Montana Manifests of Immigrant Arrivals and Departures - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains manifests of vessels arriving for the years 1923 to 1956 at the following locations in Montana:
 * Chief Mountain
 * Cut Bank
 * Del Bonita
 * Gateway
 * Great Falls
 * Roosville

It also contains departures from Great Falls, Montana for the years 1944 to 1945.

These records correspond with NARA publication A3447 and were filmed at the NARA facility in College Park, Maryland.

Record Content
The records usually include:


 * Name of passenger
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Citizenship
 * Race
 * Last residence
 * Place of departure
 * Destination
 * Citizenship intentions

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * Some other identifying information such the port and date or arrival or departure.

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "NARA Roll Number" 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 and lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, you can use these lists to:


 * 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.
 * Find federal immigration records

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Download a copy of the record or transcribe the details.
 * 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 lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives 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. 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?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of other port cities.

Related Websites

 * Montana Immigrant - University of Montana Collection
 * Coming to Montana - Montana State Historical Society

Related Wiki Articles
Montana Emigration and Immigration

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite 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:

Image Citation: