The United Stated requested that all shipping lines carrying passengers to the country kept thorough passenger lists, so-called ship manifests. These manifests did not only list the passengers’ names but also personal details. The shipping lines handed over the manifests to the immigration officials at the port of arrival and was used by the immigration officials to check off respective passenger. In the beginning US Immigration accepted the shipping lines’ own passenger lists. However, from 1855 all shipping lines had to use special lists with all the information US Immigration demanded.
Ship Manifests
The passenger ships carrying immigrants to America were obliged to keep lists of the passengers in accordance to the Immigration laws of the United States. These passenger lists were called Ship Manifests and were made up by the shipping companies and handed over to the immigration officials at the port of arrival. The contents of the manifests have changed through the years. In the beginning they contained very little information about the respective immigrant but became more comprehensive over the years.As Immigration laws changed so did the information required for the Immigration forms (Ship Manifests). In the days of Castle Garden the form simply asked for Name, Occupation, Age, Sex, Date of arrival and Country of Origin. With the Federal Government handling immigration with the opening of Ellis Island more information was required in the forms. The table below shows the number of questions asked::•1893 – 1906, 22 questions•1907 – 1918, 29 questions•1919 – 1925, 33 questions•1925 - ? 36 questionsBefore 1855 there was no immigrant processing station or system. The shipping companies just made up their own passenger lists with the most basic information to satisfy Customs who had no concern for the immigrant other than collecting any duty they might owe. Most immigrants paid no duty because they had nothing but their personal belongings and were then discharged onto the city streets. From August 1, 1855, through April 18, 1890, immigrants came through Castle Garden, operated by the State of New York. During that period, the shipping companies made their own passenger lists but in compliance with New York State requirements. The shipping company made up these lists and entered the data.By an Act of Congress on 3 March 1891 the office of Superintendent of Immigration in the Department of the Treasury was established. It had responsibility for administering alien contract-labor laws, with that they supplied the shipping companies with the required Manifest forms. The forms from then on were uniform US Government forms the shipping companies were supplied and required to use and were handed over to the immigration officials upon arrival.In 1893 there were 22 questions to be filled in for each immigrant, for example questions like “Who Paid Passage”, “Where going” and ”Are you compelled to work in the US”. For a while the United States became a “dumping” ground for undesirables in their home country. Also there were “shady” groups who would offer “free passage” that could be “worked-off” by signing a contract with them – illegal, it took advantage of those people once here; men, women and even children.For the legitimate, it was desirable to indicate a good “where going” reference such as family already here or a boyfriend who had come ahead she was planning to marry – to prove the “boyfriend”, many marriages were performed on Ellis Island before entry would be granted.The questions were designed to place some control over who was admitted. Also, it put a little responsibility on the shipping companies – those not granted admittance were returned home at shipping Company’s expense.The shipping companies divided the manifests into several lists and each manifest list had an identification number or letter. Each ship that came in had a number of “Lists” and each “List” had a limited number of sheets.The Medical Inspection Card had a large letter or number located on the front center. That number or letter was the Manifest lists identification number or letter. The medical card also held the immigrant’s “no on ship’s manifest” which was the person’s line number in the manifest list.Although not totally true, Scandinavians tended to be grouped together in a particular list, Russians grouped on another List, Germans on another and so on. Since many didn’t speak English and Immigration used interpreters, it may have been to make it easier to line people so the right interpreter was on hand to assist the Immigration officer.
The Emigration from Sweden to the USA (4d)
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS Carpathia which arrived at New York on June 10, 1904, from Liverpool, England. The ship departed from Liverpool on May 31. This is list “D”.
