The Hamburg Passenger Lists 1850-1934

© Lorine McGinnis Schulze

If you have ancestors from central and Eastern Europe you may find that the Hamburg Passenger Lists are your most important genealogical resource you can consult. If your ancestors emigrated through the city of Hamburg, Germany between 1850 and 1934 (excluding 1915-1919), you will be happy to know that approximately 1/3 of all emigration during this time period was via Hamburg.

The lists give genealogical details, including home towns of passengers. There are also indexes to make searching easier. Unfortunately records of other European emigration from Bremen, LeHavre, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp are not available.

The Hamburg passenger lists have two parts:

The Direct Passenger List

Passengers who left Hamburg and did not stop elsewhere en route to their destination

The Indirect Passenger List

Passengers who left Hamburg but stopped at another port in Europe before contining on to their final destination.

The Hamburg Passenger Lists and the all-important indexes can be found on over 450 reels of microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. These can be ordered in to your local FHC (Family History Centre). For all film numbers, you should consult the online FHL catalogue at http://www.familysearch.org/

To search online ships' passenger lists for this time period, see Olive Tree Genealogy's Ships' Passenger Lists at http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/


Don't miss my Germans & Swiss to N. America page for more resource ideas, including CDs and links to invaluable databases

Permission granted to distribute this article as long as nothing is changed, and all identifying information and URLs remain. Be sure to include the following footer:

********************************************************
The Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934, an explanation by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy at http://olivetreegenealogy.com/