Where Can I Find U.S. Immigration or Emigration Records?

Question: Where Can I Find U.S. Immigration or Emigration Records?

Answer: Immigration records for major U.S. ports have been kept on a regular basis since 1820. These ports include: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Others, such as Mobile and Galveston began keeping records later in the nineteenth century, while western ports (San Francisco and Seattle) began in the last years of the 19th century.

These immigration records have been microfilmed, and are in the custody of the National Archives and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church - Mormons). These passenger arrival records include the name of every passenger on the ship, including those who were born or who died during the voyage. Generally, the lists include the full name, age, sex, place of origin and destination of each passenger.

Emigration (departure) lists do exist for some European ports, but not all, and not even every major one (for example, no comprehensive departure lists are known for the British Isles). Among the ports for which emigration lists are available are Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Hamburg (but NOT Bremen - these records were destroyed during WWII). Microfilm copies of these emigration lists are also available through the LDS Church and their network of Family History Centers, as well as the National Archives.