7. Making Your Past Come Alive With Ship Manifest.

A clever way to promote a beach side restaurant on the Greek Island of Mykonos.

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1. Would you like to know the names of other passengers who travelled across The Atlantic Ocean on the same ship as the relative you are researching?
2. Would you like to view a copy of the actual ship manifest that bears your relative’s name?
3. Would you like to own a copy of the actual ship manifest that bears your relative’s name?

If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, you may be able to make your past come alive by accessing a Ship Manifest through The Ellis Island database available at www.ellisisland.org.

My previous blogs provide an overview of Ellis Island and how the website can help you with your genealogical research to solve family mysteries. I’d recommend you read these entries if you haven’t done so yet.

What Is A Ship Manifest?

A Ship Manifest lists all passengers confirmed for passage on a ship. The information recorded includes name, age, marital status, last residence, final destination as well as other details. The inspectors at Ellis Island referred to Ship Manifests when examining passengers who landed at the immigration station in New York.

5 Easy Steps To Access A Ship Manifest

1. Go to www.ellisisland.org.
2. Conduct a free passenger search by filling in the data boxes on the homepage.
3. If the person is in their database, you will be given their place of residence, date of arrival at Ellis Island and age.
4. You may then select one of the options to access more information: Passenger Record, Ship Manifest and/or Ship Image.
5. You will need to register at this point by entering a user name and password. The process, however, is still free.

What Does A Ship Manifest Look Like?

I began my genealogical research about my Nana, Caterina Spagnuolo Adreoli Perri, at www.ellisisland.org. My family knew that Nana had landed at Ellis Island in the early 1900’s but nothing else. I followed the above steps, found her Passenger Record first then accessed her Ship Manifest.

What Is The Difference Between The Original Ship Manifest and a Text Version Manifest?

These are two options available to you at this point; the former is an image of the actual complete ship manifest and the latter, an abbreviated text version.  There is a cost to access a copy of the original but the text version is free.

The following table provides an example of the information I obtained about my Nana Caterina from the free text version.

Please note that America is the name of the steamship that my Nana Caterina sailed on across The Atlantic Ocean.

The text version of the Ship Manifest provided me with the names of other passengers on board The America. By reviewing the sample image of the Original Ship Manifest, however, it was obvious to me that the information contained on this document could really help make my past come alive. As a result, I ordered it directly through The Ellis Island website and have posted it with this blog for your reference. Please refer to line 0017 for information specific to my Nana, Caterina Andreoli. The next blog will continue to discuss how ship manifests can help solve family mysteries.

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How will you make your past come alive? I’d welcome your comments.