United States, New England Passenger and Crew Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains passenger and crew lists from vessels arriving at various ports in New England from 1918-1954. It corresponds with NARA Publication A3468: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Providence, Davisville, Melville, Newport, Quonset Point, and Tiverton, Rhode Island; Fall River, Massachusetts; and New London, Connecticut, Aug. 1918-Nov. 1954.

Record Content
The lists may include any of the following information:


 * Name of ship
 * Port and date of arrival
 * Port and date of embarkation
 * Name
 * Position in ship's company
 * When and where joined the crew
 * Able to read and write
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Race
 * Nationality
 * Height, weight, and physical impairments

How to Use the Record
When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900.

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒ Select the “Browse" link on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the “NARA Roll Number - Contents” category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, you can use passenger lists to:


 * Request federal immigration record
 * Learn an immigrant’s place of origin
 * Confirm their date of arrival
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests.

Tips to Keep in Mind
You may also find these tips helpful:


 * If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct.
 * Continue to search the passenger lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have immigrated at the same time.
 * If your ancestor has an uncommon surname, you may want to obtain the passenger list of every person who shares your ancestor’s surname if they lived in the same county or nearby. You may not know how or if they are related, but the information could lead you to more information about your own ancestors.

Unable to Find your Ancestor?
If you do not find the name you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the name.
 * Search the indexes of other port cities.

Related Websites
US Ports of Arrival and their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957

Related Wiki Articles
New England

Contributions to This Article
= Citations for This Collection =

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing your sources). This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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