Wisconsin, Milwaukee Passenger and Crew Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of images of passenger lists. It corresponds with NARA collection A3399 Lists of Immigrants, Ship Passengers, Arrivals at Seaports, Pioneers, etc.; Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 1922-December 1956, and Records of Selected Airplane Passengers, 1956-1963. The collection is part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name of passenger
 * Immigration date and place
 * Age and estimated birth year
 * Birth Country
 * Ship Name

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search, it is helpful to know: If you do not know this information, check the census after 1900.
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date and place of naturalization

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
 * Use the information to find other records such as emigrations, port records, and ship’s manifests
 * Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived, and then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts and 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
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Learn the place of origin and find church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records. Also search for military, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in censuses
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

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

 * Try viewing the original record. Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relatives that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Try variant spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Wisconsin.
 * Beginning Research in United States Immigration and Emigration Records
 * Searching Passenger Lists
 * Wisconsin Guided Research
 * Wisconsin Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

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

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Michael J. Anuta,Ships of our ancestors Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, 1993, 2006 FS Library 973 U3an 1993
 * Michael Tepper, American passenger arrival records : a guide to the records of immigrants arriving at American ports by sail and steam Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing Company, c1993 FS Library 973 W27am 1993
 * John Philip Colletta,They came in ships : a guide to finding your immigrant ancestor's arrival record. 3rd ed. Orem, Utah : Ancestry Publishing, c2002 FS Library 973 W27c 2002
 * Wisconsin, Milwaukee passenger and crew lists, 1922-1956
 * Wisconsin, Crew lists of ship arrivals, 1925-1956

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.