Immigration Records are some of the richest genealogy record sets and can provide excellent clues as well as data about your ancestors. Specifically, when they came to America, or traveled but did not immigrate. Emigration records can tell you when they left their homeland and can direct you when they might have immigrated, if you are having trouble finding the immigration record.
What types of information are available in these records? First of all, let me clarify that naturalization records are a related type of record. You can discover online naturalization collections and records available via links on this website on the Naturalizations Page. In the Petition for Naturalization record for example, where and when the applicant arrived in the U.S. is stated. And the Certificate of Arrival is another immigration document used in the naturalization process.
Here's an article that will list the information available: 45 Reasons to Research Immigration Records
Regarding immigration - it bears repeating - not EVERYONE came through Ellis island. It was open between 1892 and 1954. Approximately 12 million people came through that immigration station. The highest year was 1907, when just over 1,000,000 people came through. For immigrants landing at U.S, ports in the 19th century and early 20th century, the busiest ports were New York, Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. There were almost 100 ports that were used by immigrants to enter the U.S., via the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes.
Below are state by state links to a page that lists links to immigration and travel collections that are available for free to search and browse.
It is also helpful to review emigration records as well. It sometimes occurs that an immigration record is not available online for a variety of reasons, but you might find some useful information from emigration records where one of you're ancestors embarked on their journey to America.
Here are a few free online sites that have online emigration records available.
Denmark - The Digital Danish Emigration Archives
Finland - Emigrant Register Internet Databases (free and pay options)
Norway - Digital Archives - Emigrant Records
Germany - Oldenburg Emigrants Database
Ireland - Irish Famine Emigrants 1846-1851 database
Russia - Russians to America Passenger Data File, 1834 - 1897
Germany - Germans to America Passenger Data File, 1850 - 1897
Italy - Italians to America Passenger Data File, 1855 - 1900
Germany - Hamburg Passenger List
Also listed are passenger lists for travel that may not have been immigration related. I have discovered interesting clues and information from non-immigration travel records as well.
Below, listed by state are links to Free Online Immigration and Travel Collections.
Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.
(Updated February, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD):
United States
- Germans from Russia, Miscellaneous Passenger Manifests
- Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
- Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932
- New York, Castle Garden
- New York, Ellis Island
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's - Several Arrival States
- U.S., German Immigrants, 1712-1933 (free index, images require a subscription)
- United States Immigration, Ship Arrivals & Passenger Lists
- United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1894-1954
- United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States,, 1895-1956
- United States, Border Crossings from Mexico to United States,, 1903-1957
- United States, Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851
- United States, Germans to America Index, 1850-1897
- United States, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
- United States, Index to Alien Case Files, 1940-2003
- United States, Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874
- United States, index to passenger lists, 1820-1940
- United States, Italians to America Index, 1855-1900
- United States, Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946
- United States, Japanese Immigration Index
- United States, Passport Applications, 1795-1925
- United States, Russians to America Index, 1834-1897
Alabama
- Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1890-1924
- Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820-1873
- Mobile, Passports and Ship Passengers 1849-1862
Arkansas
Florida
- Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests, 1944-1945
- Florida, Fort Lauderdale Crew Lists, 1939-1945
- Florida, Key West Passenger Lists, 1898-1945
- Florida, Knights Keys Passenger Lists, 1908-1912
- Florida, Pensacola, Passenger Lists, 1900-1945
- Florida, Port Everglades Passenger Lists, 1932-1951
- Florida, Tampa, Passenger Lists, 1898-1945
- Fort Lauderdale, Crew Lists 1939-December 1945
- Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1890-1924
- Key West Passenger Lists, 1898-1920
- Key West, Passenger Lists of Arriving Vessels 1898-1921
- Key West, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving 1898-1945, 1921-1945
- Knights Keys Passenger Lists, 1908-1912
- Miami, Index to Alien Arrivals by Airplane at 1930-1942
- Miami, Index to Alien Arrivals by Airplane at 1930-1942
- Miscellaneous Passenger Lists to Florida from 1768 to 1957
- Panama City, Passenger Lists of Arriving Aliens (1927-1939) and Citizens (1933-1939)
- Pensacola, Arriving Passenger Lists of Citizens (June 1924-Aug. 1948) and Aliens (March 1946-Nov. 1948) and Passenger Lists of vessels departing (Aug. 1926-March 1948)
- St. Petersburg, Arriving Passenger Lists 1926-1941
- Tampa, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving November 2, 1898 - December 31, 1945
- United States, Florida, Index to Alien Arrivals by Airplane at Miami, 1930-1942
Georgia
- A List of the Early Settlers of Georgia
- Chatham County, Alien Declarations 1868
- Georgia, Brunswick Passenger Lists, 1904-1939
- Immigrants from Great Britain to the Georgia Colony
- Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1890-1924
- Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1785 to 1809
- Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1785 to 1820
- Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1785-1820
- Savannah, Arriving Passenger Lists of Vessels 1906-1945
Kentucky
Louisiana
- Immigrant Ships and Partial Passenger Lists to New Orleans, 1845, 1847
- Inward Slave Manifests for the Port of New Orleans 1812-1839
- Louisiana Immigration & Naturalization Records
- Louisiana, Eastern District Naturalization Petitions, 1838-1861
- Louisiana, Naturalization Records, 1831-1906
- Louisiana, New Orleans Index to Passenger Lists, 1853-1952
- Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Departures, 1867-1871
- Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945
- Louisiana, New Orleans, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels, 1807-1860
- New Orleans Passenger Arrivals 1813
- New Orleans Passenger Arrivals 1815
- New Orleans Ship Passenger List Online Index — January to July 1851
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 1
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 2
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 3
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 4
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 5
- New Orleans, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 6
- Passenger List Port of New Orleans, by Ship
- Ships Passenger Lists to Louisiana
- Ships' Passenger Lists to Louisiana Before 1820
Mississippi
- Index to Passengers Arriving at Gulfport, Aug 27, 1904 - Aug 28, 1954, and at Pascagoula, Mississippi, July 15, 1903 - May 21, 1935
- Mississippi, Admitted Alien Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Pascagoula, July 1903 - May 1935
Missouri
- German immigrants to Eastern Missouri [ca.1818-1858]
- Missouri, County Naturalization Records, 1883-1927
- Port of St. Louis, Ship registers & other records, 1835-1944
- Records of the U.S. Attorneys and Marshals : alien application for permit
North Carolina
- Avery County, Alien Registration Papers, 1940
- Burke County, Alien Registration 1927-1940
- Columbus County, Alien Registration 1927, 1940, 1946, 1958
- Granville County, Alien Registration Certificates, 1940
- Henderson County, Alien Registration, 1927-1928, 1940, 1948
- Lenoir County, Alien Registration, 1927, 1940
- Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts 1820-1873
- Macon County, Alien Registration, 1940
- Montgomery County, Alien Registration, 1927, 1940
- North Carolina, Wilmington and Morehead City Passenger and Crew Lists, 1908-1958
- Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina 1774-1775
- Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775
- Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775
- Ships Passenger Lists to North Carolina
- The Highland Scots of North Carolina
- Wake County, Alien Registration, 1927-1940
- Wilmington and Morehead City Passenger and Crew Lists, 1908-1958
- Yancey County, Alien Registration 1940
Oklahoma
South Carolina
- Carolinas Passenger Lists, 1768, 1774, and 1781
- Charleston U.S. Citizens Passenger Lists, 1919-1948
- Florida and South Carolina, Airplane Arrival Manifests, 1944-1945
- Georgetown, Passenger Lists, 1904-1942
- Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ports in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, 1890-1924
- List of Irish Immigrants who came to South Carolina in 1768
- Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts 1820-1873
- Lists of Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina, 1763-1773
- Scotch-Irish Migration to South Carolina, 1772 Rev. William Martin and His Five Shiploads of Settlers
