Hundreds of thousands of arrivals occurred between 1892 and 1938
Peak years of Ellis Island were 1892 to 1924
Over 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry to someone whose name passed from a steamship manifest sheet to an inspector's record book in the great Registry Room at Ellis Island
Ellis Island is now a museum since re-opening in 1990 after renovation
it does not house the original records
The National Archives has passenger arrival records for the port of New York dating from 1820 to 1957
When searching for passenger arrivals you should know your ancestor's name, approximate age at arrival, approximate date of arrival, port of embarkation or departure