Hamburg Passenger Lists

Using the Passenger Lists and Indexes
The Hamburg passenger lists contain the names of millions of Europeans who emigrated through Hamburg between 1850 and 1934 (except 1915–1919). Nearly one-third of Germans, and 90 percent of the people who emigrated from eastern Europe during this time are included on these lists. If you have ancestors who emigrated from these areas, the Hamburg passenger lists could provide important genealogical information about them, including their hometowns. Extensive indexes make these records easier to use than most other passenger lists and emigration records.

The records of Europeans who emigrated through other ports, such as Bremen, LeHavre, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp, have either been destroyed or are not available for research at the Family History Library.

You may not need to look at the Hamburg passenger lists if you already know where your ancestor was born in Europe. Furthermore, you may be able to find your ancestor's birthplace in other sources, such as local records where the person resided.

The Hamburg passenger lists are made up of two sections. Each section has its own separate handwritten index.

The Direct Passenger Lists include passengers who left Hamburg, Germany, and sailed directly to their destination without stopping at other European ports.

The Indirect Passenger Lists include passengers who stopped at another European port before sailing to their final destination. About 20 percent of the immigrants leaving Europe took indirect routes.

Internet. Hamburg passenger list images direct and indirect for all years 1850-1934, the handwritten index images, and partially completed (1890-1913) computer indexes are available on the Internet at Ancestry.com, a subscription site. The Family History Library has a subscription which includes the Ancestry images and indexes.

Microfilm. The passenger lists and handwritten indexes are also on 486 rolls of microfilm at the Family History Library and Family History Centers, with an additional 48 rolls of microfilm for the Klüber Indexes (Kartei) for the years 1850-1871.

For film numbers, search the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

GERMANY, HAMBURG, HAMBURG - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

Four Steps to Follow:


 * 1) Select the best index to use.
 * 2) Search the index.
 * 3) Obtain the passenger list.
 * 4) Search the passenger list.

= STEP 1: Select the Best Index to Use =

What you need to know to use the indexes. Before using the index, you need to know the approximate year the emigrant departed from Hamburg, Germany. The 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 U.S. censuses are a good place to begin searching for this kind of information. The census provides the year a person arrived in the United States. If possible, find out whether the emigrant traveled directly to his or her destination or stopped at other ports along the way.

Most of the Hamburg passenger lists have been indexed:


 * 1890-1913 Computer Index
 * 1850-1854 is alphabetical (by at least the first letter of the surname)
 * 1856-1871 Klüber Index 1
 * 1850-1871 Klüber Index 2
 * 1855-1871 Fifteen-Year Index
 * 1854-1934 Handwritten Index to Direct Passenger Lists
 * 1854-1910 Handwritten Index to Indirect Passenger Lists

No single index lists everyone. Each index covers different years and has its individual strengths and weaknesses. If the emigrant departed between 1890 and 1913 check the computer index first. If the emigrant departed between 1850 and 1854, search the alphabetical passenger list for those years, or the Kluber Index 2. If the emigrant departed between 1856 and 1871, search the fifteen-year index or two sets of Klüber indexes first. If the person is not listed in these, you will need to search the handwritten index to the Direct Lists, and then then the handwritten index to the Indirect Lists.

The Fifteen-Year Index
The Fifteen-year Index arranges all the names on the direct lists from 1856 to 1871 in one alphabetical index. Though it is convenient to use, this index is not complete. After checking the index, you may still need to use the Klüber indexes or the regular indexes for the same time period. The regular indexes are more complete, but they are more difficult to use.

The Klüber Indexes
The Klüber Indexes (Kartei), or Klüber Card Files, were filmed in 1994. They consists of two separate card indexes that cover both the direct and indirect Hamburg passenger lists for the following years:

Klüber Index 1 (Kartei 1)
Includes entries lettered from A–Z for:


 * Direct Passenger Lists, 1856–1871
 * Indirect Passenger Lists, 1866–1867

Klüber Index 2 (Kartei 2)
Includes entries lettered from A–Z for:


 * Direct Passenger Lists, 1850–1871
 * Indirect Passenger Lists, 1854–1865

Although the two files overlap in time periods, both are necessary since neither file is complete. These indexes are considered more complete than the Fifteen-year Index when indexes 1 and 2 are used together.

