Free Online New York Immigration Records

Immigration Records are some of the richest genealogy record sets and can provide excellent clues as well as data about your ancestors. Specifically, when they came to America or traveled but did not immigrate. Emigration records can tell you when they left their homeland and can direct you to when they might have immigrated if you are having trouble finding the immigration record.

What types of information are available in these records? First of all, let me clarify that naturalization records are a related type of record. You can discover online naturalization collections and records available via links on this website on the Naturalizations Page. In the Petition for Naturalization record for example, where and when the applicant arrived in the U.S. is stated. The Certificate of Arrival is another immigration document used in the naturalization process.

Here’s an article that will list the information available: 45 Reasons to Research Immigration Records

Regarding immigration – it bears repeating – not EVERYONE came through Ellis Island. It was opened between 1892 and 1954. Approximately 12 million people came through that immigration station. The highest year was 1907 when just over 1,000,000 people came through. For immigrants landing in the U.S. in the 19th century and early 20th century, the busiest ports were New York, Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. There were almost 100 ports that were used by immigrants to enter the U.S., via the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes.

It is also helpful to review emigration records as well. It sometimes occurs that an immigration record is not available online for a variety of reasons, but you might find some useful information from emigration records where one of you’re ancestors embarked on their journey to America.

Here are a few free online sites that have online emigration records available.

Denmark – The Digital Danish Emigration Archives
Norway – Digital Archives – Emigrant Records
Germany – Oldenburg Emigrants Database
Ireland – Irish Famine Emigrants 1846-1851 database
Russia – Russians to America Passenger Data File, 1834 – 1897
Germany – Germans to America Passenger Data File, 1850 – 1897
Italy – Italians to America Passenger Data File, 1855 – 1900
Germany – Hamburg Passenger List

Also listed are passenger lists for travel that may not have been immigration-related.  I have discovered interesting clues and information from non-immigration travel records as well.

Below are links to Free Online Immigration and Travel Collections. The first set is general nationwide collection links, followed by the collection links for the specific state.

Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

New York Immigration Records

United States

• Emergency Passport Applications Issued Abroad, 1877-1907; Indexes, 1874-1918
• Germans from Russia, Miscellaneous Passenger Manifests
• Immigration of Germans to the United States, created, ca. 1977 – 2002, Documenting the Period 1850 – 1897
• Immigration of Italians to the United States, created, ca. 1977 – 2002, Documenting the Period 1855 – 1900
• Immigration of Russians to the United States, created, ca. 1977 – 2002, Documenting the Period 1834 – 1897
• Index to Mennonite Immigrants on United States Passenger Lists, 1872 – 1904
• Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
• Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
• Index to the Passenger Lists to the United States from Oct. 1, 1819 to Sept. 30, 1820
• Japanese Immigrants to the United States (from BYU Idaho), 1887-1924
• Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932
• New York, Castle Garden
• New York, Ellis Island
• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: a Guide to Published Records of more than 720,000 Immigrants who came to the New World between the Sixteenth and the mid- Twentieth Centuries
• Passenger Lists from Ireland
• Passenger Lists of Ships coming to North America, 1607-1825
• Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving in the United States Register
• Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600s – Several Arrival States
• Special Passports 1829-1897; Indexes, 1829-1894
• Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic & Gulf Coast Ports (excluding New York)
• Swedish Passenger Arrivals in U.S. Ports, 1820-1850
• U.S., German Immigrants, 1712-1933 (free Index, Images require a subscription)
• United States Immigration, Ship Arrivals & Passenger Lists
• United States, Border Crossing from Canada to United States, New Brunswick, Records of Aliens Pre-Examined at Saint John, New Brunswick, Prior to Admission at the U.S.-Canada Border, 1917-1942
• United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1894-1954
• United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, Land Border Entries and Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 1894-1905
• United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, Records and Certificates of Aliens pre-examined at Winnipeg, Manitoba Prior to Admission at the U.S.-Canada border, 1917-1954
• United States, Border Crossings from Canada to United States, 1895-1956
• United States, Border Crossings from Mexico to United States,, 1903-1957
• United States, Eastern US Ports, Passenger Lists
• United States, Famine Irish Passenger Index, 1846-1851
• United States, Germans to America Index, 1850-1897
• United States, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
• United States, Index to Alien Case Files, 1940-2003
• United States, Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874
• United States, Index to Passenger Lists, 1820-1940
• United States, Italians to America Index, 1855-1900
• United States, Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946
• United States, Japanese Immigration Index
• United States, New England, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1911-1954
• United States, Passport Applications, 1795-1925
• United States, Passport to Paradise: the Copenhagen “Mormon” Passenger Lists
• United States, Russians to America Index, 1834-1897

