United States, Panama Canal Zone, Employment Records and Sailing lists - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

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This article describes a collection of records scheduled to become available at FamilySearch.org.
Panama Canal Zone, United States

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Record Description
Record Type	Employment and Sailing Lists
Record Group	RG 185: of the Panama Canal, 1848-1999
Collection years	1905-1937
National Archives Identifier	514

































Archive
National Archives and Records Administration

What is in the Collection?

The collection consists of an index and images of employee records (service history cards), sailing lists of contract laborers, and employee identification records (metal check cards and applications). This collection corresponds to NARA Record Group 185, Records of the Panama Canal, 1848-1999. Index to applications for Photo Metal Checks, 1918-1919 courtesy of the National Archives.

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States, Panama Canal Zone, Employment Records and Sailing lists, 1905-1937.

Collection Content

Panama, Employment Records from the Panama Canal
Service Record Card (front)
Service Record Card (back)
List of Contract Laborers

The records may include the following information:

Name
Age
Birth place
Residence
Change in status
Position or job
Service dates
Salary
Where Appointed
File number
Remarks

How Do I Search the Collection?

To begin your search it is helpful to know the full name along with some identifying information such as birth date, birth place, residence, or approximate dates of employment.

Search the Collection

To search the collection by name:
Fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

To browse by image:
To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links:
⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page
⇒Select the appropriate "Record Description" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:

There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Save a copy of the image or transcribe the information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details about your ancestor. Add this new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

The following suggestions may help you in your search:

Compile a list of other personnel with the same surname. This is especially helpful if the surname is unusual.
When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
If you are having difficulty locating your ancestor, look for variant spellings of the surnames. You should also look for abbreviated names and nicknames.

Related Websites

How You Can Contribute

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Citing this Collection

Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Collection Citation:
The citation for this collection can be found on the Collection Details Page in the section Cite This Collection.

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

When looking at a record, the citation is found below the record. You can search records in this collection by visiting the search page for United States, Panama Canal Zone, Employment Records and Sailing lists, 1905-1937.

Image citation:
This template has been deprecated and is no longer used.

When looking at an image, the citation is found on the Information tab at the bottom left of the screen. You can browse through images in this collection by visiting the browse page for United States, Panama Canal Zone, Employment Records and Sailing lists, 1905-1937.