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Dutch Arrivals: New York Immigration Lists (1881-1894)
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About the Data
This data set contains
information on over 50,000 Dutch immigrants who came to America between 1881 and
1894.
Partly in an effort to alleviate overcrowding of passenger ships, Congress enacted
legislation (3 Stat. 489) on March 2, 1819 to regulate the transport of passengers
in ships arriving from foreign ports. As a provision of this act, masters of such
ships were required to submit a list of all passengers to the collector of customs
in the district in which the ship arrived.
The legislation also provided that the collector of customs submit quarterly passenger
list reports to the Secretary of State, who was, in turn, required to submit the
information to Congress. The information was then published in the form of Congressional
documents. A further Congressional act passed on May 7, 1874 repealed the legislative
provision requiring collectors to send copies of passenger lists to the Secretary
of State. Thereafter, collectors of customs were to send only statistical reports
on passenger arrivals to the Department of Treasury.
These passenger lists are important primary sources of arrival data for the vast
majority of immigrants to the United States in the nineteenth century. With the
single exception of federal census records they are the largest, the most continuous,
and the most uniform body of records of the entire country.(Michael Tepper. American
Passenger Arrival Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc.
1993. Page 64.)
The information collected in this data set was extracted from the National Archives
Microfilm Series M237, "Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, NY, 1820-1897."
This microfilm series consists of original passenger lists from 1820 through 1897.
While the entire microfilm series spans 675 rolls, the information collected here
covers rolls 433 through 635. It includes individuals who arrived between January
1, 1820 and December 31, 1897. The information that you can learn will help create
a well-rounded picture of your Dutch ancestor's arrival in America.
The following information is included in this index: name; gender; birthplace;
age; occupation; country of origin; port of embarkation; ship accommodations;
port of arrival; date of arrival; intended destination; family status; occupation;
National Archive microfilm roll number; National Archives list number; name of
ship (often the type of ship is noted as well).
Field Example:
This data set contains the
following fields for each record. Please note that all fields may not be populated
for every record.
Name — In some records, you will find three question marks in place
of the given name or surname. This indicates that the name was not listed on the
original record. You may also find question marks in place of missing letters.
A question mark after a name indicates that the name spelling was unclear. You
may also occasionally find the same record listed in the index under two different
name spellings. Please note that not all unusual and uncertain names were noted
by question marks, so always be sure to check under various spellings if you are
having trouble locating a name.
You may have difficulty locating some names for the following reasons:
• Some given names have been abbreviated. For example, "Robert"
may appear as "Robt," and "Elizabeth" as "Eliz."
• Some given names are misspelled, contain typos, or may be spelled unusually.
• Some given and middle names are truncated. Specifically this happens when
the name, including the spaces between the given name, middle name, and last name,
is longer than twenty-three characters. For example, "McCormack, Annabelle Margaret"
would be listed as "McCormack, Annabelle Mar." If you are unable to locate a particular
given name and surname, try switching the given name to an initial, abbreviation,
or possible misspelling. If the surname is not common, you may want to search
only on the surname.
Port of Arrival — This field lists the individual's port of arrival,
which is New York.
Date of Arrival — This is the date of the individual's arrival in
the port of New York.
Age — The age of
the passenger.
Gender — The gender of the passenger (male or female).
Intended Destination — This field lists the passenger's intended final
destination. Some entries in this field will simply say "USA", others
will be more detailed and list a specific city or state.
Occupation — Lists the individual's occupation.
Family Status — This field indicates the individual's relationship
to the head of the family they arrived with (i.e. head of household, wife, daughter,
son, sister, brother, etc.)
Port of Embarkation — This is the port from which the individual departed
(usually this is in their home country). Please note that occasionally, this information
was recorded in the native language of the departure port. The most common ports
of departure for Dutch immigrants are Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Liverpool.
City of Birth — This field lists the individual's birthplace. A city
or province of the Netherlands may be listed, as may simply, "The Netherlands."
Name of Vessel —This is the name of the vessel that the individual
arrived on.
Ship Accommodations — This is the type of ship accommodations the
individual traveled in. The majority of Dutch immigrants traveled in "Steerage",
but other types of ship accommodations include "Second Class" and "First
Class."
Special Status — This field indicates if the individual was coming
to America on a "permanent sojourn", as a "tourist", or in
"transit."
Microfilm Roll — This is the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) microfilm roll number in series M237 that the passenger list containing
this individual can be found on.
Manifest Number — Every passenger list on each microfilm roll is assigned
a number. This number is the manifest number. The numbers are generally sequential
on each microfilm roll. This number can be used to more easily find the passenger
list that your ancestor appears on once you have the appropriate microfilm roll.
For tips on searching this and other data sets click
here.
More About the Data
Since the founding of New Netherland in 1615, the Dutch have been coming to America.
While ongoing since that time, Dutch immigration has ebbed and flowed based on
economic conditions and world events. The primary reason for Dutch immigration
was not religious persecution, political ideology, or cultural change. Instead,
most often, the Dutch chose the United States based on a practical decision that
such a move presented their best chance for prosperity. From the seventeenth century
forward, the Dutch in America have been a culture largely defined by a highly
religious social order, strong work ethic, and commitment to family and education.
Historically, most Dutch immigrants were farmers or artisans and made their way
through America's cities to settle in its rural areas. That rural predominance
has decreased over time, given the world's increased industrialization.
Source Information
New York. Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897.
Micropublication M237. Rolls # 433-635 . National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Information on Dutch immigrants extracted from the above listed source by Robert
P. Swierenga. Dr. Swierenga is the author of nine books and more than 40 articles
on Dutch immigration.
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