California, San Francisco Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
This collection consists of digital images of inbound passenger manifests, crew lists, and related form 1-489 (statement of changes in crew). These records are arranged in chronological order by date of arrival. The passenger lists are form 1-415 (manifest of inbound passengers, alien) and form 1-416 (manifest of inbound passengers, US citizens or nationals). The collection corresponds to NARA Publication M1411: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Francisco, CA, December 1, 1954-February 1, 1957. There is a gap in the original records between September 18, 1955 and November 8, 1955 because roll 9 is missing at NARA. The collection is part of Record Group 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Sample Image
The records may contain any of the following:


 * Port and date of departure
 * Port and date of entry
 * Name of ship
 * Country of citizenship
 * Name of passenger, including maiden name of women
 * Names of persons accompanying passenger
 * Age, gender, marital status and occupation of passenger
 * Date and place of birth of passenger
 * Address of last permanent residence
 * Name and address of friend or relative at last address
 * Final destination
 * Name and address of friend or relative in U.S.
 * Physical description and distinguishing marks
 * Who paid for passage
 * Purpose of visit

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


 * The full name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of immigration

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

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

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 "NARA Roll Number, Arrival Date, Ship Name" category 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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
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.

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

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

Related Websites

 * NARA Passenger and Crew Lists Collection Description M1411

Related Wiki Articles

 * California
 * San Francisco County, California
 * California 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):

Image Citation: