in finding information about your immigrant ancestors? You're
not alone. Passenger lists are the most popular sources you can
turn to in your efforts to discover more facts about your
immigrant forebears. Several kinds of passenger lists exist:
those created by officials at the port of embarkation and at the
port of arrival, and passenger lists created by shipping
companies. Often the same list, prepared by the ship's crew,
served the needs of port officials and shipping merchants.
Police and customs officials in ports of embarkation were
required by law to identify everyone leaving the port; passenger
lists simplified their work. Ships' owners, who sold space on
board their ships, wanted to ensure that only ticketed
passengers were on their vessels. Officials in the ports to
which emigrant ships sailed wanted to admit only immigrants who
qualified under their immigration laws. These government agents
required that lists of passengers be filed with them before
passengers were allowed to disembark. The keeping