- Ships Passenger Lists to South Carolina
- The Original Lists of Persons of Quality: Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700
- Williamsburg County, Register of Aliens, 1940
Tennessee
Texas
- Alphabetical Card Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Fabens
- Alphabetical Card Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Fort Hancock, 1924-1954
- Alphabetical Manifests of non-Mexican Aliens granted temporary admission at Laredo
- Applications for nonresident Alien's Border Crossing identification Cards made at El Paso, ca. July 1945-December 1952
- Arizona and Texas, Manifests of Alien Arrivals, 1919-1955
- Cameron County, Brownsville, Passenger and crew list, 1931-1964
- Early Settlers in Jasper County
- El Paso County, El Paso, Manifests of Alien Arrivals, 1905-1952
- Galveston, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 1
- Galveston, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 2
- Galveston, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 3
- Galveston, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 4
- Galveston, Arrivals, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Page 5
- Index and Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Progreso/Thayer, October 1928-May 1955
- Index and Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Roma, March 1928-May 1955
- Indexes and Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Rio Grande City
- Indexes and Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Zapata, August 1923-September 1953
- Indexes of Vessels Arriving at Brownsville, Texas, 1935-1955; Houston, 1948-1954; and at Port Arthur and Beaumont, and Lake Charles, Louisiana 1908-1954
- List of names of the German emigrants emigrated to Texas under the German Emigration Co. in 1845 and 1846 by shiploads
- Lists of Aliens Arriving at Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Laredo, Presidio, Rio Grande City, and Roma, May 1903-June 1909, and at Aros Ranch, Douglas, Lochiel, Naco and Nogales, Arizona, July 1906-December 1910
- Lists of Aliens Arriving at Laredo, from July 1903 to June 1907, via the Mexican National Railroad or the Laredo Foot Bridge
- Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts 1820-1873
- Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Presidio, 1911-1955
- Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Yseleta, 1924-1954
- Manifests of Aliens granted temporary admission at El Paso, ca. July 1924-1954
- Manifests of Aliens granted temporary admission at Laredo, December 1, 1929-April 8, 1955
- Manifests of permanent and Statistical Alien Arrivals at El Paso, 1924-1954
- Manifests of Statistical Alien Arrivals at El Paso, May 1909-October 1924
- Non-Statistical Manifests and Statistical Index Cards of Aliens Arriving at Laredo, May 1903-November 1929
- Non-Statistical Manifests and Statistical Index Cards of Aliens Arriving at Eagle Pass, June 1905-November 1929
- Non-Statistical Manifests of temporary Alien Arrivals at Laredo, 1908-1912
- Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston, and other nearby ports, 1896-1948; Index, 1896-1951
- Ship lists of Passengers who departed Europe for Henry Castro's Colony, 1842-1847
- Ships Passenger Lists to Texas
- Statistical and non-Statistical Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Brownsville, February 1905-June 1953, and related Indexes
- Texas and Arizona Arrivals, 1903-1910
- Texas, Brownsville Passenger and Crew List of Airplanes, 1943-1964
- Texas, Eagle Pass Arrival Manifests and Indexes, 1905-1954
- Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1909-1924
- Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1924-1952
- Texas, El Paso Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of El Paso, 1905-1927
- Texas, El Paso, Applications for Non-Resident Aliens Border Crossing Identification Cards, 1945-1952
- Texas, Galveston Immigration Database
- Texas, Houston Arrival Manifests of Airplanes, 1946-1954
- Texas, Indexes and Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Del Rio, 1906-1953
- Texas, Laredo Arrival Manifests, 1903-1955
- Texas, Laredo Index of Arrivals, 1903-1929
- Texas, Manifests of Aliens Granted Temporary Admission at El Paso, ca. July 1924-1954
- Texas, Naturalization Records, 1906-1989
- Texas, Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Corpus Christi, Texas, and Vicinity, June 1948-January 1959
- Texas, San Antonio, Alien Arrivals, May 1944-March 1952
Virginia
- Passengers to Norfolk & Portsmouth, Virginia in 1823
- Ships Passenger Lists to Virginia
- Virginia, Alexandria Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels, 1946-1957
- Virginia, Naturalization Petitions, 1906-1929
West Virginia
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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