Thank you for registering for the online course, Navigating Passenger Lists: Arrivals to the United States!
Passenger lists are an invaluable resource in family history research—they can help you “jump across the pond” to find your ancestors’ origins, provide clues in determining familial relationships, and later passenger lists can even provide details about what your ancestors looked like. But passenger lists can also be difficult to navigate—early lists provide minimal information, which can make it difficult to identify your ancestor in the records. You may also see variations in names and spellings, listed birth years, and more. This four-session online seminar will discuss the historical context of passenger lists and how they changed over time, and you’ll learn strategies, sources, and tools that can help you navigate passenger lists and trace your ancestors’ arrival to the United States!
This course includes four 90-minute classes and exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation. These recordings and all course materials will be available for the foreseeable future.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Class 1: Foundations of Passenger List Research
Presented by Hallie Kirchner
This first class will discuss the historical context surrounding passenger lists and migration, as well as the laws that shaped the way that passenger lists have been recorded. We’ll also discuss how to conduct research on individual ships, and how this can provide clues for tracing your ancestor’s migration.
Class 2: Early Passenger Lists
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
If you’ve searched for passenger lists before, you may have noticed that many collections don’t have records before 1820, which is when the U.S. government began requiring passenger lists to be filed. But what if your ancestor migrated before then? This class will discuss the rare early passenger lists from the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries.
Class 3: 19th Century Passenger Lists: Ellis Island and Beyond
Presented by Hallie Kirchner
In 1820, the U.S. government began requiring all passenger lists to be filed with the customs office. For genealogists, this means that passenger lists from this time period are much more widely available for your research—though finding your ancestor in them is still no easy task! This class will discuss tips and strategies for locating and analyzing 19th century passenger lists to further your research.
Class 4: 20th Century Migration Records: Passenger Lists and More
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
When we think of passenger lists, images of Ellis Island and waves of 19th century immigrants often enter our minds first. But for those ancestors who migrated in the 20th century, there is a wealth of records to explore, and passenger lists are just the tip of the iceberg. This class will discuss extended passenger lists, embarkation records, passport records, border crossings, visa records, registration cards, and flight lists.
COURSE HANDOUTS
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Foundations of Passenger List Research
Live broadcast: April 5, 2023
Presented by: Hallie Kirchner
Running time: 1:35:08
Class 2: Early Passenger Lists
Live broadcast: April 12, 2023
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running time: 1:44:41
Class 3: 19th Century Passenger Lists
Live broadcast: April 19, 2023
Presented by: Hallie Kirchner
Running time: 1:38:24
Class 4: 20th Century Migration Records: Passenger Lists and More
Live broadcast: April 26, 2023
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running time: 1:44:49
OTHER RESOURCES
Portable Genealogist: Immigration to the U.S.
Course On Demand: New York City Research: Four Hundred Years of History and Genealogy
Book: Original Lists of Persons of Quality
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Hallie Kirchner, Genealogist has a B.A. in History with minors in Art History and German Language and an M.A. in Historic Preservation. She joined American Ancestors in 2019 after several years of working in architectural restoration and preservation in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her previous work experience includes the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, the West Virginia Railroad Museum, and Bender Library at American University. While at the NYG&B, she was part of the research team who compiled the popular New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer. She is also a long-time volunteer for Unclaimed-Persons.org, assisting coroners in locating next-of-kin of deceased individuals. Her areas of expertise include, 19th-century America, Germany, New York, New York City, Norway, Italy, westward migration, immigration history, and descendancy research.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years. She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine, and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of twelve books including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding your Famous and Infamous Ancestors and Digitizing Your Family History. She is the editor of the newly released 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research. Her areas of expertise include, immigration and naturalization, late 19th- and early 20th-century urban research, missionaries, State Department Federal records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software and online trees.