Texas and Arizona Arrivals - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas United States Arizona

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains Lists of Aliens for the time period May 1903 to June 1909 arriving at the following Texas ports:


 * Brownsville
 * Del Rio
 * Eagle Pass
 * El Paso
 * Laredo
 * Presidio
 * Rio Grande City
 * Roma

Arizona for the time period July 1906 to December 1910:
 * Aros Ranch
 * Douglas
 * Lochiel
 * Naco
 * Nogales

The collection corresponds with NARA publication A3365 and is part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The records are arranged chronologically then by port city then by date. Records for the states are intermixed.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records usually contain the following:
 * Date of arrival
 * Full name
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Marital status
 * Occupation
 * Ability to read and write
 * Nationality
 * Race
 * Town and country of last residence
 * Birthplace
 * Destination
 * May also include a physical description of the person

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your immigrant ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The last residence of your ancestor.
 * The date of arrival for your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "NARA Roll Number" which takes you to the images.

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 on an arrival record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details and lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
You can use these 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.
 * Find federal immigration records
 * Download a copy of the record or transcribe the details.
 * 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 lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives 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. 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 check for variant spellings of their names.
 * Please note that 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..

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of other localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

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: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: