New York Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); Also at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * 1623-1664 Immigrants to New Netherland 1623-1664, Ship Passenger List Index ($)
 * 1675-1920 New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1820-1846 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1820-1850 New York, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1850 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1820-1891 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1820-1929 Immigrant Ships Transcriber's Guild - New York Arrivals - Vol. 1; index only
 * 1803-1930 Vol. 2; index only
 * 1802-1930 Vol. 3; index only
 * 1710-1939 Vol. 4; index only
 * 1823-1936 Vol. 5; index only
 * 1624-1941 Vol. 6; index only


 * 1820-1957 New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 at Ancestry; index & images ($); Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1820-1957 Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 at MyHeritage; index & images ($)
 * 1846-1890 United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - New York Passenger Lists 1846-1890 at FindMyPast; index only ($)
 * 1881-1922 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1887-1921 New York, New York, Soundex to Passenger and Crew Lists, 1887-1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1892-1924 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1894-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * 1897-1902 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1902-1956 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906-1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1909, 1925-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1957 New York, New York, Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted, 1917-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1917-1957 Port of New York, Index to Discharged or Deserted Crew, 1917-1957 at MyHeritage; index & images ($)
 * 1917-1966 New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1966 at Ancestry; index & images ($)


 * 1944-1948 United States, New York, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City, compiled 1944-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1948-1972 New York, Ogdensburg Passenger and Crew Lists, 1948-1972 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * New York Immigration Records, statewide and by county
 * United States, Passenger and Crew Lists at FindMyPast; index & images ($)

Cultural Groups

 * 1846-1851 United States Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only; Also at Ancestry.com; index only ($)
 * 1881-1894 Dutch Immigrants: New York Passenger Lists, 1881-1894 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1846-1851 Passengers arriving in New York from Ireland 1846 - 1851 at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of New York
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of New York

Background

 * During the 17th century, Dutch trading posts established for the trade of pelts from the Lenape, Iroquois, and other tribes were founded in the colony of New Netherland.
 * Both the Dutch and the British imported African slaves as laborers to the city and colony; New York had the second-highest population of slaves after Charleston, South Carolina. Slavery was extensive in New York City and some agricultural areas. The state passed a law for the gradual abolition of slavery soon after the Revolutionary War, but the last slave in New York was not freed until 1827.
 * Since the early 19th century, New York City has been the largest port of entry for legal immigration into the United States.
 * According to immigration statistics, the state is a leading recipient of migrants from around the globe. New York State has the second-largest international immigrant population in the country among the American states, at 4.2 million as of 2008; most reside in and around New York City, due to its size, high profile, vibrant economy, and cosmopolitan culture. New York has a pro-sanctuary city law.
 * According to the U.S. Census Bureau, New York has a racial and ethnic makeup of 55.1% non-Hispanic whites, 14.2% blacks or African Americans, 0.2% American Indians or Alaska Natives, 8.6% Asians, 0.6% from some other race, 2.1% from two or more races, and 19.3% Hispanics or Latin Americans of any race. There were an estimated 3,725 Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in the state in 2019. Hispanics or Latin Americans of any race were 17.6% of the population in 2010; 2.4% were of Mexican, 5.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, and 9.4% other Hispanic or Latino origin. According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the largest ancestry White American groups were Italian (13.0%), Irish (12.1%), German (10.3%), American (5.4%), and English (5.2%).

Immigration via New York
When individuals emigrated from one country to another, a list of the passengers on board was kept. A large number of immigrants coming to the United States landed in New York. There were three different ports in New York City from 1855 to 1954, where passengers landed: Castle Garden, the Barge Office, and Ellis Island.

From 1855 to 1890, Castle Garden, also known as Castle Clinton, was the place where immigrants were processed for entry into the country. About 7.5 million people passed through Castle Gardens by the time it closed in 1890. Until Ellis Island opened in January 1892, immigrants went through the Barge Office. Approximately 525,000 immigrants went through the Barge Office.

The passenger lists for the Castle Garden, the Barge Office, and part of the Ellis Island records are in the same record group. Regardless of whether your ancestor arrived in New York City during the Castle Garden, Barge Office, or Ellis Island period, you can search the same ship manifests. Many of the records are available on microfilm in the Family History Library. These can be viewed in the library or in a family history center. Follow these steps to find the film numbers in the library catalog.


 * 1. Go to www.familysearch.org
 * 2. Click FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 3. Click Place Search.
 * 4. Type New York, and click Search.
 * 5. Click New York, New York City.
 * 6. Click Emigration and Immigration.
 * 7. Click the title Passenger lists of vessels arriving at New York, 1820-1897.
 * 8. Click View Film Notes to find the film numbers for the records.

Note: For New York harbor arrivals of 1897-1943, click on the long title: Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, June 16, 1897- June 30, 1902 ; Index (Soundex) to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, July 1, 1902-December 31, 1943; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York.

The Ellis Island Foundation site at www.ellisisland.org/default.asp has indexes and images of passenger arrivals to Ellis Island in New York between 1892 and 1924.

The passenger lists from 1851 through 1891 are only partially indexed. The indexes are mostly for a few nationalities, such as German, Italian, and Russian. Follow these steps to find the film numbers for the passenger lists and indexes.


 * 1. Go to www.familysearch.org
 * 2. Click FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 3. Click Place Search.
 * 4. Type United States, and click Search.
 * 5. Click United States.
 * 6. Click Emigration and Immigration.
 * 7. Scroll through the titles, and click one of interest to you.
 * 8. Click View Film Notes to find the film numbers for the records.

A little known fact about New York City is that the State of New York had quarantine laws stating that "Quarantine for the protection of public health shall be maintained in and for the ports of New York, for all vessels arriving thereat from other ports, and for the crews, passengers, equipage, cargoes and other property on board the same." This allowed the New York State quarantine officers to board all ships arriving at New York City and review the health of all passengers and crew. Any one showing symptoms of a contagious disease was removed from the ship while still in the outer harbor and taken to the hospital on either Hoffman or Swinburne island. Some history of the New York State Quarantine hospitals can be found at the following web site: The Forgotten of Ellis Island: Deaths in Quarantine, 1909 to 1911

New York City Passenger Lists

 * 1906-1942 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1944-1948 - at FamilySearch — index

Passenger lists show the names of those aboard the ship during its voyage but the annotations can supply important information as well. Searching through many passenger lists can be time consuming. An online index can save time and help you find an ancestor's immigration date and ship. The index to many lists of New York City arrivals from 1820 to 1892 are available on the Ancestry Web site at www.ancestry.com (a subscription website). Some of this index is also linked to online images of the original passenger manifests on paper. The index includes passengers to some other ports in various years. Follow these instructions to search the index of passenger lists.


 * 1) Go to www.ancestry.com.
 * 2) Type the name of a person's first and last name and click Search.
 * 3) Look through the list of results to see if one is the Passenger and Immigration Lists Index 1500s-1900s. If so, click on the reference.
 * 4) Click on the underlined name of the person to see more details.

Ancestry is a subscription site.

New York, New York, Index to Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records For information on using this collection, see Free online New York Passenger Lists 1820-1897.

The United States Emigration and Immigration Wiki article provides several important sources for finding information about immigrants. These nationwide sources include many references to people who settled in New York. The Tracing Immigrant Origins Wiki article introduces the principles, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor's original hometown.



Migration Patterns in New York State
Pre-Revolutionary War. Before 1775 settlement in New York was confined to the Hudson, Mohawk, Schoharie, and Delaware valleys until after the Revolutionary War. During and after the war, New Yorkers loyal to the King of England emigrated to Canada and elsewhere. The Revolutionary War temporarily halted further expansion into the interior. Once the war was over and the title to western lands was obtained from the Iroquois in 1786, New Englanders flocked to all parts of the state. In the two decades after the war, 500,000 new settlers came into New York, and the state tripled its population.

Pre-Civil War. Before 1861 cities along migration routes such as Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo prospered. Natives of other states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont moved to New York in large numbers during the pre-Civil War era.

