Passenger Lists

The National Archives holds several incomplete series of customs passenger lists and immigration passenger lists for ships arriving from abroad at many Atlantic, Pacific and gulf coast ports. There are also arrival records for immigration via Canada and Mexico. This guide explains what the lists contain, which ports and years are covered, and what you must supply to order a copy.

What the lists contain

Customs passenger lists begin in 1820 and run to the late nineteenth century (the 1890s) for most ports. The immigration passenger lists usually begin where the customs lists leave off.

A customs passenger list normally contains, for each passenger, the name, age, sex and occupation, the country of embarkation, and the country of destination. For anyone who died in passage, the date and circumstances of death are given.

Immigration passenger lists vary in content but usually show the place of birth and the last place of residence in addition to the information found in the customs lists. Some immigration passenger lists include the name and address of a relative in the country the passenger came from.

Ports and years covered

• Baltimore - 1820-1948
• Boston - 1820-1874 and 1883-1943
• Galveston - 1896-1948
• New Orleans - 1820-1945
• New York - 1820-1954
• Philadelphia - 1800-1945
• San Francisco - 1893-1953
• Seattle - 1890-1957
• Arrivals via Canada - 1895-1954
• Certain minor ports - 1820-1873 and 1893-1954

Supplementing these indexes is a general index to quarterly reports of arrivals at most ports except New York, 1820-1874.

New York is the busiest port in these records and the one with the largest gap in the index: NARA’s index to New York arrivals covers 1820-46 and 1897-1943 only. For a New York arrival between 1847 and 1896 there is no index, and NARA can search only if you supply both the name of the ship and the exact date of arrival. Without both, the order is returned unsearched and no payment is taken.

Passenger lists before 1820 are not in the National Archives, except for a small, incomplete collection for the port of Philadelphia. They may be on file at the port of entry or in the state archives where the port is located. Passenger and Immigration List Index: A Guide to Published Arrival Records, by P. William Filby, and A Bibliography of Ship Passenger Lists, 1583-1825, by Harold Lancour, are guides to published lists of early immigrants to North America. Your local library may hold either of these or be able to help you locate a copy.

What you must supply to order

National Archives staff in Washington, DC will search the customs passenger lists if you can supply:

• the name of the passenger
• the port of entry
• the name of the vessel and the month and year of its arrival, or the name of the port of embarkation and the exact date of arrival

Staff will also search the immigration passenger lists up to 1954 if you can supply the full names and ages of the passenger and of any accompanying passengers, the port of entry, the vessel, and the exact date of arrival. Staff will also consult existing indexes to the names on the customs and immigration passenger lists provided you can supply the name of the port of entry and the month and year of arrival.

Microfilm and other sources

Microfilm copies of available passenger lists earlier than 1955 can be used at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Some microfilm copies are also available in the regional archives; contact the nearest regional archives for information about what is held there.

The Morton Allen Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals (New York, 1931) lists by year, steamship company and exact date the names of vessels arriving at the ports of New York (1890-1930), Baltimore (1904-1926), Boston (1904-1926) and Philadelphia (1904-1926). This publication is held in some large public and research libraries.

Sample images

These show the kind of record this reproduction contains. They are examples only and are not your record.

The R.M.S. Carpathia passenger arrival list.

Example: A passenger arrival record for the R.M.S. Carpathia (PDF)

The S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam, arriving at New York from Rotterdam in June 1953.

An airline passenger manifest.