This query allows you to search for entries in the Ship Manifests database by date of arrival in North America (Destination Date). Select a year and (optionally) a standardized last name. If a last name is selected, any entries in that calendar year with that last name mentioned are included in the list. (Starting in 1907, each ship manifest entry included the names of up to three different people - the passenger (Passenger Name), the "nearest friend or relative in country whence alien came" (Leaving Name), and the name in the field labeled "whether going to join a relative or friend" (Joining Name). The Joining Name was included on earlier manifests.) This query is important because Armenian passengers often traveled together with family members or friends, and it lets you see who else was on their ship.

The Ship Manifests database table currently represents some of the estimated 100,000 to 125,000 arrivals of Armenians to seaports in North America through 1930. Most of the abstracts are from ship manifests to New York (Castle Garden before 1892, Ellis Island in 1892 and later). Other important seaports for arriving passengers include Providence, Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco in the USA, and Halifax, Quebec, and St. John (New Brunswick) in Canada. Passengers also arrived at a number of smaller seaports. Armenians boarded ships from seaports on the Atlantic Ocean in western Europe, from the Mediterranean Sea, from American seaports in Cuba and Argentina, and Pacific seaports in Japan and China. Some even left from seaports on the Black Sea, Arctic Ocean, and Baltic Sea. Most of my early research consisted of a systematic abstraction of ship manifests for steamships traveling from French ports on the Atlantic Ocean (Le Havre, Cherbourg, Boulogne, and Bordeaux) to New York, between 1892 and 1914. That was followed by a focus on steamships bringing Armenian refugees to America after the end of WW1, primarily in the period between 1920 and 1924. Over 4,000 "ship trips" have been searched so far. (A ship trip is a voyage between a source port and a destination port. Many steamships gathered passengers from multiple source ports on the same voyage.) As I research Armenians in other primary sources (like military draft registrations, censuses, and naturalization records), I try to find those same individuals on one or more ship manifests. When I research a ship manifest, I abstract all Armenians on that particular ship trip. Thousands of more voyages remained to be researched.

I have also started adding entries from border crossing documents from Mexico and Canada to the USA into this table. These are especially important for those Armenians who came to the USA through Mexico, since ship manifests into Mexico from overseas are not available (as they are for Canada). You can distinguish a border crossing from a ship arrival by the absence of the ship name.

To see what ship trips have been searched for inclusion into this database table, select the following link: Ship Manifests Scope

Destination Year:          18481853185418631868186918731874187618771878188018811882188318841885188618871888188918901891189218931894189518961897189818991900190119021903190419051906190719081909191019111912191319141915191619171918191919201921192219231924192519261927192819291930193119321933193419351936193719381939

Last Name (Std.):          allAbdianBaghdasarianBakalianBalakianBedrosianCharekjianFosianGarabedianGhazarianGurditchianHairabedianHarrisonKafafianKalajianKaprielianKiordigeianMaljanianMarkarianMelkonianMeserlianOdianShahbazianSisoianTarbassianTerzianVarsaverianVartanianYeghiazarianZarougian