Ship Manifests 1907 – 1918, 29 Questions
All passengers in lines 26, 27 and 28 carry the family name Johansson and are from Helsingborg, Sweden. Number 28 is Per Hilmer Johansson who is the same person I have on the emigrant tickets above. As we see in the image his name Johansson is spelled Johanson and Per Hilmer has become Per Hilma. This misspelling was made by the shipping line when they made up the manifest. The number 10 to the right (not all columns are shown in this excerpt) is the total amount of money he carried - 10 dollars. Number 26, Fritz Johansson was Per Hilmer’s (no 28) best friend and Fritz states in the manifest that he is visiting his uncle in Brooklyn, New York (which was true). Per Hilmer was the first, in all the family, to leave Sweden. As such, he had no “good” going to reference to use in the United States. Since he and his friend had the same last name, bought tickets together, and came from the same place, they called themselves “brothers” for this voyage and he was thus able to call his friend’s uncle his. A gamble perhaps, but it worked and served the purpose.This story has been told by Per Hilmer’s son Peter Johnson, New York City.
Special thanks to Mr. Peter Johnson, New York City who has helped me with the manifests!
Ovan, Castle Garden. Fotot är från National Park Service.
Example of a Ship Manifest from 1881
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS City of Richmond which arrived at New York on July 18, 1881, from Southampton in England via Queenstown, Ireland.In the header of the manifest is an assurance made by the ship’s captain that the contents of the manifest are in accordance with the demands made by the Collector of Customs of the Collection District of New York.The questions asked in the manifest are, from left to right:Name – Age – Sex – Occupation – The Country to which they normally belong – The Country of which they intend to become inhabitants – Died on the voyage – Part of the vessel occupied by each during this voyage.
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS P Caland which arrived at New York on July 16, 1881, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.As we see on the image the header of this manifest has a somewhat different appearance, it is more elegant. The assurance made by the ship’s captain about the manifest’s contents are the same though.
Example of Ship Manifest from 1904
The image above is an excerpt from the above ship manifest, a manifest from 1881 for the ship SS City of Richmond. Passenger in line 432 is Johannes Nilsson, 23 years old, occupation lab (laborer). His nationality is noted further to the right is (not visible in excerpt) - Sweden.This Johannes Nilsson is the father of Per Hilmer Johansson whom I have used as an example in the chapter about the emigrant tickets. Johannes Nilsson lived in the United States between 1881 and 1883 but returned to Sweden.=========
The Spelling of the Immigrants’ Names
There is a widespread myth that family names were changed at Ellis Island. They were not.The legend goes that officials at Ellis Island, unfamiliar with the many languages and nationalities of the people arriving at Ellis Island, would change the names of those immigrants that sounded foreign, or unusual. However, inspectors did not create records of immigration; rather they checked the names of the immigrants against those recorded in the ship's manifest. The manifests were made up by the steamship companies and presented to the officials at Ellis Island when the ships arrived.Immigrant inspectors at Ellis Island simply accepted the names as recorded in the ship's manifests and never altered them unless persuaded that a mistake had been made in the spelling or rendering of the name.Immigration authorities had numerous interpreters to question immigrants if necessary to satisfy any question they might have. They were more concerned with the truthfulness of answers than the actual spelling of names.The immigration clerk had the manifest in front of him when an immigrant approached the desk in the Great Hall. The clerk then proceeded, usually through interpreters, to ask questions based on those found in the manifest. Their goal was to make sure that the answers matched.Although it is always possible that the names of passengers were spelt wrong, perhaps by the ship’s officers when the manifests were drawn up, it is more likely that immigrants were their own agents of change.
Also, a manifest of crew on board was submitted before the ship was allowed to leave port. A number of immigrants came as crew but that total is small compared to the millions who came as passengers.In the 1904 manifest found further down there are 22 questions asked. These 22 questions were used between 1893 and 1906.Below are two lists with the questions asked in the manifests between 1893 and 1906 respective between 1907 and 1918.
