In this blog article I will teach you how to search Ancestry Passenger Lists to learn more about your family history!

Discover which relatives traveled together, where to, and when.

I will go over the steps to:

• locating the search box for these types of records
• how to enter in what you are looking for
• filtering search results
• reading found documents
• how to add them to your family tree

Please keep scrolling to read more!

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|Related Article: How to Sign Up for Ancestry.com

Does Ancestry have Ship Passenger Lists?

Yes! Ancestry.com does have ship passenger lists to explore and learn from!

If you aren’t quite sure what this document is, it’s an outline of who is traveling on a ship created by the master of customs officials at a port that is visited.

Once you are signed in to your account, look at the menu at the top of your screen.

Select Search, then Immigration & Travel.

This will bring you to a page of boxes to type in the information you are looking for.

How do I Find my Passenger list on Ancestry?

Next you will enter in all the details you are able to provide.

There are individual text boxes for:

• First & Middle Name
• Last Name
• Birth Date and/or Year
• Lived in- city, county, state, country
• Arrival- date and city, county, state, country
• Departure- date and city, county, state, country
• Any Event (anything you would like to add)
• Origin- city, county, state, country
• Keyword (this could be nicknames, madien names, or anything else you think may be listed)
• Gender
• Race/Nationality
• Collection Focus – select country

Then select the Search button!

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Some side notes:

You can select a check box to search for “Exact” spelling or “sounds like, similar, initials” for dates this applies to, “Exact” or “+/-” a certain amount of years. This is up to your preference.

Also, when searching for women, try including their madien name even if they are already married. Some countries such as Italy to America listed the woman’s original birth name.

Remember to reference the information you already have from prior family tree research, for narrowing down names, dates, and locations.

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What Information is on a Passenger List?

Okay so now once you see all the search results, scroll through and select a passenger list that (hopefully) matches your ancestor and their family.

(If you can’t find a record try altering the spellings of names, dates, and locations to be more broad.)

Always remember to double check to make sure the details and sources match to the best of your understanding.

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Passenger List Details

Some information may already be transcribed, meaning a typed out version from Ancestry.com of what the line says in hand writing.

But it’s also best to look at the actual original document image.

You will see at the top the ship name, sailing from, and the date

Next you will see a chart layout. You can zoom in closer with the + and – bar, or by scrolling in and out on your computer mouse.

Read down the rows to locate your ancestor, and then reference the top line- left to right for what is being listed:

• Name in full- family name (last name), given name (first name)
• Age- years/months old
• Gender
• Married/Single
• Calling/Occupation
• Able to Read/Write
• Nationality
• Race
• Last Permanent Residence – Country/ City or Town
• Name and complete address of nearest relative or friend in country where alien (passenger) came
• Final Destination – State / City or Town
• Whether having a ticket to such final destination
• By whom was passage paid
• Whether in possession of $50 and if less, how much
• Whether ever before in the United States, and if so, when and where
• Whether going to join a relative or friend, and if so, what relative or friends, and his name and complete address
• Religion questions
• Condition of Health, Mental and Physical
• Height
• Complexion
• Color of Hair and Eyes
• Marks of Identification
• Place of Birth- Country and City or Town

Side Notes:

Some passenger lists have two pages, so click the arrows left or right to view the additional pages.

Lists vary over time so the outline here may not be exactly the same but provides a general starting point.

Most importantly, keep in mind to look further in to what information is provided. There are helpful clues to continue building out your family tree.

Such as addresses and who the persons is traveling to see or live with/near.

Families also tended to travel either in separate trips at different times or all together. So scan the sheet(s) for more names you may recognize and also look for more lists!

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Conclusion

I hope this article helps provide you more guidance on how to look for your ancestors in passenger list records!

If you have any questions please comment below!

Thanks for reading and happy searching!

(Throughout this article may be affiliate links and ads. There is no extra cost to the buyer, thank you for supporting my blog!*)

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