Navigating the Books for Ancestors’ Ships

Question: How can I learn the name of the ship my ancestors came to America on? They immigrated in 1892-93 and came from Colmar, which is now in Alsace, France. However, I understand this territory belonged to Germany before World War I. I think New York City was their port of entry.

Answer: To find ancestors who came through the port of New York from 1890 to 1930, first check Morton Allan’s “Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals.” It was published in 1980 by Genealogical Publishing Co. of Baltimore and can be found in most libraries.

Your Alsace ancestors lived near the Rhine River and probably came via Antwerp, Belgium, on Red Star Line. Or they may have come on the Holland-America Line from Rotterdam or Amsterdam. Other possible routes would have been via Le Havre on the French Line, Hamburg (Hamburg-American), or Bremen (North German Lloyd), Germany. The date of arrival in America of all these lines are listed in this book along with the name of the steamer.

The information regarding your ancestors’ approximate arrival in this country could be in your family records. Search for it.

There is no index to ship passenger arrivals in New York City for the years of 1892-93 (though such exists for the years 1820-46 and 1897-1943). The National Archives will search its unindexed lists before 1893 if you supply (1) port of entry; (2) name of the vessel (use Allan’s “Directory”); (3) approximate date of arrival and; (4) name of the passenger. For a search of the 1892 lists, the National Archives requires the exact date of arrival.

Order a copy of NATF Form 81 “Order for Copies of Ship Passenger Arrival Records” (available from National Archives, 8th and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20409), then request the search.

Q: I have Van Meter ancestors whose records have been traced back to New Amsterdam (New York) in the 1660s. Are there additional sources one can consult in order to trace Dutch lines back to Holland?

A: “Dutch Genealogical Research” by Charles M. Franklin, available from Genealogy Unlimited, 789 S. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove, Ill. 60089 for $12.50 postpaid, is an excellent guidebook for everyone with Dutch ancestry.

Its bibliography contains a wealth of sources to consult for your Colonial Dutch lines and an entire chapter is devoted to Dutch records in America. One of the most valuable sources for you is the lists of published church records, which date back to the 17th Century. These are widely available in libraries with genealogical collections.

Q: I’ve always wondered about my father’s people, but I have so little to go on as he was orphaned at age 5. He remembers his father and mother’s names and his brothers. Is is possible to locate his brothers or other living members of the family?

A: The Salvation Army operates a Missing Persons Locater Service. However, it has specific guidelines for this search and requires a $5 non-refundable fee.

Contact the nearest Salvation Army office to secure information and/or a missing persons inquiry form.

If your father’s parents were living in the United States at the time of the 1900 census, those records can be consulted. The 1900 census has been Soundexed (indexed by the sound of surnames for each state), so all you need to know is the name and the state in which they lived at that time.

These census records are available at all regional branches of the National Archives--the one nearest you is in Seattle--and on interlibrary loans through many public libraries and the LDS (Mormon) Family History branch libraries.