Ship Manifests 1893 – 1906, 22 Questions
This is a photo of the Cunard Line’s passenger steamship SS Carpathia or RMS Carpathia which is the British name. RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. The ship was built in 1901 and made its maiden voyage in 1903. The Carpathia became famous for rescuing the survivors of RMS Titanic after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.Carpathia herself was sunk in the Atlantic on July 17, 1918, during World War I, after being torpedoed by a German submarine. Carpathia displaced 8,700 tons and was 165 m (541 ft.) long and 19.66 m (64 ft. 6 in.) breadth. Top speed was 17.5 knots.Wikipedia Public Domain photo.
Example of a Ship Manifest from 1910
The image above is Ship Manifest for the SS Adriatic which arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton, England. This manifest has 29 questions.
Per Hilmer Johansson made a revisit to Sweden in 1910 to see relatives and friends. He is passenger no 28 in the manifest and he is now using the name Per Hilmer Johnson. The stamp on the right hand side reads "Non Immigrant Alien" which means that he is now a United States resident and is returning home.In the column 18, “whom to visit” he has given the name Britta Josefina Johnson who was his sister and she was living with him in his apartment at 208 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, New York.
The manifests were drawn up aboard the ocean liners by their staff. The Master (ship’s captain) as well as the ship’s surgeon was to certify with their signatures that the manifest was correct before it was handed over to the Immigration official at the port of arrival. The image to the left shows the certificate signed by the Masters. In this case the captain of the SS Adriatic which arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton. It is primarily the passengers’ health that is being guaranteed, mental and physical, but also that they are not destitute or criminals.
Above is the certificate signed by the ship surgeons. In this case the ship surgeon of the SS Adriatic which arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton. The surgeon certifies that he personally has examined all immigrants aboard the ship and that the medical notations in the manifest are correct.
This is a photo of the White Star Line’s passenger steamship SS Adriatic or RMS Adriatic which is the British name. RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. The ship was built in 1906 and made its maiden voyage in 1907. During World War I, the Adriatic served as a troopship and survived the war without incident. The Adriatic was 223 m (729 ft.) long and was able to carry up to 2,825 passengers. Top speed was 17 knots.
The United Stated requested that all shipping lines carrying passengers to the country kept thorough passenger lists, so-called ship manifests. These manifests did not only list the passengers’ names but also personal details. The shipping lines handed over the manifests to the immigration officials at the port of arrival and was used by the immigration officials to check off respective passenger. In the beginning US Immigration accepted the shipping lines’ own passenger lists. However, from 1855 all shipping lines had to use special lists with all the information US Immigration demanded.
Ship Manifests
The passenger ships carrying immigrants to America were obliged to keep lists of the passengers in accordance to the Immigration laws of the United States. These passenger lists were called Ship Manifests and were made up by the shipping companies and handed over to the immigration officials at the port of arrival. The contents of the manifests have changed through the years. In the beginning they contained very little information about the respective immigrant but became more comprehensive over the years.As Immigration laws changed so did the information required for the Immigration forms (Ship Manifests). In the days of Castle Garden the form simply asked for Name, Occupation, Age, Sex, Date of arrival and Country of Origin. With the Federal Government handling immigration with the opening of Ellis Island more information was required in the forms. The table below shows the number of questions asked::•1893 – 1906, 22 questions•1907 – 1918, 29 questions•1919 – 1925, 33 questions•1925 - ? 36 questionsBefore 1855 there was no immigrant processing station or system. The shipping companies just made up their own passenger lists with the most basic information to satisfy Customs who had no concern for the immigrant other than collecting any duty they might owe. Most immigrants paid no duty because they had nothing but their personal belongings and were then discharged onto the city streets. From August 1, 1855, through April 18, 1890, immigrants came through Castle Garden, operated by the State of New York. During that period, the shipping companies made their own passenger lists but in compliance with New York State requirements. The shipping company made up these lists and entered the data.By an Act of Congress on 3 March 1891 the office of Superintendent of Immigration in the Department of the Treasury was established. It had responsibility for administering alien contract-labor