Ethnic groups. Large numbers of Irish and Germans came to New York cities in the mid-1800s. New York was the destination for millions of southern and eastern Europeans, especially Italians and Russian Jews, from about 1890–1910. The Irish tended to settle in New York and other large cities, such as Albany, and along the canal. Large numbers of Germans settled in New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester. Upstate New York Welsh Heritage hosts an interesting map depicting Where the Welsh Lived in New York State.

Orphan out-migration. From about 1854–1929, some 100,000 homeless children from New York City were "placed out" to families in upstate New York and the midwestern states. They are frequently referred to as the orphan train children. Excellent academic and universal readership book about the orphan trains and immigration: Wendinger, Renee. "Extra! Extra! The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York". http://www.theorphantrain.com book website.

New York agencies that have records are:


 * New York Children's Aid Society


 * Adoption and Foster Home Division
 * 150 East 45th Street
 * New York, NY 10017


 * Telephone: 212-949-4800
 * Fax: 212-682-8016
 * Internet: http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/


 * This society was organized in 1853.


 * New York Foundling Hospital (Catholic)


 * 590 Avenue of the Americas
 * New Y:ork, NY 10011


 * Telephone: 212-633-9300
 * Fax: 212-886-4048
 * Internet: http://www.orphantraindepot.com/NYFHHistory.html


 * This hospital was organized in 1869 and began placing out children in 1873.

African Americans
The Dutch brought the first Blacks to New York during colonial times. Blacks composed about 10 percent of the population during the eighteenth century. The greatest migration of Blacks came from the southern states and Caribbean after World War II.

The New York Public Library has a large collection of manuscripts relating to black culture in New York. The address is:

New York Public Library Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 515 Lenox Avenue New York, NY 10037 Telephone: 212-491-2200

The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. has a local chapter in Greater New York. To learn more, visit their website.

American Indians
The original inhabitants of New York were Algonquian (Lenni Lenape, Mohegan, and Wappinger) and Iroquoian tribes (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca). The Tuscarora tribe from North Carolina migrated to New York and joined the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1700s.

See also Indians of New York.

Dutch and Walloons
In the 1620s and 1630s, the Dutch and Walloons (French-speaking Belgians) settled in the Hudson Valley and on western Long Island. The Dutch West India Company made settlements at New Amsterdam (New York City) and Ft. Orange (Albany) in 1624 and 1625. Later settlements were at Beverwyck (outside Fort Orange), Esopus (Kingston), and western Long Island. In 1664 the English captured New Netherland and renamed it New York.

The Holland Society of New York (est. 1885) can assist you in tracing your New York Dutch ancestry. To learn more, visit their website.

Many Dutch families of New York can be found in:


 * Bergen, Van Brunt. "A List of Early Immigrants to New Netherland. Alphabetically Arranged, With Additions and Corrections, From Manuscripts of the Late Teunis G. Bergen," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct. 1883):181-190; Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan. 1884):34-40; Vol. 15, No. 2 (Apr. 1884):72-77. Digital version at New York Family History ($); . Internet Archive has digitized Vol. 15, but not Vol. 14.
 * Epperson, Gwenn F. New Netherland Roots. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1994. (Family History Library book .) Discusses and quotes examples from passenger lists, early government records, marriage registers, church records, and court records of New Netherland. Also discusses early Dutch, German, Belgian, French, and Scandinavian sources.
 * Macy, Harry and Elva Kathleen Lyon. "Origins of Some New Netherland Families," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 123, No. 1 (Jan. 1992):17-24; Vol. 123, No. 2 (Apr. 1992):93-96; Vol. 123, No. 3 (Jul. 1992):167-168; Vol. 127, No. 4 (Oct. 1996):202-204. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.
 * Noord Amerika Chronologie (North American Chronology). See New York Probate Records.
 * van Laer, A.J.F. "Minutes of the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch West India Company, 1635-1636," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Jul. 1918):217-228. Digital versions at Internet Archive; New York Family History ($);.
 * Zabriskie, George Olin. Dutch Family Records. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987. (Family History Library films Contains family groups and correspondence from the 1550s to the 1900s.
 * Zabriskie, George Olin. Early Dutch - New Netherlands - Family Correspondence. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987. (Family History Library films .) Contains correspondence about Dutch families from the 1500s to the 1900s. Includes information from church, military, land, and probate records.

