Available Immigration Records Online by subscription
Sheila Tate, ISTG member
I have been asked many times what immigration records are available online and whether they are worth the subscriptions you have to pay to see them.
First of all, let me say that I hope you find the records you are looking for right here on ISTG. But..we have to be realistic. ISTG has worked hard for over 6 years to put ship passenger lists online. We now have over 6,000 lists transcribed but that is a very small percentage of the records available on microfilm.
Does Ancestry.com's NEW US Immigration Collection have all the answers about your ancestors? Of course not. No collection can have all the answers nor all the records. However, the new US Immigration resource at ancestry.com possibly holds information about your ancestors as it lists more than 11 million names. Never before have so many immigration databases been available through just one Web subscription.
The databases included in the ancestry.com US Immigration Collection are:
American Emigrant Ministers, 1690-1811
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 1:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 2:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 3:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 4:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 5:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 6:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 7:
Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 8:
Baden, Germany Emigration Index, 1866-1911
Baltimore, 1820-1852 Passenger and Immigration Lists
Baltimore, 1851-1872 Passenger and Immigration Lists Vol. 2
Boston Port Arrivals and Immigrants, 1715-16, 1762-69
Boston, 1821-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists
Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore Steamship Arrivals, 1890-
Box Elder County, Utah Certificates of Citizenship Record Books, 1868-
Brandenburg, Prussia Emigration Records
Canadian Immigrant Records, Part One
Canadian Immigrant Records, Part Two
Early American Immigrations
Great Migration Begins Index: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33
Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33
Hawaii Chinese Exclusion Index
Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776
Immigrants in Pennsylvania, 1727-76
Immigration of Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania, 1682-1750
Index to Declaration of Intent for Naturalization: New York County, 19
Iosco County, Michigan Naturalization Index, 1885-1910
Irish Immigrants: New York Port Arrival Records, 1846-1851
Irish Quaker Immigration into Pennsylvania
Italian Passengers to Louisiana, 1905-10
Italians in Poland
Juab County, Utah Citizenship Certificate Stubs, 1908-1928
Laramie County, Wyoming Naturalization Records, 1867-1920
Michigan Eastern District Naturalizations
Minnesota Naturalization Records Index, 1854-1957
Naturalizations in America and the West Indies
New Brunswick, Canada, Passenger Lists: 1834
New England Founders
New England Immigrants, 1700-1775
New Orleans, 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists
New South Wales, Australia 1828 - 1842: Bounty Immigrants List
New York Chinese Exclusion Index
New York City Immigrants (Austria, Galicia, Poland), 1890
New York City Immigrants (Austria, Galicia, Poland), 1891
New York County Supreme Court Naturalization Petition Index, 1907-24
New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1891
New York Petitions for Naturalization
New York, 1820-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Passenger Arrivals in the U.S., 1819-20
Pennsylvania Foreign Oaths of Allegiance
Pennsylvania Foreign Oaths of Allegiance, Vol. 2
Pennsylvania German Pioneers
Pennsylvania Irish Quaker Immigrants, 1682-1750
Pennsylvania Naturalizations, 1740-73
Persons of Quality Original Lists
Philadelphia German Immigration, 1700-75
Philadelphia Quaker Arrivals, 1682-1750
Philadelphia, 1789-1880 Naturalization Records
Philadelphia, 1800-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Indentures, 1771-73
Pioneer Immigrants to Utah Territory
Rensselaerswyck, New York Settlers, 1630-58
San Francisco Chinese Exclusion List
Scandinavian Immigrants in New York, 1630-74
Shasta county, California, Naturalization Records: 1852 - 1932
Ship Passenger Lists from Holland to New Netherland: Miscellaneous Shi
Ship Passenger Lists from Ireland to America: Miscellaneous Ships
Ship Passenger Lists to New York: Miscellaneous Ships
Ship Passenger Lists to Nova Scotia, Canada: Miscellaneous Ships
Ship Passenger Lists to Pennsylvania: Miscellaneous Ships
Ship Passenger Lists to the Carolinas: Miscellaneous Ships
Ship Passengers Arriving in Canada (Letter A): 1919-1924
Sons of Utah Pioneers - Card Index, 1847-50
Sons of Utah Pioneers Membership Applications
Swiss Emigrants in the 18th Century
Utah Naturalization Declarations of Intention, 1878-1895
Utah Pioneers, 1847-50
Virginia Huguenot Refugees, 1700
Virginia Immigrants, 1623-66
Wasatch County, Utah Citizenship Certificate Stubs, 1907-1924
Wasatch County, Utah Naturalization Record Books, 1896-1906
Wuerttemberg, Germany Emigration Index
The Immigration records at Genealogy.com, Ancestry.com's sister site, (both owned by MyFamily.com) has several of the same databases including the Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Billed as the most extensive collection of international and passenger records, it includes more than 22 million names. Both sites have many of the same records.
One very special database on Ancestry.com is the New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1891 index, which includes immigration records from Castle Garden, the port landing before Ellis Island. This database is an index of all the Castle Garden records by name and enables you to quickly find your ancestor/passenger.
The collection also includes passenger lists from all major US ports, including Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Orleans.
If your ancestors arrived before 1820, the year the federal government began requiring passenger lists from ship captains, you may want to search the Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s or any of the smaller databases such as Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666; Ship Passenger Lists to the Carolinas; or American Emigrant Ministers, 1690-1811.
So... should you subscribe?
Genealogy.com's International & Passenger Records collection includes the Passenger and Immigration Lists Index as well as 40-plus other databases. But the Ancestry.com US Immigration Collection indexes some records not found on Genealogy.com and vice versa. I suggest you try searching each one. Without a subscription, you won't be able to access the full database entries for your ancestors, but both sites will tell you how many times, and in what databases, your ancestors appear.
Subscriptions to the US Immigration Collection cost $19.95 per month or $79.95 per year. Current Ancestry.com subscribers can add an annual subscription to the collection for $39.95. Genealogy.com's International & Passenger Records Collection runs $14.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Both sites have 14 day free trials available.
For the Ancestry.com US Immigration Collection click here Ancestry.com
For the Genealogy.com International & Passenger Records click here Genealogy.com