Texas, Indexes and Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Del Rio - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains indexes and manifests of over 105,000 alien arrivals at Del Rio, Texas from 1906-1953. It corresponds with NARA publication A3395. The collection is part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The collection is arranged in five parts. Parts one,three,four,and five are alphabetical by last name then first name. Part two is chronological then by manifest number.

Collection Content
Passenger lists generally include the following information:


 * Name
 * Accompanied by
 * Birth place
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Occupation
 * Race
 * Nationality
 * Last permanent residence
 * Destination
 * Name and address of nearest relative
 * Destination
 * Physical features

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of immigrant
 * Approximate date of Arrival.

If you do not know this information, check the U.S. census records after 1900.

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them 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.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. 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.

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

 * Check for variant spellings of the name.
 * Look for other indexes. Records are often indexed by local historical and genealogical societies.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.
 * 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.

Related Websites

 * National Archives Mexican Border Crossings

Related Wiki Articles
Texas Emigration and Immigration

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):