English
In the 1640s New England settlers came to eastern Long Island. New Englanders continued to migrate to the lower Hudson Valley in the early and mid-1700s.

In the hundred years after the English took control in 1664, French Huguenots, German Palatines, Scots, and Irish also found their way to New York. During the next century, settlement expanded west along the Mohawk River and north along the Hudson.

Hoff's compilation is the place to start English origin studies:


 * Hoff, Henry B. English Origins of American Colonists from The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991..

The naval office shipping lists for New York, 1713-1765 are available on microfilm.

French Huguenots
Huguenots settled on Staten Island and in New Harlem, Bushwick, and Flushing in 1657 and 1658. New Paltz, Ulster County, was founded in 1677 by Huguenots. In 1688 the Huguenots established New Rochelle in Westchester County. Non-Huguenot French Catholics from Quebec later settled large areas of the northern Adirondacks.

Useful sources for Huguenot genealogy are:


 * Baird, Charles W. History of the Huguenot Emigration to America. Two Volumes. 1885. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Regional Publishing, 1966. (Family History Library book 1966; 1885 ed. on film .) May include births, marriages, deaths, residence, and place of origin.
 * Reeve, Vera. compiler. Register of Qualified Huguenot Ancestors: The National Huguenot Society. Third Edition, Washington, DC: the Society, 1983. (Family History Library book .) Genealogies and sources. See also the 1995 supplement (Family History Library book .)

Germans
German "Palatines" came in 1709/10 to the upper Hudson Valley, near present-day Germantown, Columbia County. Many had been lured to America after reading the "Golden Book," published by British authorities, to promote the colonization of America. It portrayed the New World as a paradise. Some lived in England for a few years. Reconstructed passenger lists are available online as part of AncestryProGenealogists' Palatine Project. After arriving in New York and working in the tar and naval stores industries to pay off their passage, they found themselves landless, and in an undeveloped wilderness. The British failed to keep their promise to grant each immigrant 40 acres of land for emigrating. Many ventured to the unsettled Schoharie Valley backcountry and purchased land from Indians. They established seven villages. 1709ers include Valentin Bresseler (ancestor of Elvis Presley) and Jost Hite "Baron of the Shenandoah." The "Tim McGraw" episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (NBC) brings this immigration story to life. McGraw descends from Hite. DNA has been collected from descendants of many 1709ers, see The Palatine DNA Project. Many original documents regarding this migration are available on microfilm through FamilySearch, see

Henry "Hank" Jones, FASG, is the leading authority on these immigrants. To contact him, visit his website: http://www.hankjones.com. He has identified the origins of 600 of the 847 Palatine families involved in this migration. Three principal sources documenting the identities of individuals involved in this large migration are: (1) The Rotterdam Sailing Lists of 1709 (Holland), (2) The London Census of Palatines of 1709 (England), (3) The Hunter Subsistence Lists 1710-1712 (New York). His chief German researcher, Carla Mittelstaedt-Kubaseck literally went village to village searching old church books seeking 1709ers origins. Despite the term "Palatine," Jones discovered that many of the families did not originate in the area of Germany known as the "Palatinate" (Pfalz in German). "Palatine" was a term applied to Germans in general. Many of the migrants who lived near each other in New York, came from the same hometowns in Germany. His findings, which include beautiful photographs of the villages where immigrants originated, and the old churches where they worshipped, have been published:


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. "Emigrants from Laubenheim, Germany, to New York in 1709/10," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 70, No. 2 (June 1982):97-102. Digital version at National Genealogical Society website ($);.


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710. Two Volumes. Universal City, Calif.: Henry Z. Jones, 1985. . Includes births, marriages, deaths, and source citations.


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. "Some Additional Discoveries on the German Origins of the Palatine Families of New York," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 117, No. 4 (Oct. 1986):193-198. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.