laws, with that they supplied the shipping companies with the required Manifest forms. The forms from then on were uniform US Government forms the shipping companies were supplied and required to use and were handed over to the immigration officials upon arrival.In 1893 there were 22 questions to be filled in for each immigrant, for example questions like “Who Paid Passage”, “Where going” and ”Are you compelled to work in the US”. For a while the United States became a “dumping” ground for undesirables in their home country. Also there were “shady” groups who would offer “free passage” that could be “worked-off” by signing a contract with them – illegal, it took advantage of those people once here; men, women and even children.For the legitimate, it was desirable to indicate a good “where going” reference such as family already here or a boyfriend who had come ahead she was planning to marry – to prove the “boyfriend”, many marriages were performed on Ellis Island before entry would be granted.The questions were designed to place some control over who was admitted. Also, it put a little responsibility on the shipping companies – those not granted admittance were returned home at shipping Company’s expense.The shipping companies divided the manifests into several lists and each manifest list had an identification number or letter. Each ship that came in had a number of “Lists” and each “List” had a limited number of sheets.The Medical Inspection Card had a large letter or number located on the front center. That number or letter was the Manifest lists identification number or letter. The medical card also held the immigrant’s “no on ship’s manifest” which was the person’s line number in the manifest list.Although not totally true, Scandinavians tended to be grouped together in a particular list, Russians grouped on another List, Germans on another and so on. Since many didn’t speak English and Immigration used interpreters, it may have been to make it easier to line people so the right interpreter was on hand to assist the Immigration officer.
The Emigration from
Sweden to the USA (4d)
Ship Manifests 1907 – 1918, 29 Questions
All passengers in lines 26, 27 and 28 carry the family name Johansson and are from Helsingborg, Sweden. Number 28 is Per Hilmer Johansson who is the same person I have on the emigrant tickets above. As we see in the image his name Johansson is spelled Johanson and Per Hilmer has become Per Hilma. This misspelling was made by the shipping line when they made up the manifest. The number 10 to the right (not all columns are shown in this excerpt) is the total amount of money he carried - 10 dollars. Number 26, Fritz Johansson was Per Hilmer’s (no 28) best friend and Fritz states in the manifest that he is visiting his uncle in Brooklyn, New York (which was true). Per Hilmer was the first, in all the family, to leave Sweden. As such, he had no “good” going to reference to use in the United States. Since he and his friend had the same last name, bought tickets together, and came from the same place, they called themselves “brothers” for this voyage and he was thus able to call his friend’s uncle his. A gamble perhaps, but it worked and served the purpose.This story has been told by Per Hilmer’s son Peter Johnson, New York City.
Special thanks to Mr. Peter Johnson, New York City who has helped me with the manifests!
There is a widespread myth that family names were changed at Ellis Island. They were not.The legend goes that officials at Ellis Island, unfamiliar with the many languages and nationalities of the people arriving at Ellis Island, would change the names of those immigrants that sounded foreign, or unusual. However, inspectors did not create records of immigration; rather they checked the names of the immigrants against those recorded in the ship's manifest. The manifests were made up by the steamship companies and presented to the officials at Ellis Island when the ships arrived.Immigrant inspectors at Ellis Island simply accepted the names as recorded in the ship's manifests and never altered them unless persuaded that a mistake had been made in the spelling or rendering of the name.Immigration authorities had numerous interpreters to question immigrants if necessary to satisfy any question they might have. They were more concerned with the truthfulness of answers than the actual spelling of names.The immigration clerk had the manifest in front of him when an immigrant approached the desk in the Great Hall. The clerk then proceeded, usually through interpreters, to ask questions based on those found in the manifest. Their goal was to make sure that the answers matched.Although it is always possible that the names of passengers were spelt wrong, perhaps by the ship’s officers when the manifests were drawn up, it is more likely that immigrants were their own agents of change.
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS P Calandwhich arrived at New York on July 16, 1881, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.As we see on the image the header of this manifest has a somewhat different appearance, it is more elegant. The assurance made by the ship’s captain about the manifest’s contents are the same though.
