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  • Lesser known immigration forms from Ellis Island
    • Main contributor: Natalie Webb
    Sidney and Milholland Bogues' arrival in Ellis Island, New York, 1920.
    Sidney and Milholland Bogues' arrival in Ellis Island, New York, 1920.

    Ellis Island and Castle Garden before it, served as entry points for millions of immigrants arriving to the United States.  Records from both places are well known to researchers looking for immigration records for Atlantic Ocean crossings. While genealogists may be most familiar with passenger manifests, there are some lesser-known records that can be helpful in family research.

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    Record of detained aliensRecord of detained aliens

    Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island or Castle Garden might be flagged as necessitating further investigation. This could be for a number of reasons, including:

    • A medical examination might be ordered to prove good health
    • An immigrant must have sufficient funds on hand to support themselves, or have proof of self-sufficiency or family support.  For example, a wife traveling to meet her husband may need to prove the marriage.
    • At certain points in history, specific immigrant groups were not allowed into the country. Members of such a group could be denied entry at immigration.

    If an immigrant is listed on the Record of Detained Aliens, it usually means that the reason for detainment could be resolved quickly. Perhaps the immigrant needed to be picked up by a friend or relative who would vouch for them. In other cases, they would need to contact an employer or immigrant aid society to confirm support. In these instances, little actual investigation was needed, and the case could be resolved quickly.

    A Record Of Detailed Aliens Header has the following fields:

    1. Ship Name
    2. Arrival Date
    3. Location the trip originated from.

    A Record Of Detailed Aliens Individual Passenger Detail Level has the following fields:

    1. No. - Line Number
    2. Name of Alien
    3. Manifest Group
    4. Manifest Number – the manifest group and number, taken together, will allow the researcher to locate the passenger on the Passenger Manifest form.
    5. Number of Aliens - Number of persons in the passenger’s party that were held for inquiry. In some cases this number will be further broken down into those one year of age or younger, and those over one year of age
    6. Cause of Detention - In most cases this field will list the reason for detention and, if applicable the name or relationship of the individual vouching for the detainee.
    7. Disposition - this field will have further detail about the case.
    8. Discharged - this field and its sub-fields will list the date and time that the detainee was released, as well as the name of the Inspector who authorized the release.
    9. Meals – Food was served to the detainees three times a day, and the cost of those meals was billed back to the steamship company that brought the detainee to the US.  Therefore the immigration needed to keep a tally of what was served.

    Special inquiry recordsSpecial inquiry records

    The form Record of Aliens Held For Special Inquiry (also called a BSI form) is normally included in the Passenger Manifest for a specific ship and journey.  For example, the Special Inquiry form for the SS Roma, that arrived at Ellis Island from Naples on July 26 1910 appears directly after the last page of the Passenger Manifest for the same journey.

    A Special Inquiry form Header has the following fields:

    1. Name of the ship
    2. Page/sheet number
    3. Arrival Date
    4. Location the trip originated from.

    Individual Passenger Detail Level has the following fields:

    1. Passenger Age and Gender (example: 28F for a 28 year old woman)
    2. Index Number (line number of the form)
    3. Name of the Passenger
    4. Manifest Group
    5. Manifest Number – the manifest group and number, taken together, will allow the researcher to locate the passenger on the Passenger Manifest form.
    6. Number of persons in the passenger’s party that were held for inquiry.
    7. Cause of Detention
    8. Name of the Inspector
    9. Actions of the Board of Special Inquiry
    10. Departmental and Executive Orders – these columns list the action (order) that was taken, the date the order was given and the record number.
    11. Deported – If the order included a deportation it would be included here, with the date and name of the ship.
    12. Meals – Food was served to the detainees three times a day, and the cost of those meals was billed back to the steamship company that brought the detainee to the US.  Therefore the immigration needed to keep a tally of what was served.

    Ship crew list and crew manifestShip crew list and crew manifest

    Every ship required a crew to operate. Some men joined the crew to work in exchange for their passage to the United States, while others treated it as a regular job with no intention of immigrating. Regardless of their intentions, every member of the ship's crew had to be recorded on the passenger manifest at each port of call.

    The ship's crew members were logged on the passenger manifest. You will often find all of the crew members listed together. All the regular passenger manifest fields should be filled out, with a status of Non-Immigrant Alien or Transient, and an occupation noting their role on the ship. If an ancestor often worked with the same ship line, you may be able to trace multiple journeys for them.

    See alsoSee also

    Explore more about lesser known immigration forms from Ellis IslandExplore more about lesser known immigration forms from Ellis Island

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