Passenger arrival lists for many ports are indexed and microfilmed, and available to researchers as an invaluable source of information. Unfortunately, lists are not available for every ship, every port, and every year. Some ports, such as New York, are not indexed. Just as the census changed over the years to include more information, passenger lists before 1880 did not offer as much information as later years — early records usually show only the immigrant's name, age, and country of origin.

Although many passenger lists are indexed, a good many are not. As with census indexes, there are errors in the passenger list indexes, and when you find a discrepancy, you should always check the original record. Ports indexed include (partial) Port of New York, Baltimore (1820-1952), Boston (1848-1891, 1899-1940, 1902-1920), New Orleans (1853-1899, 1900-1952), Philadelphia (1800-1906, 1883-1948).

This new resource includes records for approximately 273,000 individuals who arrived at New Orleans from foreign ports between 1820 and 1850. The data contained here was transcribed from the National Archives Microfilm Series M259, rolls 1 through 33 (Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, LA, 1820-1902). Included for each individual's listing is:

• Name
• Gender
• Age
• Country of origin
• Family number
• Ship name
• Port of departure
• Port of arrival
• National Archives series and microfilm roll numbers
• Arrival date

February 16, 2000

Related Data on CD-ROM • Alabama • Arkansas • Canadian Records • Florida • Georgia • International Records • Louisiana • Mississippi • Passenger and Immigration Records • Texas More Articles • Locating Ship Passenger Lists Helpful Web Sites • Louisiana • Immigrants On the Message Boards • Genforum: Louisiana

Wise researchers will remember that information transcribed from a primary source should be verified before it is accepted; the National Archives roll numbers allow users to view the original documents via a microfilm copy. Typical entries look like the following:

Name: Therese Arends Gender: Female Age: 24 Country of Origin: Germany Family Number: 115704 Ship Name: Moslem Port of Departure: Bremen Port of Arrival: New Orleans Nat'l Archives Series No.: M259-28 Arrival Date: Jun 5, 1848

Name: Bordeesa Bennet Gender: Female Age: 5 Country of Origin: England Family Number: 156092 Ship Name: Ashland Port of Departure: Liverpool Port of Arrival: New Orleans Nat'l Archives Series No.: M259-30 Arrival Date: Apr 18, 1849

Users of Family Tree Maker or Family Archive Viewer v.4.0 or higher will be delighted to know that the advanced search feature allows you to search by individual's name, age, port of departure, date, and family ID number. Passenger records are often overlooked or misused by researchers, but resources such as this provide a valuable starting point for further research into passenger and immigration records. If you have ancestors who arrived at New Orleans during the time periods listed above, this CD is for you! I hope we see more passenger list records for the remaining ports in the future.

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