United States, New England Seamen's Identification Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
The records include identification cards of Seamen departing from or arriving at the following ports: Boston, Vineyard Haven, Salem/Beverly, Marblehead, Fall River, New Haven, Portland, &amp; Providence. The record includes name, age, place of birth, parent's birthplace, naturalization data, physical description, photo, and signature. The records can be found at NARA Northeast Region facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. This collection includes records from 1918 to 1940.


 * District of Boston and Charlestown, Massachusetts, Seamen's Identification cards,1917-1922 NAID 3477933
 * District of Salem and Beverly,Massachusetts, Seamen's Coastwise Identification Cards for Salem, 7/1918-12/1918 NAID 3477999
 * District of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Seamen's Coastwise Identification Cards, 7/1918-10/1918 NAID 3477979
 * District of Boston and Charlestown,Massachusetts, Applications for Seamen's Protection Certificates and Identification Cards for Boston, 2/12/1918-11/24/1939 NAID 3444809
 * District of Providence, Rhode Island, Applications for Seamen's Protection Certificates for Providence, 5/1928-10/1940 NAID 3477996
 * District of Connecticut, Applications for Seamen's Protection Certificates for New Haven, 2/1937-7/1937 NAID 3477982
 * District of Boston and Charlestown, Alien's Applications for Seamen Service and Protection Certificates for Boston, 12/1931-7/1935 NAID 3476677
 * District of Portland, Maine, Application's for Seamen's Protection Certificates for Portland,8/1927-11/1937 NAID 3477986

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
These records may contain the following information:


 * Port
 * Name
 * Nationality
 * Place of birth
 * Place of father's birth
 * Place of mother's birth
 * If naturalized, where and when
 * Age
 * Birth date
 * Height
 * Vessel
 * Physical description
 * Photograph
 * Thumb print
 * Signature

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The place where your ancestor was born.

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 "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type, number, date range" 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’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
You should look for leads to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the name, birth date and birth place to obtain a birth certificate.
 * Use the name and birth place to search the 1940 census.
 * Use the name and birth date to obtain copies the their complete military file.

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

 * Look for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Make sure you are looking at the first given name.

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

Image Citation