New York

• Alms House Admission Foreigners & Nativity Records with Ships Names 1855-1858
• Alphabetical Card Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Alexandria Bay, Cape Vincent, Champlain, Clayton, Fort Covington, Mooers, Rouses Point, Thousand Island Bridge, and Trout River, New York, July 1929-April, 1956
• Arrival of Vessels at the Port of New York, 1797-1801
• Aux Wallons qui fondèrent New-York, éphérides pour le Troisième Centenaire
• Book Indexes to New York Passenger Lists, 1906-1921
• Buffalo, Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954
• Buffalo, New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1945-1974
• Die Deutschen im staate New York
• Immigrants to New England, 1700-1775
• Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York 1820-1846
• Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York 1820-1846
• Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York 1820-1846
• Jefferson County, Migration, Internal, Vermont and New York Vital Records
• Lackawanna, New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1945-1974
• Lewiston, Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954
• List of Immigrants Recorded at New York, 1802-1814
• Migrations from New England to New York and New Jersey
• New York Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1906-1942
• New York City, Bond Registers, 1819-1840, 1855-1858
• New York City, Canada Passenger Lists, Collection Record, 1881-1922
• New York City, Excerpts from Ship Passengers List of N. Y. Harbors with Possible Historical Interest for Iowa and Johnson Co., Pioneer Families Who Migrated in 1854
• New York City, Immigrant Records, 1884-1952
• New York City, Immigration Form 30A, Ocean Arrivals, 1919-1924
• New York City, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City, Compiled 1944-1948, Collection Record
• New York City, Jewish Immigrant Aid Societies’ Records of Jewish Arrivals, 1913-1947
• New York City, Netherlands Passenger Lists Holland-America Line, Collection Record, 1900-1974
• New York City, Netherlands, Holland-America Line Passenger Lists, 1900-1974
• New York City, Personregister över Invandrare Från Sverige Till New York 1851-1869
• New York City, Ships’ Passenger Lists for Canada, 1900-1922, 1925-1935
• New York City, Voices from Ellis Island, an Oral History of American Immigration, a Project of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
• New York County, Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen Passagier-Liste Des Dampfers “Neckar”, Capitain R. Bussius, Von Bremen Nach New York, 6 Mai 1883
• New York County, Passenger List of the Steamship, Guiding Star, from Copenhagen, Denmark to New York City, June 29, 1869
• New York Immigration Research Guide, at NYG&B
• New York Passenger and Crew Lists, Collection Record, 1909, 1925-1957
• New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924
• New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924
• New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924
• New York, Book Indexes to Passenger Lists, 1906-1942
• New York, Castle Garden
• New York, County Naturalization Records, 1791-1980
• New York, Eastern District Naturalization Petitions, Index, 1865-1957
• New York, Ellis Island
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 1
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 2
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 3
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 4
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 5
• New York, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Volume 6
• New York, Immigrants from Austria, Poland, and Galicia, Index, 1890-1891
• New York, Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted, 1917-1957
• New York, Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted, 1917-1957
• New York, Index to Alien Crewmen Who Were Discharged or Who Deserted, Collection Record, 1917-1957
• New York, Index to Passenger Lists, 1820-1846
• New York, Index to Passenger Lists, 1820-1846
• New York, Index to Passenger Lists, Collection Record, 1820-1846
