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The movement of people across oceans has shaped every chapter of North American history. From the earliest colonial voyages of the 1500s to the crowded steamships of the late 1800s, millions sought a better life across the Atlantic. The Passenger and Immigration Lists Index captures these stories in one massive, enduring resource.
A Record of Centuries
Spanning more than four hundred years, this index combines records from both the United States and Canada. Originally compiled by P. William Filby and expanded over decades, it connects researchers to over five million immigrants who made the journey. Each entry preserves fragments of a life—name, ship, port, destination, and sometimes even occupation or age.
These details reveal patterns of settlement that shaped North America. In the 1600s and 1700s, English, Dutch, and French settlers dominated. By the 1800s, arrivals included Germans, Irish, Italians, and Scandinavians. The later 19th century brought Eastern Europeans, each community adding new traditions and skills to a growing nation.
Beyond Passenger Lists
While ship lists form the heart of this index, it draws on far more sources. Local histories, naturalization papers, land grants, and church records fill in the gaps where traditional manifests are lost. The collection bridges centuries when record-keeping was inconsistent, linking scattered archives into one unified research tool.
For genealogists, this means the index is not only about arrivals. It helps trace a person’s movements—where they lived, when they married, or how they gained citizenship. In many cases, these entries provide the first clue to an ancestor’s European origin or ship of passage.
Finding the Names
The index has been digitized and can be searched through major genealogy databases. A single entry often points to the original record location, letting researchers follow the trail to deeper documentation. Because many early lists were handwritten, the index serves as both a translation and preservation of fragile sources that might otherwise be inaccessible.
Why It Matters
The Passenger and Immigration Lists Index is more than a catalog of names. It is a record of determination, sacrifice, and new beginnings. Each entry represents a person who left one world for another—farmers, craftsmen, laborers, and families who reshaped continents through their choices.
Whether your ancestors arrived on a wooden ship in the 1600s or a steamliner in the 1890s, this index offers a window into their journey. It connects modern descendants with the courage that built both the United States and Canada and reminds us that migration is one of humanity’s oldest and most defining stories.