 * Jones, Henry Z. Jr. and Annette Kunselman Burgert. Westerwald to America: Some 18th Century German Immigrants. Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1989..


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. More Palatine Families: Some Immigrants to the Middle Colonies, 1717–1776, and Their European Origins, Plus New Discoveries on German Families Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710. Universal City, Calif.: Henry Z. Jones, 1991..


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. and Lewis Bunker Rohrbach. Even More Palatine Families: 18th Century Immigrants to the American Colonies and Their German, Swiss, and American Origins. 3 vols. Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 2002..


 * Jones, Henry Z., Jr. "Some Newly-Discovered German Origins for the Palatine Families of New York-1710," The American Genealogist, Vol. 85, No. 1 (Jan. 2011):46-62.

Jones shares the following strategies, learned from experience, for genealogists who wish to trace the German origins of Colonial Americans:


 * 1) Study the neighbors
 * 2) Study the sponsors
 * 3) Use original sources
 * 4) Remember even original sources may be wrong
 * 5) Study naming and spelling patterns
 * 6) Use family traditions as guides, never gospel
 * 7) Use indices with caution
 * 8) Follow your intuition as well as your intellect in genealogical searches

Many of these families appear in Reformed and Lutheran church books in New York. Jones notes the religious flexibility of these early German immigrants. Many switched from Catholicism to Protestantism in the New World.

The 1709 London Census of Palatines was published by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Their publication is available online:


 * "List of Germans from the Palatinate Who Came to England in 1709," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Jan. 1909):49-54; Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr. 1909):93-100; Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul. 1909):160-167; Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1909):241-248; Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan. 1910):10-19. Digital version at New York Family History ($); . Internet Archive has digitized Vol. 40 and Vol. 41 - free.

Dr. Marianne S. Wokeck created a detailed list of "German Immigrant Voyages, 1683-1775" to Colonial America. Destinations include New York (1708-1766). She published the list in an Appendix to:


 * Wokeck, Marianne S. Trade in Strangers: The Beginnings of Mass Migration to North America. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999..

Frank Diffenderffer extensively documented the origins, reasons for leaving, escape routes and living conditions of these Palatine refugees throughout their journey:


 * Diffenderffer, Frank Reid. The German Exodus to England in 1709. Lancaster, Pa.: The Pennsylvania-German Society, 1897. Digital version available through Open Library.

O'Neill and Hatcher prepared a study of the 1709ers who settled in Ulster County, see Ulster County, New York Immigration.

Before 1776 Germans and Dutch settled the Mohawk Valley.

Scots and Irish
In the early 1770s Scottish and Irish immigrants settled in the upper Hudson and Delaware valleys. Ulster Scots, or Scotch-Irish, settled near the Hudson River in Orange and Ulster counties in the late 1600s. Millions (approximately 3 million) Irish (mostly Catholic) immigrated to the United States. Hundreds of thousands settled in New York City in especially the mid to late 19th Century. Some stayed for a few years and then migrated into the rest of the United States. Their migration fanned out into the midwest, i.e. Chicago St. Louis, south (Alabama and Georgia) and out west. Visit the Famine Emigrants 1846-1851 database at the NARA website for an online search of nearly 700,000 Irish Famine Immigrants, representing one of the most significant immigration epics of all time in America's history. In 1855, one in every four, or 54 percent of New York City's foreign-born population were Irish with over 200,000 registered as "born in Ireland". The largest New York immigrant passenger-list index, available for the first time for the years 1820 to 1957, is now online at Ancestry.com with 68 million names. Here is an enlarged List of Irish Emigration websites for locating Irish ancestors on ships.

A helpful publication listing immigrants from Scotland is


 * Dobson, David. Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625–1825 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1984–, Volumes 1–7. Family History Library book ). Each volume has its own index. Often the town or city of origin in Scotland is mentioned. About a quarter of the families settled in New York.

Passengers Aboard the "Buchannon", Newry to New York August 1765. A list of 43 passengers who travelled from Newry Co. Ireland to New York in August 1765 aboard the ship "Buchannon". Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol. XII. no. 1-2, 1980, page 52, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i

Other Groups
Records of major ethnic groups, including Dutch, Swedes, German, French Huguenots, Quakers, and Jews, are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog Locality Search under:

NEW YORK - MINORITIES.

