New York, New York City, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City, compiled 1944-1948
This collection contains an index to passengers arriving at New York City. The collection is arranged in soundex order. The images are originally part of NARA collection M1417 (rolls 7 and 35 are missing).
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New York, New York City, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City
What is in This Collection?
This collection contains a (Soundex) index to passengers arriving at New York City. The collection is arranged in soundex order. The images are originally part of NARA collection M1417 (rolls 7 and 35 are missing). It is a partial index National Archives microfilm publication T715 Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 and is part of Record 85 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
General Information About Passenger Arrival and Custom Lists
Passenger arrival lists, or customs manifests, date back to 1820. The first official emigration station for New York was Castle Garden, located at the tip of lower Manhattan. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrants’ arrival. After January 1892, passengers arriving in New York debarked at Ellis Island, located east of Manhattan in the New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1924, almost all immigrants entered the United States through the port of New York.
When passengers arrived at Ellis Island, they were asked a series of questions designed to determine whether they would be able to support themselves and did not have any health problems. The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Only 2% of immigrants were denied entry into the United States.
The passenger lists are usually two typed pages divided into columns and rows. When you select an image to view, sometimes the manifest includes more than one page, and when you use the "click to enlarge manifest" link, the image that appears is not always the first page. To view the other page, use the "previous" or "next" links.
Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.
What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
- Name
- Age
- Sex
- Marital Status
- Occupation
- Port of entry
- Manifest No.
- Nationality
- Race
- Place of birth
- Date of arrival
- Last permanent residence
- Destination
- In U.S. Before
- When
- Where
- Name and Complete Address of Person to Whom Destined
- Physical description
- Accompanied by
Collection Content
Sample Images
Index card, 1921
Index card, 1945
Index card, 1946
Index card, 1948
Inventory
For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see United States, New York, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City - Inventory
Collection Details
Location of Original Records
National Archives and Records Administration
"New York, New York City, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City, compiled 1944-1948." Database. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 30 May 2026. Citing NARA microfilm publication M1417. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
