GENEALOGY HINTS 
Ship Manifests: But Wait—There’s More!

Many items that look like single-page documents online actually consist of two pages, and we often forget to look at the digitized image which follows the one we are focussed on. In fact, not all genealogy websites bother to tell you that there is a page two! Ship manifests are a good example of this. The later passenger lists, after 1906, have two pages. Information on the first page tells us where the immigrant was from, and of course it is valuable to genealogists trying to find the town or village of origin for our ancestors. But information on the second page tells us where that immigrant was going once they arrived in the United States, and that can be just as valuable in different ways.

image: NARA microfilm series T715, roll 996, volume 2212

The image above shows the second page of the S.S. Cretic manifest from the ship’s arrival in New York City on 21 September 1907. Just like census records, ship manifests reward careful examination. Read each column heading to ascertain exactly what is being asked of the immigrant. When we look at this part of the passenger list we read a question in column heading 18: “Whether going to join a relative or friend and if so, what relative or friend and his name and complete address.” Concetta D’Ascenzo answered that question like this: “uncle Giovanni D’Ascenzo 271 Box New Canaan, Conn.” A family puzzle was solved by this one-line entry: the “uncle Giovanni D’Ascenzo” in New Canaan was related to the D’Ascenzo family in Chieuti, a tiny commune in Southeastern Italy.

RESEARCH TIP: With two-page manifests, follow the immigrant by numbered line: “8” on the first page will be “8” on the second page although the name will not be repeated on the second page.