Using Government Records
Ellis Island Records
There are several different ways to find government records. If your ancestors came through Ellis Island, you can search for passenger records on Ellis Island's website.
Click here to go to the Ellis Island website. The site is free, but you will need to create an account to view the records. Follow the instructions below to create an account and conduct a search. After you click Sign In, you will be taken to the login screen. If you don't have a username and password, click "Yes, I am new to this site."
Fill out the form and click Submit. After that, you will be able to log in and use all parts of the site. To begin searching, click on Passenger Search and fill out the search form with as much information as you have.
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The results will show exact matches for your search. You can change the settings to show close matches or alternate spellings. The results will show passenger records, ship manifests, or pictures of the ship. Not all results will have all of these records. Click View to view a passenger record.
Example Passenger Record:
From this record, you can estimate the passenger's year of birth.
Example Ship's Manifest:
Example Ship's Manifest:
Ship manifests can provide information on family members traveling together, ages, country of birth, and more. They can be difficult to read, and not all manifests will have all of the information.
National Archives Records
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The National Archives has a section devoted to genealogy research. They have research tips, reference reports, and a guide for genealogists.
The National Archives site includes links to the 1940 and 1930 Census Records, which can be used to find family members in the same household. Census records also are available in Ancestry.
Most military records are available only through microfilm, but some records are available online. For information on all of the military records available through NARA, visit http://www.archives.gov/research/military/. Records of servicemen and women who left the service more than 62 years ago are open to the public. Records of servicemen and women who left less than 62 years ago are only available to next of kin.
The best way to search records on the NARA website is using the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) catalog. You can do a basic search or browse by category.
To do a basic search, enter the name of the person you are searching in the search box and click Search.
The National Archives site includes links to the 1940 and 1930 Census Records, which can be used to find family members in the same household. Census records also are available in Ancestry.
Most military records are available only through microfilm, but some records are available online. For information on all of the military records available through NARA, visit http://www.archives.gov/research/military/. Records of servicemen and women who left the service more than 62 years ago are open to the public. Records of servicemen and women who left less than 62 years ago are only available to next of kin.
The best way to search records on the NARA website is using the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) catalog. You can do a basic search or browse by category.
To do a basic search, enter the name of the person you are searching in the search box and click Search.
The site will display a list of results:
Click on View Records. The example record below is for an enlisted soldier from World War II. The record includes the soldier's residence, place of enlistment, year of birth, education level, marital status, and more.
The Access to Archival Databases also has information from passenger lists, prisoners of war, labor unions, businesses and more. Keep in mind that may have to order copies of microfilm in order to get these records.
For more information on the National Archives, visit their blog, NARAtions.
For Tips and Tricks, click Next Below.
For more information on the National Archives, visit their blog, NARAtions.
For Tips and Tricks, click Next Below.