• New York, Index to Passengers Arriving at New York City, Compiled 1944-1948
• New York, Index to Passengers Lists of Vessels, Collection Record, 1897-1902
• New York, Index to Vessels, 1897-1956
• New York, Index to Vessels, Collection Record, 1897-1956
• New York, Indexes and Lists of Passengers, Crew and Vessels, 1906-1942
• New York, Manifests of Alien Passengers and Crew Members, 1887-1952
• New York, Naturalization Index (Soundex), 1792-1906
• New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957
• New York, New York, Passenger Lists
• New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956
• New York, Northern Arrival Manifests, 1902-1956
• New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1945-1974
• New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1891
• New York, Passenger Lists, 1903
• New York, Passenger Lists, Collection Record, 1820-1891
• New York, Soundex to Passenger and Crew Lists, 1887-1921
• New York, Soundex to Passenger and Crew Lists, 1887-1921
• New York, Soundex to Passenger and Crew Lists, Collection Record, 1887-1921
• New York, Southern District Index to Petitions for Naturalization, 1824-1941
• New York, Southern District Naturalization Index, 1917-1950
• New York, Southern District, U.S District Court Naturalization Records, 1824-1946
• New York, Western District, Naturalization Index, 1907-1966
• Niagara Falls, Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954
• Ogdensburg Passenger and Crew Lists, 1948-1972, Index & Images
• Ogdensburg, New York, Ogdensburg Passenger and Crew Lists, 1948-1972
• Ogdensburg, New York, Ogdensburg Passenger and Crew Lists, Collection Record, 1948-1972
• Onondaga County, British Aliens in Onondaga County in 1812
• Onondaga County, Immigration and Naturalization Records, Onondaga County, New York, 1802-1859, in 2 Vols
• Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1897-1942; Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, June 16, 1897- June 30, 1902; Index (soundex) to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, July 1, 1902-July 1, 1948
• Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1944-1957
• Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1820-1897; Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving in New York, 1820-1846
• Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, 1820-97
• Passport Applications, 1795-1925; Indexes, 1830-1831, 1850-1852, 1860-1923
• Port of New York Immigrants with Ohio as their Stated Destination, September 1, 25, 1852
• Records for Passengers Who Arrived at the Port of New York During the Irish Famine, created, 1977 – 1989, Documenting the Period 1/12/1846 – 12/31/1851
• Records of the Russian Consular Offices in the United States
• Register of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919
• Rensselaer County, Year Book of the Holland Society of New York, 1886-1929
• Rensselaer County, Year Book of the Holland Society of New York, 1913-1915
• Rhode Island, Maine New York, and Connecticut Passenger Lists, 1820-1874
• Rochester, Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Buffalo, Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, New York, 1902-1954
• Rouses Point and Waddington Crew Lists, 1954-1956
• Rouses Point and Waddington Crew Lists, 1954-1956, Index & Images
• Rouses Point, New York, Rouses Point and Waddington Crew Lists, Collection Record, 1954-1956
• Scandinavian Immigrants in New York, 1630-1674, with Appendices on Scandinavians in Mexico and South America, 1532-1640; Scandinavians in Canada, 1619-1620; some Scandinavians in New York in the Eighteenth Century; German Immigrants in New York, 1630-1674
• Ship Passenger Lists, New York and New Jersey, 1600-1825
• Ships Passenger Lists to New Netherland, New York 1624 to 1664
• Soundex Card Manifests of Alien and Citizen Arrivals at Hogansburg, Malone, Morristown, Nyando, Ogdensburg, Rooseveltown, and Waddington, New York, July 1929-April 1956
• The Mohawk Valley of New York, Early Assembly Point for Westward Migration
• The Palatine Immigration to New York in 1710
• Tonawanda, New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1945-1974