Tens of millions of people can trace at least one ancestor from Ellis Island. Personally, about 50 of my ancestors came through Ellis Island.
From the website: “The Passenger Search database allows you to look for family members who arrived at the Port of New York from 1820 to 1957. At the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and on the Foundation’s website you can explore your family heritage by searching nearly 65 million passenger records and ship manifests, examining information collected at debarkation points.”
There is a very good search capability. You can search for passengers, as well as ships. With the Passenger Search function, you enter a person’s name. You can specify the following criteria for the search; Contains, Exact Matches, Close Matches, Sounds Like, Alternate Spellings, and Last Name as First.
To access the site, go to www.StatueofLiberty.org/ellis-island
FamilySearch has three collections that are useful for searching for your ancestors who entered the country through the Port of New York.
New York Passenger Lists (Castle Garden) 1820–1891
www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1849782
New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island) 1892–1924
www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1368704
New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists 1925–1957
www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1923888
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