California, San Francisco Customs Passenger Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States CaliforniaSan Francisco County

What Is in the Collection?
This collection contains passenger lists of vessels arriving at San Francisco, California, January 1903-April 1918. These records correspond with NARA publication M1412 and were filmed at the NARA facility in College Park, Maryland.

The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names.

Passenger arrival lists known as customs manifests date back to 1820. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrants’ arrival.

Arrival lists was used by legal authorities to gather personal information about immigrants prior to the person being allowed to live in the United States.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Passenger Lists may contain the following information:


 * Full name
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Occupation
 * Citizenship
 * Race
 * Birthplace
 * Final destination

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:


 * The full name of your ancestor
 * The approximate age of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of immigration
 * The occupation of your ancestor

If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900. Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then select the NARA Roll Number.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the information in the record to find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, ship’s manifests, birth, christening, marriage or census records.
 * Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of California, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the California Archives and Libraries.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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