Example of Ship Manifest from 1904
The image above is an excerpt from the above ship manifest, a manifest from 1881 for the ship SS City of Richmond. Passenger in line 432 is Johannes Nilsson, 23 years old, occupation lab (laborer). His nationality is noted further to the right is (not visible in excerpt) - Sweden.This Johannes Nilsson is the father of Per Hilmer Johansson whom I have used as an example in the chapter about the emigrant tickets. Johannes Nilsson lived in the United States between 1881 and 1883 but returned to Sweden.=========
Also, a manifest of crew on board was submitted before the ship was allowed to leave port. A number of immigrants came as crew but that total is small compared to the millions who came as passengers.In the 1904 manifest found further down there are 22 questions asked. These 22 questions were used between 1893 and 1906.Below are two lists with the questions asked in the manifests between 1893 and 1906 respective between 1907 and 1918.
Ship Manifests 1893 – 1906, 22 Questions
Example of a Ship Manifest from 1881
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS City of Richmond which arrived at New York on July 18, 1881, from Southampton in England via Queenstown, Ireland.In the header of the manifest is an assurance made by the ship’s captain that the contents of the manifest are in accordance with the demands made by the Collector of Customs of the Collection District of New York.The questions asked in the manifest are, from left to right:Name – Age – Sex – Occupation – The Country to which they normally belong – The Country of which they intend to become inhabitants – Died on the voyage – Part of the vessel occupied by each during this voyage.
The image above is a Ship Manifest for the SS Carpathia which arrived at New York on June 10, 1904, from Liverpool, England. The ship departed from Liverpool on May 31. This is list “D”.
This is a photo of the Cunard Line’s passenger steamship SS Carpathia or RMS Carpathia which is the British name. RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. The ship was built in 1901 and made its maiden voyage in 1903. The Carpathia became famous for rescuing the survivors of RMS Titanic after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.Carpathia herself was sunk in the Atlantic on July 17, 1918, during World War I, after being torpedoed by a German submarine. Carpathia displaced 8,700 tons and was 165 m (541 ft.) long and 19.66 m (64 ft. 6 in.) breadth. Top speed was 17.5 knots.Wikipedia Public Domain photo.
Example of a Ship Manifest from 1910
The image above is Ship Manifest for the SS Adriaticwhich arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton, England. This manifest has 29 questions.
Per Hilmer Johansson made a revisit to Sweden in 1910 to see relatives and friends. He is passenger no 28 in the manifest and he is now using the name Per Hilmer Johnson. The stamp on the right hand side reads "Non Immigrant Alien" which means that he is now a United States resident and is returning home.In the column 18, “whom to visit” he has given the name Britta Josefina Johnson who was his sister and she was living with him in his apartment at 208 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, New York.
The manifests were drawn up aboard the ocean liners by their staff. The Master (ship’s captain) as well as the ship’s surgeon was to certify with their signatures that the manifest was correct before it was handed over to the Immigration official at the port of arrival. The image to the left shows the certificate signed by the Masters. In this case the captain of the SS Adriaticwhich arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton. It is primarily the passengers’ health that is being guaranteed, mental and physical, but also that they are not destitute or criminals.
Above is the certificate signed by the ship surgeons. In this case the ship surgeon of the SS Adriatic which arrived at New York on October 13, 1910, from Southampton. The surgeon certifies that he personally has examined all immigrants aboard the ship and that the medical notations in the manifest are correct.
This is a photo of the White Star Line’s passenger steamship SS Adriatic or RMS Adriatic which is the British name. RMS stands for Royal Mail Ship. The ship was built in 1906 and made its maiden voyage in 1907. During World War I, the Adriatic served as a troopship and survived the war without incident. The Adriatic was 223 m (729 ft.) long and was able to carry up to 2,825 passengers. Top speed was 17 knots.
