Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948

What is in This Collection?

This collection consists of the index & images of passenger arrivals in Baltimore, Maryland. This collection contains records from three NARA publication including M255 (Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, 1820-1891); M596 (Quarterly Abstracts of Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, 1820-1869); and T844 (Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, 1891-1948). Passenger arrival lists from July 1, 1948 to November 30, 1954 do not exist.

The passenger arrival list was used by legal inspectors to cross-examine each immigrant during a legal inspection prior to the person being allowed to live in America. Only two percent of the prospective immigrants were denied entry.

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

See also*Baltimore Passenger List Index, 1820 -1897

Related National Archives Collections

• Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, Maryland, January 1910–November 17, 1954 NAID 2642484

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Ship manifest of alien immigrants

• Ship's name with port and date of departure
• Date of arrival and U. S. port of entry
• Name of immigrant and nationality
• Age, gender, marital status and occupation of immigrant
• Birthplace, and last permanent residence
• Who paid for passage
• Intended final destination
• Able to read and write?
• Any physical impairments?

Collection Content

Sample Image

• 

  1898 Passenger List

Inventory

• For an inventory of all the films/digital folders in this collection see Maryland, Baltimore, Passenger Lists - Inventory