Other State Legislation

Without a strong federal immigration program, several states enacted their own laws. For example, the Massachusetts Legislature in 1848 enacted Charter 313 of the Massachusetts General Laws to establish the office of Superintendents of Alien Passengers at various port cites, Boston included. From 1848 to 1891 Massachusetts required all ships that entered the Port of Boston to submit a list of their passengers.

In the 1930's, a federal program called the Works Progress Administration (WPA) hired many of the unemployed to index these lists. The Family History Library has microfilmed these index cards. These microfilms are available through the various Family History Centers. The Ships' Lists or Manifests however, were not microfilmed and are only available at the Massachusetts State Archives.

The Index Cards basically just find the Person's Name, Age, Occupation, Date of Arrival and the Name of the Ship. The actual Manifest in some cases will give a bit more regarding family connections and it can help solve many of your unanswered questions. Always seek the original source, for you never know what it will show.

Approximately one million people immigrated through the Port of Boston between 1848 - 1891. There is a volunteer effort underway at the Massachusetts Archives to compile this indexes into a computerized database as of 2006. Genealogist, sociologists and historians will be able to access these indexes and learn many facts about our ancestors during the nineteenth century.