Michigan, Wayne, Detroit, Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?

This is an alphabetical card file manifest of individuals entering the United States through the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954. Includes a few records of persons entering at Port Huron, Sault St. Marie, and other Michigan ports. Corresponds to NARA Publication M1478: Card Manifests (Alphabetical) of Individuals Entering Through the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954

Passenger arrival lists known as customs manifests date back to 1820. Congressional action in 1891 resulted in federal immigration officials recording the immigrants’ arrival.

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954.

Collection Contents

Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, Michigan
Index Card, Front
Index Card, back

The index cards may contain all or part of the following information:

Port and date of departure
Port and date of entry
Name of ship
Country of citizenship
Name of passenger, including maiden name of women
Names of persons accompanying passenger
Age, gender, marital status and occupation of passenger
Date and place of birth of passenger
Address of last permanent residence
Name and address of friend or relative at last address
Final destination
Name and address of friend or relative in U.S.
Physical description and distinguishing marks
Who paid for passage
Purpose of visit

How Do I Search the Collection?

To begin your search, it is helpful to know

The full name of your ancestor
The approximate date of immigration

If you do not know this information, check the census records after 1900.

To search this collection by name:
Fill in the requested information on 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. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

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 "Name Range" category 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. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example, use passenger lists to:

Learn an immigrant’s place of origin
Confirm their date of arrival
Learn foreign and “Americanized” names
Find records in his or her country of origin such as emigrations, port records, or ship’s manifests.

Tips to Keep in Mind

If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct.
Continue to search the passenger lists to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have immigrated at the same time.
If your ancestor has an uncommon surname, you may want to obtain the passenger list of every person who shares your ancestor’s surname if they lived in the same county or nearby. You may not know how or if they are related, but the information could lead you to more information about your own ancestors.
Arrival lists was used by legal authorities to gather personal information about immigrants prior to the person being allowed to live in the United States.
The information was supplied by the immigrant or a traveling companion (usually a family member). Incorrect information was occasionally given, or mistakes may have been made when the clerk guessed at the spelling of foreign names.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, Now What?

Check for variant spellings of the name.
Look for other indexes. Records are often indexed by local historical and genealogical societies.
Search the passenger lists year by year.
Search the indexes of other port cities.

Known Issues with This Collection

	Problems with this collection? See a list of known issues, workarounds, tips, restrictions, future fixes, news and other helpful information.

For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to support@familysearch.org. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

[ http://www.ship-wreck.com/shipwreck/wmhs/ Wisconsin Marine Historical Society Great Lakes Vessel Enrollment Database]
US Ports of Arrival and their Available Passenger Lists 1820-1957
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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 Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954.

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 Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954.