October 10, 2025
Passenger lists are some of my favorite genealogy resources. Seeing my ancestor’s name on a list that was made when he/she left their old life for a new life in America is a meaningful experience for me.
However, sometimes it’s frustrating how little information the lists provide. Arrivals after about 1892 usually provide information such as the home country and town of an immigrant. In addition, you will find a specific date and place of birth. Earlier records often only include a name and approximate age plus a country of origin.
None of the passenger lists provides information about the journey itself. As someone who wants to know more details about an ancestor’s experience, this is frustrating. Fortunately, there are a few ways to add these contextual details to our ancestor’s story.
If you’re lucky, your ancestor may have left a biographical sketch of his life. Since immigration was such an important milestone in their lives, most immigrants describe their trip. For example, my great grandfather Charles Fernelius wrote his autobiography sixty years after his arrival. He recalled the ship brushing by some drift ice in a storm which tore off a deck railing. The passengers weren’t allowed up on deck for a day or two, and many were seasick. As a sturdy teenager when he sailed, my grandfather bragged that he was never sick at all. These kinds of details can help an ancestor’s journey come alive.
If your ancestor didn’t leave a journal, someone else who was on board the same ship may have. These are worth seeking out since they may include details that will apply to your own ancestor. I found that my great grandmother Jane Ann Burnett traveled as a child from New Zealand to San Francisco. On board the same ship was a Mormon missionary named Frederick Hurst who kept journals during his missions abroad. He described the trip from New Zealand and even mentioned Jane Ann’s family in his writings.
Newspapers may also give you additional insight into the voyage an ancestor took. Most immigrants arrived at one of the major ports in the United States. These cities published daily newspapers which included columns called “Marine Intelligence” or “Shipping News.” These columns gave a brief description of the trips of every ship that docked. Thanks to one of these columns, I learned that my grandmother Thea Rustad’s ship passed several German U boats as they crossed the Atlantic. World War I was only beginning in October of 1914 when she sailed, but it was already impacting sea travel.
Finding journals and diaries may require some research. A good place to start is the website Norway Heritage at https://www.norwayheritage.com/ . This website contains a lot of information about passenger lists and immigration and applies to all aspects of immigration from Europe – not just Norway.
Newspapers from the 19th century can be found on many different websites. Some are free such as Chronicling America at https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/about-this-collection/ . Others such as Newspapers.com at https://www.newspapers.com/ will require a subscription.
Don’t overlook journals and newspapers when you are researching an ancestor’s journey to America. They can add context and color to the bare bones of a passenger list.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society