Sooner or later, you’ll get “back to the boat”—that is, you’ll find your original immigrant in a certain family line. The first immigrant in your family might have arrived just a generation ago or centuries ago. Either way, that doesn’t have to mean your genealogy is “done.” When you find that first immigrant, finding the boat can be just as important. Although finding where he or she boarded won’t tell you a birthplace, it is good information to have.
So where do you look? Many sites have ships’ passenger lists and manifests. For general lists of such sites, you can check out Cyndi’s List at www.cyndislist.com/ships. If you are fairly certain your ancestor entered the United States through New ...
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