Germans to America Passenger Data File, 1850 to 1897

The Germans to America Passenger Data File Index covers the years 1850 through 1897 and contains 4,062,903 records compiled from the National Archives. Individuals who are interested in learning more about the Germans to America Passenger Data File Index can visit the National Archives .

Information Available In This Collection

The records collected in the Germans to America Passenger Data File Index display the first and last name of the passenger, gender, age, native country, date of arrival, year of birth and destination.

About the National Archives

The National Archives preserves and makes available the records in the Germans to America Passenger Data File Index. Individuals who want to view these records or obtain copies should contact the National Archives using the following contact information.

National Archives
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland 20740
866-272-6272

The National Archives plays a key role in helping to preserve America's historic past by recording and storing records dating back to 1776 generated mostly by the federal government. Some of its more famous records include the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, although the National Archives also holds the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, the amendments that abolished slavery and gave women the right to vote, and the check used to purchase Alaska. The National Archives is also the country's repository for historic military records, immigration records, census records, photographs and motion picture recordings. These make the National Archives a valuable resource for individuals doing genealogy research.

The immigration records held by the National Archives include an index with the German immigrants that entered New York between 1850 through 1897. These records usually include the full name of the passenger, along with gender, occupation, literacy, native country, travel compartment, the identification number for the ship manifest, name of ship, port of departure and date and port of arrival. Around 90 percent of the immigrants from this index reported Germany (or a German state) as their native country, while the remaining 10 percent reported countries like Switzerland and France. A total of 109 different country codes were used in the original records.

The National Archives has taken many of its record collections and inputted them into their online database, ADD (Access to Archival Databases). This access is free and open to the public. While there are many records that only exist on paper and microfilm, these electronic databases allow individuals to search using various criteria, including name. The National Archives welcomes visitors to research records in person and also allows most records to be copied.