The Handwritten Indexes
Both the Direct Passenger Lists and the Indirect Passenger Lists have handwritten indexes. The indexes are divided into segments that cover one year or part of a year. The direct indexes begin in 1854 and end in 1934. The indirect indexes begin in 1854 and end in 1910.

= STEP 2: SEARCH THE INDEX. =

Use the following instructions to search the index you selected in step 1.

Using the Fifteen-year Index
Using the table shown in figure 1, get the film on which your ancestor’s name would appear.

Figure 1: Fifteen-year Index film numbers  Figure 2: A fifteen-year index card. When you find a person in an index, use the information in the index to find the person in the actual passenger list. See step 3 to learn how to do this.

Using the Klüber Kartei
Using the Family History Library Catalog, find the film number of the time period and correct beginning letter for your family name.

Klüber Kartei 2
The index cards provide the emigrant’s name, status or occupation, age, names of persons traveling in the same party, and place of origin. It also includes the year of emigration and the page number where the entry will be found. A letter i or d following the year will indicate if the entry was from the indirect or direct index. There are different types of cards used in this file. The figures below show two typical samples of cards from the Klüber Kartei. Figure 3: Index card from Klüber Kartei. Figure 4: Index card from Klüber Kartei.

Using the Direct Regular and the Indirect Regular Indexes
Using the Family History Library Catalog to find the film number, locate the index for the time period the emigrant departed.

Find the year the emigrant departed and the letter of the alphabet with which your ancestor’s surname begins. Names are arranged by the first letter of the surname only, so you may need to search the entire section to find the person you are looking for.

NOTE: Each letter of the alphabet was allotted only a certain number of pages. When these pages were filled, the rest of the names beginning with that letter were continued on the unused pages under another letter. There may or may not be a note indicating this happened. Therefore, search all of the end pages assigned to other letters if your ancestor’s name is not listed where it should be.

Figure 5 below is a sample of an entry from the regular index. The actual format of the indexes vary over time. Notice the type of information provided within these entries. Figure 5: A Regular Index Entry. The actual format of the indexes vary over time. Notice the type of information provided within these entries.

An index entry contains:


 * The name of the ship.
 * The departure date of the ship (28 June 1893).
 * The passenger's name.
 * The name of the ship's captain.
 * The name of the destination port.
 * The page this information is found on the actual passenger lists.

When you find the emigrant in the index, note the number following the name. This number indicates which page the name appears on in the passenger list. In some cases page numbers are dittoed, referring to the previous page. Occasionally, large page numbers are partially dittoed. For example, pages 1086, 1087, and 1088 might appear as 1086, 87, 88.

Next, move up the column until you find the departure date. When you have both the departure date and page number, you are ready to find the emigrant in the passenger list.

If you cannot find a person in the index to the direct lists, follow the steps outlined here to search the index to the Indirect Lists.

For a list of terminology used in the Hamburg Passenger List click here.

Can't Find Your Ancestor in the Indexes?
= STEP 3: OBTAIN THE DESIRED PASSENGER LIST. =

Once you have found your ancestor in an index, you will want to get the actual passenger list on which that person appears. Film numbers for the passengers lists appear after the regular indexes in the Family History Library Catalog.

= STEP 4: SEARCH THE PASSENGER LIST. =

In the passenger list, turn to the page number you found in the index. On some passenger lists a numbered page is followed by one or more unnumbered pages. If your ancestor's name does not appear on the numbered page, search the unnumbered page(s) immediately following it.

Format and titles may vary by shipping line and year.

For more information on the Hamburg Passenger Lists and how to use them, see The Hamburg Passenger Lists (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1984; FHL fiche 6000034). Paper publication: Fourth edition, 1996.