Germans to America - Passengers Arriving at US Ports

Are you researching German immigrants to America during the 19th century? Germans to America, compiled and edited by Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby, is a series of books which indexes passenger arrival records of ships carrying Germans to the U.S. ports of  Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. It presently covers the  records of over 4 million passengers during  the period January 1850 through Jun 1897. Due to its inclusion criteria, this series is considered to be an incomplete—though fairly thorough—index to German passengers arriving in America during this period. The quality of the transcription varies, but the series is still an excellent research tool for tracking down German immigrant ancestors. If a listing is found in Germans to America, then the original passenger lists should be consulted, as they may contain further details.   Where to Find Germans to America The individual books in the Germans to America series  are fairly pricey, so the best research option is to either find a library with the series (most major genealogical libraries will have it), or locate a database version. The database version created by the Center for Immigration Studies at the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (the same group that created the published versions) was originally published on CD and is now available for free online from the National Archives and FamilySearch. It is unclear exactly how the data compiled in the Germans to America, 1850–1897 database relates directly to the published volumes.  NARA staff has found that there are ship manifests included in the database that are not included in the respective published volumes, and that there is also a difference in the covered time periods.   The Germans to America Series The first 9 volumes of the Germans to America series indexed only passenger lists of ships that contained at least 80% German passengers. Thus, a number of Germans who came over on ships from 1850–1855 are not included. Beginning with Volume 10, all ships with German passengers were included, regardless of the percentage. However, only those identifying themselves as German are listed; all other passenger names were not transcribed. Volumes 1–59 of Germans to America (through 1890) include arrivals to the major U.S. ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and New Orleans. Beginning in 1891, Germans to America only includes arrivals to the port of New York. Some Baltimore arrivals are known to be missing from Germans to America—see  Why Some Baltimore Passenger Lists are Missing and How to Find Them  by Joe Beine for more information. Vol. 1 Jan 1850 - May 1851 Vol. 35 Jan 1880 - Jun 1880 Vol. 2 May 1851 - Jun 1852 Vol. 36 Jul 1880 - Nov 1880 Vol. 3 Jun 1852 - Sep 1852 Vol. 37 Dec 1880 - Apr 1881 Vol. 4 Sep 1852 - May 1853 Vol. 38 Apr 1881 - May 1881 Vol. 5 May 1853 - Oct 1853 Vol. 39 Jun 1881 - Aug 1881 Vol. 6 Oct 1853 - May 1854 Vol. 40 Aug 1881 - Oct 1881 Vol. 7 May 1854 - Aug 1854 Vol. 41 Nov 1881 - Mar 1882 Vol. 8 Aug 1854 - Dec 1854 Vol. 42 Mar 1882 - May 1882 Vol. 9 Dec 1854 - Dec 1855 Vol. 43 May 1882 - Aug 1882 Vol. 10 Jan 1856 - Apr 1857 Vol. 44 Aug 1882 - Nov 1882 Vol. 11 Apr 1857 - Nov 1857 Vol. 45 Nov 1882 - Apr 1883 Vol. 12 Nov 1857 - Jul 1859 Vol. 46 Apr 1883 - Jun 1883 Vol. 13 Aug 1859 - Dec 1860 Vol. 47 Jul 1883 - Oct 1883 Vol. 14 Jan 1861 - May 1863 Vol. 48 Nov 1883 - Apr 1884 Vol. 15 Jun 1863 - Oct 1864 Vol. 49 Apr 1884 - Jun 1884 Vol. 16 Nov 1864 - Nov 1865 Vol. 50 Jul 1884 - Nov 1884 Vol. 17 Nov 1865 - Jun 1866 Vol. 51 Dec 1884 - Jun 1885 Vol. 18 Jun 1866 - Dec 1866 Vol. 52 Jul 1885 - Apr 1886 Vol. 19 Jan 1867 - Aug 1867 Vol. 53 May 1886 - Jan 1887 Vol. 20 Aug 1867 - May 1868 Vol. 54 Jan 1887 - Jun 1887 Vol. 21 May 1868 - Sep 1868 Vol. 55 Jul 1887 - Apr 1888 Vol. 22 Oct 1868 - May 1869 Vol. 56 May 1888 - Nov 1888 Vol. 23 Jun 1869 - Dec 1869 Vol. 57 Dec 1888 - Jun 1889 Vol. 24 Jan 1870 - Dec 1870 Vol. 58 Jul 1889 - Apr 1890 Vol. 25 Jan 1871 - Sep 1871 Vol. 59 May 1890 - Nov 1890 Vol. 26 Oct 1871 - Apr 1872 Vol. 60 Dec 1890 - May 1891 Vol. 27 May 1872 - Jul 1872 Vol. 61 Jun 1891 - Oct 1891 Vol. 28 Aug 1872 - Dec 1872 Vol. 62 Nov 1891 - May 1892 Vol. 29 Jan 1873 - May 1873 Vol. 63 Jun 1892 - Dec 1892 Vol. 30 Jun 1873 - Nov 1873 Vol. 64 Jan 1893 - Jul 1893 Vol. 31 Dec 1873 - Dec 1874 Vol. 65 Aug 1893 - Jun 1894 Vol. 32 Jan 1875 - Sep 1876 Vol. 66 Jul 1894 - Oct 1895 Vol. 33 Oct 1876 - Sep 1878 Vol. 67 Nov 1895 - Jun 1897 Vol. 34 Oct 1878 - Dec 1879