Louisiana, New Orleans Index to Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection includes an index to Passenger Lists of Vessels arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana for the years 1853–1899 prepared by the Works Progress Administration. The records correspond with NARA publication T527: Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, LA, before 1900, and were filmed at the NARA facility in College Park, Maryland. The information generally given for each passenger includes name, place of birth, age, sex, port of embarkation, seaport of arrival, date of landing, and name of ship. Some cards include numerical references which may relate to the location of the original passenger lists while they were stored on the second floor of the New Orleans Customs House.

Passenger arrival lists, or customs manifests, date back to 1820. The first official emigration station for New York was Castle Garden, located at the tip of lower Manhattan. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrant’s arrival. After January 1892, passengers arriving in New York debarked at Ellis Island, located east of Manhattan in the New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1924, almost all immigrants entered the United States through the port of New York. When passengers arrived at Ellis Island, they were asked a series of questions designed to determine whether they would be able to support themselves and did not have any health problems. The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Only 2% of immigrants were denied entry into the United States. Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names. These indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:


 * Name of ship and port of departure
 * Ship's arrival date and port of entry
 * Names of immigrants
 * Immigrants' age, gender, marital status and occupation
 * Country where immigrant has citizenship
 * Last place of residence in that country


 * Name of relative or friend living at last residence
 * Name of relative or friend to be visited in this country
 * Destination
 * Physical description
 * Birthplace

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information and to find additional information.

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
 * Use the information found in the record to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests.
 * Use the record to learn your ancestor’s foreign and “Americanized”.
 * Use the record to learn the place of origin and find their church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and probate records.
 * Use the record to see if other family members who may have immigrated with the person you are looking for are listed and have additional information or leads; you may also find additional information on new family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived. Then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts, then in state, county, or city courts. An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process.
 * Check other possible ports of entry

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Louisiana.
 * Louisiana Guided Research
 * Louisiana Record Finder
 * Louisiana Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Louisiana Research, 1880-Present

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Crew lists of vessels arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1910-1920 : NARA T939, 1910-1945
 * Louisiana, New Orleans passenger departures, 1867-1871
 * Passenger lists of vessels arriving at New Orleans, 1820-1945; index to passenger lists of vessels arriving in New Orleans, 1853-1952 : NARA RG85 publications T527, T618, M259, and T905
 * Passenger lists of vessels arriving at New Orleans, 1822, 1851
 * Work Projects Administration transcript of passenger lists of vessels arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1813-1849 : NARA publication M2009
 * Quarterly abstracts of passenger lists of vessels arriving at New Orleans, 1820-1875 : NARA publication M272

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Ship registers and enrollments of New Orleans, Louisiana, 1804-1870

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.