Journey Home Genealogy

Irish Genealogical Research | Dwight Radford

Call Today! 801.699.2450

Or send us an Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Ireland
  • United States
    • American Genealogy (general)
    • Native American
    • African American
  • Canada
  • International Genealogy
    • England and Wales
    • Scotland
    • Other Research
  • Research Services
  • Research Proposal

Why Can’t I Find My Ancestors in the Baltimore Passenger List?

17 Nov By Dwight Leave a Comment

When you are looking at United States passenger arrival records, sometimes you just wonder how complete they really are. Many people don’t think in these terms, but gaps in the records would go a long way to explain why you’re not finding your ancestors. Many researchers just assume the passenger arrival records are all complete – not so!

A case in point, which is always frustrating to me as a professional genealogist are the arrival records for Baltimore, Maryland. Irish immigrant research can be difficult enough, so the positive of knowing there are gaps in records, such as the Baltimore lists, explains a lot. My discussion below comes from the wonderful book by Michael Tepper American Passenger Arrival Records (1993), pp. 83-85, www.genealogical.com A resource book worth consulting for all the ports.

Many early Baltimore passenger arrival records were destroyed in a fire. However, valuable information has been filled in by way of other transcripts or abstracts. Even with this as a positive, what you need to be aware in Irish immigrant research is there entire years which are missing. Among these are 1842, 1844, 1846, 1847, 1851-56, 1864 and 1867. Of course this is right before, during and after, peek Irish immigration.

Some of this information is supplemented by other sources such as City Lists or Quarterly Abstracts. However, don’t assume all information is duplicated. For a major port such as Baltimore, what you need to be aware of is that there are some substitutes, and this includes four categories:

*State Department Transcripts (1820, 1822-27, 1829)

*City Lists (1833-66)

*Quarterly Abstracts (1820-69)

*Original Lists (1820-91)

The Baltimore passenger arrival records are indexed on microfilm as well on Ancestry as “Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948, 1854-1957”: www.ancestry.com

Filed Under: Irish Ancestry Tagged With: Immigration and Emigration, Passenger List

About Dwight

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Dwight A. Radford

Dwight A. Radford is a professional family history researcher. Along with his staff they specialize in Ireland, England, Canada, African American, Native American, and United States. Connecting families together through historical documents and then creating a cherished family heirloom published book for generations to enjoy. Full bio…

Follow Our Blog

Blog

  • How do You Determine the Associates of Your Ancestor?
  • When to Jump Over the Water in Your Research
  • Grand Lodge of Ireland Membership Records Online

Online Course

  • My Courses
  • Courses
  • My Account

Contact

  • About
  • Contact
  • Research Services

Journey Home Geneology © 2023 · Designed by GO Marketing