If there is a syllabus or slides, you can download them below. If you are attending in person, view this session on the in-person website.
Your video begins in:
Thursday, March 5th, 2026 at 3:00 PM (GMT+0)
Best Practices in Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor's Ship Manifest
Not sure of your ancestral origins? Can't locate your immigrant ancestor's ship manifest? Interested in other family members that may have immigrated or stayed behind? This session will provide strategies and resources to locate the ship manifests of your late 19th to early 20th century immigrant ancestor to the USA. Topics will include the immigration process, ports of interest, pertinent records to locate ship manifests, and relevant databases. Case studies will further illustrate these topics.
Suggested Content
Stories from Ellis Island: Exploring the Immigrant Journey Through Manifests
While they may look straightforward, passenger manifests include a bounty of information about each traveler's journey to America, as well as their lives before and after arrival.In this class, the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation’s Family History Center experts shed light on some of the more curious pieces of information included on arrival manifests:- Understand why certain names are crossed out and why some immigrants were detained.- Learn how stowaways were represented on manifests.- Discover what happened when babies were born at sea and steps taken when tragedy struck, and passengers died on the long voyage to the United States.- Finally be convinced that names were not changed at Ellis Island!