Quintin Publications is pleased to announce a new phase in our Content Development Campaign. The National Archives Records Digitization Program is a monumental effort to make series of records from the National Archives available in electronic format for the first time. This program is our way of preserving the important records from the National Archives and making them available on CD-Rom in an easy-to-use and affordable manner.  Read more about these records below, with information direct from the National Archives.

Foreword

The National Archives and Records Administration is responsible for administering the permanently valuable noncurrent records of the Federal Government. The holdings of the National Archives now amount to more than 1.3 million cubic feet. They date from the First Continental Congress and consist of the basic records of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of Government. The Presidential libraries of Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, as well as the Nixon and Bush Presidential Projects, contain the papers of those Presidents and many of their associates in office. These research resources document significant events in our Nation's history, but most of them are preserved for continuing practical use in the ordinary processes of Government; for the protection of individual rights; and for the research use of scholars, students, and other individual researchers.

The National Archives Microfilm Publication Program

Since 1941, the National Archives has been microfilming selected groups of Federal records that have high research value. Under this program, negative microfilm is retained by the National Archives, and positive prints are made from these master negatives and sold at moderate prices. The chief purposes of the program are to make archival sources more easily accessible to libraries, research centers, and individuals and to ensure against loss of valuable information should the original records be destroyed. In this way, microfilm publications are a partial answer to the researcher's need for more extensive publication of archival materials because they provide a relatively inexpensive method by which he or she can obtain facsimile reproductions of entire series of documents.

Although the microfilm publication program is one of the oldest continuing programs of the National Archives, it was not firmly established financially until 1948, when a grant of $20,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation provided for accelerated production of microfilm and ensured the continuation of the program through the establishment of a revolving fund. By 1991, nearly 200,000 rolls of master negative microfilm had been produced.

National Archives microfilm publications now provide basic documentation for research in the fields of American, European, Far Eastern, African, and Latin American history as well as in local history and genealogy. They are also valuable for work in other fields, such as economics, public administration, political science, law, and ethnology. As the program has developed, more emphasis has been placed on microfilming groups of records that are directly related to one another, as in the case of records relating to the same general subject or to a specific geographic area. In this way, researchers can obtain reasonably complete documentation in many fields of interest. For example, a number of microfilm publications document diplomatic, consular, and naval relations between the United States and the Far Eastern countries of China, Japan, and Korea from the late 18th century. Similarly, almost complete coverage of relations between the United States and other countries throughout the world is provided. Microfilm publications have also been produced concerning the administration of affairs in individual territories of the United States.

Types of Microfilm Publications

National Archives microfilm publications are divided into two series, identified by "M'' numbers and "T'' numbers. In general, records selected for filming as "M'' publications have high research value for a variety of studies, and the ratio of research value to volume is high. Usually each publication reproduces an entire series of records. Most "M'' publications include explanatory material prepared by archivists to help researchers glean information from the filmed records more easily. ""M'' publications usually have an introduction that describes the origin, content, and arrangement of the filmed records and lists related records. Some introductions also include special aids, such as indexes and registers.

Descriptive pamphlets (DPs) are available for many "M" publications. Each pamphlet contains the publication's introduction (including special lists or indexes prepared to simplify the use of the microfilm publication) and a table of contents that identifies the material contained on each roll. "M'' publications that have descriptive pamphlets are indicated in this catalog by the symbol DP at the end of a publication title. The pamphlets are made available on request to prospective purchasers so they can evaluate more thoroughly the value of the publication's contents for their research.

"T'' publications, unlike "M'' publications, do not usually reproduce a complete series of records; that is, they may contain only segments, by date or subject, of a larger series. In many cases, "T" publications were produced in response to specific reference requests. Also, over the years the National Archives has accessioned as record material microfilm produced by other Federal agencies. Some of this film, when it is not defense classified and is deemed of sufficient research value, is reproduced and made available for sale as "T'' publications. These publications are reproduced and sold exactly as they were filmed; they contain no introductions, nor are descriptive pamphlets available for them. All of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) records described in this catalog are "T" publications that were filmed by and accessioned from the INS.

RECORD GROUPS

EMANCIPATION RECORDS.

Records of the Board of Commissioners for the Emancipation of Slaves in the District of Columbia, 1862-1863.

Emancipation records are an important set of records largely overlooked by genealogists but not by historians. We're happy to be able to preserve these records digitally and make them available electronically to the public for the first time.

IMMIGRATION.