British
One of the largest waves of British migrants to the United States occurred in the nineteenth century.


 * 1817 - Molerio, Dagoberto. "A Passenger List for the Ship William," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 101, No. 3 (Jul. 1970):142-144. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Germans
The German Genealogy Group can help you trace your New York German ancestors. Their website offers many free resources to help you in your quest.

NARA's website includes Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Germans to the United States, documenting the period 1850 -1897.

Hispanic
The Hispanic Genealogy Center of New York can help you discover your New York Hispanic ancestry. To learn more, visit their website.

Irish
Tens of thousands of potato famine Irish immigrants arrived at the Port of New York City in the nineteenth century.

Moorhouse wrote a very useful guide for tracing Irish immigrants in New York City:


 * Moorhouse, Ann. "Researching the Irish-Born of New York City," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 112, No. 2 (Apr. 1981):65-71. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Potato famine passenger lists are available online:


 * Records for Passengers Who Arrived at the Port of New York During the Irish Famine, documenting the period 1/12/1846 - 12/31/1851 - free, courtesy: NARA.

Many Irish settlers of New York are discussed in The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society (Vols. 1-21 are available for free online).


 * The Emigrant Savings Bank, set up in New York City in 1850, helped many potato famine immigrants. It functioned until 1883. The collection of 58 volumes of bank records from 1941 to 1883 were later donated to the New York Public Library where they were described and filmed and made available to the public. Digital copies are currently available at the Ancestry website.

A helpful reference publication guide to identifying resources for tracing Irish families in the five boroughs of New York City is:


 * Buggy, Joseph. Finding Your Irish Ancestors in New York City. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2014.

This publication provides a detailed list of record sources for tracing Irish families coupled with research strategies.

Italians
The Italian Genealogical Group can help you discover your New York Italian ancestry. Their website offers many free resources to help you in your quest.

NARA's website includes free Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Italians to the United States, documenting the period 1855 - 1900.

Italians followed strict naming patterns in the home country. Carmack discusses the effect immigration had on this practice for Italian-Americans:


 * Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. "Italian Naming Patterns and Necronyms: Six Generations of the Vallarelli Family as an Example of the Effect of Immigration," The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 133, No. 3 (Jul. 2002):177-181. Digital version at New York Family History ($);.

Jews
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society will search their indexes and files at no charge. Supply the individual ancestor's name as spelled at the time of arrival and, if known, the year and port of entry and relatives traveling with the ancestor. It also helps to give birth and last known address. Records of Jewish immigrants since 1909 are at:

United Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Service 200 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003 Telephone: 212-967-4100

The Jewish Genealogical Society can help you discover your New York Jewish ancestry. To learn more, visit their website.

Poles
The Polish Genealogical Society of New York State can help you discover your New York Polish ancestry. To learn more, visit their website.

Russians
NARA's website includes free Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Russians to the United States, documenting the period 1834-1897.

Websites

 * The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
 * ellisislandrecords.org
 * www.nypl.org
 * www.archives.nysed.gov
 * www.archives.gov
 * www.afhs.ab.ca

http://www.migrations.org/county.php3?migcounty=NY - Site lists names, lifespan,origin, notes and migration steps, of persons migrating to or through New York. Names submitted by individuals.

http://stevemorse.org - This site contains tools for finding immigration records, census records, vital records, and for dealing with calendars, maps, foreign alphabets, and numerous other applications. Some of these tools fetch data from other websites but do so in more versatile ways than the search tools provided on those websites.

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * New York, Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1925-1942 - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New York, New York, Index to passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New York, Northern Arrival Manifests - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island) - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * New York Passenger Arrival Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Related FamilySearch Blog Articles

 * Ellis Island and Castle Garden Immigration Records
 * Complete Archive of Ellis Island Records—Now Online for Free
 * When Did New York Immigration Start at Ellis Island?
 * Castle Garden: Immigration Before Ellis Island
 * The Immigration Act of 1924 and the End of Ellis Island