Action	Ship Class	List	#	Passenger Name	Age	Sex	Birth Place	Last Residence	Joining Location	Immigrant ID(s)
1933-02-10 (Niagara Falls, ON, Canada to Niagara Falls, NY) -
			0	Sisoian, Aram	20-11m	M	Erzurum, Turkey	Hamilton, ON, Canada	8½ Brook St. / Whitinsville, MA, USA	BX-NIAGARAFALLSNY-10FEB1933-Sisoian-Aram,BX-NIAGARAFALLSNY-19AUG1927-Sisoian-Aram
1933-02-16 (Le Havre to New York) - Manhattan
	First-Cabin	7	4	Tarbassian, Chouchanik	33	M	Erzurum, Turkey	Paris, France	4011 Washington St. / Boston (Roslindale), MA, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-1-7-0004
	Steerage	7	1	Varsaverian, Arousse	56	F	Bursa, Hudavendigar, Turkey	Istanbul, Turkey	Box 57 / Crockett, TX, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-7-0001
	Steerage	7	2	Varsaverian, Rejin	18	F	Bursa, Hudavendigar, Turkey	Istanbul, Turkey	Box 57 / Crockett, TX, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-7-0002
	Steerage	7	3	Abitian [Abdian], Onnik	60	M	Ankara, Turkey	Draguignan, France	120 4th St. / Chelsea, MA, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-7-0003
	Steerage	7	4	Abitian [Abdian], Mariam	54	F	Ankara, Turkey	Draguignan, France	120 4th St. / Chelsea, MA, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-7-0004
	Steerage	U4	12	Missirlian [Meserlian], Leon	32	M			23 Jay St. / Somerville, MA, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-U4-0012,PARI-01OCT1923-2-14-0029
	Steerage	U4	13	Missirlian [Meserlian], Aram	38	M			23 Jay St. / Somerville, MA, USA	MANH-16FEB1933-3-U4-0013,ROCH-08JUN1920-3-28-0029
1933-03-29 (Havana to Key West) - Cuba
	First-Cabin	4	5	Harrison, Geo.	59	M	Harput, Mamuretulaziz, Turkey		/ Brookshire, TX, USA	CUBA-29MAR1933-1-4-0005,SCAN-11MAY1891-3--0339
	First-Cabin	4	6	Harrison, Zahra Kevork Nagarian	41	F	Diyarbekir, Turkey		/ Brookshire, TX, USA	CUBA-29MAR1933-1-4-0006
1933-07-13 (Le Havre to New York) - Manhattan
	Steerage	10	1	Vartanian, Garabed	45	M	Bitlis, Turkey		2334 Washington Ave. / New York, NY, USA	MANH-13JUL1933-3-10-0001
	Steerage	10WHITE	7	Markarian, Sara	50	F	Erzurum, Turkey		1 Crawford St. / Watertown, MA, USA	MANH-13JUL1933-3-10WHITE-0007
	Steerage	8	1	Chahbazian [Shahbazian], Nichochos	20	M	Harput, Mamuretulaziz, Turkey		346 Valley St. / Providence, RI, USA	MANH-13JUL1933-3-8-0001
	Steerage	U3	23	Kafafian, Levon	49	M			443 Franklin Ave. / Nutley, NJ, USA	MANH-13JUL1933-3-U3-0023
	Steerage	U3WHITE	2	Palakian [Balakian], Mgddich	47	M			283 Audubon Ave. / New York, NY, USA	MANH-13JUL1933-3-U3WHITE-0002
1933-07-14 (Piraeus to New York) - Byron
	Second-Cabin	3	25	Halajian [Kalajian], Misak	20	M	Erzurum, Turkey	Athens, Greece	615 S. Solvay Ave. / Detroit, MI, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-2-3-0025
	Steerage	3	17	Kazarian [Ghazarian], Anna	20	F	Palu, Diyarbekir, Turkey	Aleppo, Turkey	Box 518 / Whitefish, MT, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-3-0017
	Steerage	U1	11	Odian, Neshan	47	M			435 W. 35th St. / New York, NY, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0011
	Steerage	U1	12	Cherishian [Charekjian], Nazenig	36	F			159 E. 28th St. / New York, NY, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0012,HOMR-28SEP1927-3-C10-0006
	Steerage	U1	13	Cherishian [Charekjian], Stephen	5	M	New York, NY, USA		159 E. 28th St. / New York, NY, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0013
	Steerage	U1	14	Cherishian [Charekjian], Araxe	3	F	New York, NY, USA		159 E. 28th St. / New York, NY, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0014
	Steerage	U1	15	Cherishian [Charekjian], Sirape	2	F	New York, NY, USA		159 E. 28th St. / New York, NY, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0015
	Steerage	U1	18	Melkonian, Abraham	40	M			797 E. 3rd St. / Boston (S. Boston), MA, USA	BYRN-14JUL1933-3-U1-0018
1933-10-24 (Cherbourg to New York) - Majestic
	Steerage	C10	1	Eghazarian [Yeghiazarian], Helene Nagir [?] Avdieff	43	F	Tiflis (governorate), Russia	Marseille, France	202 E. 28th St. / New York, NY, USA	MJST-24OCT1933-3-C10-0001
1933-10-27 (Cherbourg to New York) - Aquitania
	Steerage	11	4	Bakkalyan [Bakalian], Diruhi	54	F	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul, Turkey	/ Brookshire, TX, USA	AQUI-27OCT1933-3-11-0004
	Steerage	11	6	Zirakian [Zarougian], Sendought	19	F	Arapkir, Mamuretulaziz, Turkey	Aleppo, Turkey	835 11th St. / Philadelphia, PA, USA	AQUI-27OCT1933-3-11-0006
1933-10-31 (Niagara Falls, ON, Canada to Niagara Falls, NY) -
			0	Markarian, Marven	5	M	St. Catharines, ON, Canada	St. Catharines, ON, Canada	319 14th St. / Niagara Falls, NY, USA	BX-NIAGARAFALLSNY-31OCT1933-Markarian-Marven
			0	Markarian, Anna	3	F	St. Catharines, ON, Canada	St. Catharines, ON, Canada	319 14th St. / Niagara Falls, NY, USA	BX-NIAGARAFALLSNY-31OCT1933-Markarian-Anna
			0	Markarian, Satenig	33	F	Erzurum, Turkey	St. Catharines, ON, Canada	319 14th St. / Niagara Falls, NY, USA	BX-NIAGARAFALLSNY-31OCT1933-Markarian-Satenig