Passenger Arrival Records. We are currently processing and cataloguing this collection.

Introduction

This catalog lists National Archives microfilm publications of records relating to the arrival of passengers, crew members, and vessels in U.S. ports. Most of the records before 1891 are from the Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. Later records are part of the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Record Group 85. The publications are arranged by record group and thereunder alphabetically by the name of the port.

The second edition features five new ports of entry: Detroit, Michigan; Galveston, Texas; the St. Albans, Vermont, District, encompassing territory along the Canadian border from Maine to Washington; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington. The catalog now includes complete roll listings for every microfilm publication, providing the researcher with a more thorough understanding of the records each publication contains. In addition, there are three new indexes at the back of the catalog: publications are arranged by port, by title, and by their inclusion in microfilm holdings of each regional archives.

Records of the United States Customs Service, Record Group 36

Early records relating to immigration originated in regional customhouses. An act of March 2, 1819 (3 Stat. 489) required the captain or master of a vessel arriving at a port in the United States or any of its territories from a foreign country to submit a list of passengers to the collector of customs. The act also required that the collector submit a quarterly report or abstract, consisting of copies of passenger lists, to the Secretary of State, who was required to submit such information at each session of Congress. After 1874, collectors forwarded only statistical reports to the Treasury Department. The lists themselves were retained by the Collector of Customs. Customs records were maintained primarily for statistical purposes.

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85

In 1882, Congress passed the first Federal law regulating immigration; between 1882 and 1891 the Secretary of the Treasury had general supervision over immigration. The Office of Superintendent of Immigration of the Department of the Treasury was established under an act of March 3, 1891, and was designated a bureau in 1895 with responsibility for administering the alien contract-labor laws. In 1900, administration of the Chinese- exclusion laws was added. In 1903, the Bureau became part of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Functions relating to naturalization were assigned to the Bureau in 1906, and its name was changed to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. It was transferred in 1940 to the Department of Justice.

The records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service listed in this catalog were transferred to the National Archives on microfilm. The original records were destroyed by the INS. In some instances, there are indexes for which the National Archives has no list. Some of the records were microfilmed as they appeared in volumes and the date spans may overlap. Errors in arrangement or omission cannot be corrected. Not all passenger lists are indexed. Many of the indexes are difficult to read. This catalog describes contents of individual rolls of microfilm.

The Records

In this catalog, passenger arrival records are preceded by their indexes. The date spans for the indexes and the records do not always exactly correspond.

Card Indexes

The quantity of information in each of the indexes varies. They may be simple alphabetical listings or arranged in the Soundex coding system (for a full explanation of how to use the Soundex system, see p. 43). The indexes may contain the name, age, occupation, nationality, and last permanent residence of the passenger; the port of entry; the name of the vessel; and the date of arrival. The Soundex index cards may contain only the passenger's name, age, and sex, and the volume number, page, and line where the name may be found.

Book Indexes

These records consist of alphabetical listings of passengers provided to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the shipping lines. The lists are usually arranged chronologically by date of arrival. The lists include the passenger's name, age and destination.

Passenger and Crew Lists

Customs Passenger Lists and Abstracts

Customs passenger lists contain each passenger's name, age, sex, occupation, nationality, and the name of the country in which each intended to reside. Entries are arranged by date of arrival and sometimes by the passenger or crew member's occupation and the port from which he or she sailed. Lists may also include notations as to the number and causes of deaths on board. The abstracts, which are consolidated lists of all the passengers who arrived at a port during the quarter, generally contain the same information as customs passenger lists.

Immigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Lists

Immigration and Naturalization Service passenger lists include the names of U.S. citizens returning from abroad, foreign visitors, and immigrants. The lists usually also contain names of vessels and shipmasters, ports of arrival and embarkation, dates of arrival, and the following information about each passenger: full name; age; sex; marital status; occupation; last residence; port of arrival and final destination in the United States; if the passenger had been in the United States before, when, and where; and if the passenger were going to join a relative, the relative's name and address, and relationship. Beginning in 1903, race was included; in 1906, personal description and birthplace; in 1907, the name and address of the alien's nearest relative in country from which he or she came.

Crew Lists

Crew lists may include the names of both American and alien seamen. Information about each crew member may include his length of service at sea, position in the ship's company, when and where the seaman joined the vessel's crew, whether he was to be discharged at the port of arrival, literacy, age, race, nationality, height, and weight.

Click here for a Guide to the Soundex System.