Steamship Passengers on Archives Lists

Question: My parents left from Libau (present-day Latvia) 1910-12 for the United States. Besides North German Lloyd, what other steamship company could they have come on and where would these passenger lists be?

Answer: By checking the Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals for these years you can determine which ships arrived at which ports and the dates of arrival. Since Boston was the principal port of arrival for many Latvians who came between 1905 and 1913 and since there is an index to passenger lists of Boston for 1902-1920, you can request National Archives to search these records for you. There also is an index for New York, 1897-1943.

Request NATF Form 81, “Order for Copies of Ship Passenger Arrival Records,” from Reference Services Branch, National Archives and Records Service, 8th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20408. You will be asked to supply the full name of passenger, port of entry and approximate date of arrival.

While many ship passenger lists are in print, especially if your family came to America prior to the middle of the 19th Century, most are not, and are available only on unindexed microfilm rolls, which makes research tedious and time consuming.

Q: How can I learn more about my ancestors who came from Germany about 1866 and settled in Illinois, just east of St. Louis? They were Lutherans and the surname was Middendorf.

A: Concordia Historical Institute, 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63105, has collections pertaining to the history of Lutheranism in America with special concentration on the history of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. This repository is open to serious researchers upon application.

Additionally, check at the nearest branch of the LDS (Mormon) Family History Library and look at the Family History Library Catalogue under Missouri/Church History and Missouri (the County) Church History and do the same for Illinois. Also check under Missouri/Church Records/Bibliography. A wealth of information pertaining to our ancestors can be found in church records. Many have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library system.

Myra Gormley welcomes genealogical questions for her column, but is unable to answer individual letters. For her beginner’s how-to genealogy kit (with charts) send $4 to Kit, Box 64316, Tacoma, Wash. 98464.