In One Port, Out Another!

June is Immigrant Heritage Month, so we thought it would be nice to discuss ports of departure. These are ports that your immigrant ancestor may have departed from, stopped in, or traveled to on their way to their destination in the U.S.

Here is a short list of some ports of departure and where records may be found for them:

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands – try the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild for ships that sailed from this port in the 1800s.
2. Belgium – Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild has some passenger lists for the 1800s and early 1900s.
3. Asia – FamilySearch has Japan Passenger Lists from 1893-1941.
4. Australia –
   1. Ancestry has New South Wales, Australia, Departing Crew and Passenger Lists, 1816-1825, 1898-1911
   2. FamilySearch has Australia, Victoria Coastal Passenger Lists, 1852-1924.
5. Germany - The German Emigrant Database contains passenger lists from German ports in the 1800s and early 1900s.
6. Liverpool, England - Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild has passenger lists from the 1800s and early 1900s.

When tracking down one of my immigrant ancestors, I discovered that the ship he was traveling on left one port, stopped briefly at another port along the way, and arrived here in the US. The port listed was the port the ship stopped at briefly and not the originating departure port. This can be confusing, so remember to check the other relevant information listed about your ancestor.

What port did your immigrant ancestor come from? Where did they arrive? Let us know in the comments below.

Sheri V.
Midwest Genealogy Center