How to Find Passenger Lists for Databases without Images
Sometimes we run into a simple problem. We find an index with data that does not link to an image that we can examine. As basic as that problem may be, surmounting it can be a significant challenge. Let’s take an example using passenger lists. Read the given information below and think about how you might solve this puzzle. (Or better yet, stop after the the problem is presented and try to solve the puzzle before continuing on to the solutions.)
Given Information: Giuseppe Milione is included in FamilySearch’s “United States Italians to America Index, 1855–1900.” This particular Giuseppe Milione was reported to be a laborer, aged 43 [born about 1857], and had been a resident of “S. Margheritta.” He immigrated aboard the Spartan Prince, which departed from Naples and arrived in New York 6 May 1900.
(click to enlarge for a clearer image)
The Problem: This index at FamilySearch does not link to an image of the passenger list. How do you find that image? Bonus points if you can identify more than one pathway to that image.
Perhaps you’ll first try another FamilySearch collection that does include images: “New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892–1924.” In that collection, you might search for Giuseppe Milione, born in Italy between 1850 and 1860.
(click to enlarge for a clearer image)
Hmm. That search only returns two results, neither of them the one we’re looking for. What now?
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About Author
Aaron Goodwin
Aaron is a genealogist and house historian specializing in New York City research across all time periods, from the Dutch colonial era to the 20th century. His book, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, won the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources. He is also editor of NGS Monthly, former contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and former editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. In 2011, he received the American Society of Genealogists’ Scholar Award.
Another source is Steve Morse’s index.
https://stevemorse.org/ellis2/ellisgold.html
In case the ancestor came via Hamburg and you know the ship name, as in this case, there are Hamburg departure passenger lists. https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/43289?availability=Family%20History%20Library
I’ve used the Immigrant Ships Transcribers website to check for disparities in the way the manifests were indexed. Sometimes I’ll find the error easily that way, making it possible to navigate to the actual record. (https://www.immigrantships.net/)
This is my 51st year of family research. Without question this is the best explanation of how to locate a specific image that I have ever read in all those years. I could wish that more authors would take the time to publish similar articles with such clarity to help those who cannot find the documents they are seeking. Congratulations, Aaron!!
When you have an ordered set of images as in Solution #3 (and if you know how they are ordered) the most efficient way to find the one you want is to do a “binary search”.
Suppose you have a million images arranged alphabetically: you look at the middle image; if precedes the image you want, you ignore all the images that come before, but if it follows the one you want you ignore all the images that come after; you now have half a million images. You repeat the process by looking at the new middle image, continuing until you find the one you want. For a million images, you end up looking at only 20 images!
In the example given for Solution #3, where you need to search only 916 images, using a binary search results in having to look at no more than 10 images. Formula: log-base-2 of 1,000,000 = 19.93; log-base-2 of 916 = 9.8.