country is given, use the last name to search for your ancestor and his/her family in his/her home country; this is called a surname search and helps to pinpoint what cities/provinces/states were the hometowns of families
 * Also, use the last name to search for any possible relatives that may have traveled after or before your ancestor
 * If just the country is given, use the last name to search for your ancestor and his/her family in his/her home country; this is called a surname search and helps to pinpoint what cities/provinces/states were the hometowns of families
 * Also, use the last name to search for any possible relatives that may have traveled after or before your ancestor
 * The port your ancestor departed from may not be his/her hometown

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * If you think your ancestor may have immigrated to Brazil and you cannot find him/her in this collection, then check the records of other ports in Brazil. Information on these other ports can be found here, Brazil Emigration and Immigration
 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in Brazil.
 * Brazil Record Finder
 * Brazil Research Tips and Strategies

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.

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