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Then, look at a world map, writing down possible ports of origination and ports they'd be passing before arriving at Ellis Island. The reason for this is this, if they off-boarded anywhere along the way, or changed ships for some reason, the second ship could be the ship of manifest which would be from a different country.

For example: An ancestor from Liverpool may have changed ships in Bermuda, so the passenger's record might say Bermuda. If searching for someone from Liverpool the logical thing would be to skip over Bermuda.

2.) Once you have the ports listed, prioritize them in the most likely way any events would have transpired.

Using my grandfather to demonstrate this, my grandfather was from Switzerland which is inland, so I know he could not have sailed from there. The counties he could have sailed from are Italy, Spain or France. And he could have stopped in England or Bermuda on his way to Ellis Island. To prioritize this list, I'd write down France (his most likely departing port), Italy, Spain, England, and finally Bermuda. Once you have this list, you are ready to start searching Ellis Island archives.

At the top of the records page, the following fields appear: "Arrived" (referring to the date of arrival), "Age on Arrival," "Passenger Record," "Ship Manifest," and "Ship Image." Your search will begin with either "age" or "year of arrival," which ever you feel is the most accurate information you have about the person being searched. Age will be more common, and I will use age to show how to search.

3.) On the left side of the screen, each passenger has a corresponding number from the search. Using John Smith, age 19, as an example, the first John Smith age 19 has a corresponding number on the left of 93. On my tablet, I would write down 93.

4.) Click on the "Passenger Record." The only line of interest at this point is the second to the last line that reads, "Point of Departure."

If the city of departure is NOT in the first country on the priority list, simply write down the name of the departing city next to the corresponding number on your tablet. This could save time later. Continue going through the passenger's list writing the cities next to the corresponding number until a city is located in the first country of choice.

5.) Once a port of choice has been located, write down the manifest number located on the last line of the passenger's record.

6.) Click on "Original Ship Manifest" located at the top.

7.) Click on, "Click to enlarge manifest"

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