Question about a passenger manifest record.
At what point do you say this passenger manifest record is most likely the person I have been searching for when you have exhausted every other conceivable and inconceivable spelling? Or don't you ever? Where can I go to learn more about how complete the passenger lists are. I have this little bird on my shoulder saying you found them but ...
Kim Overholt Genealogists would never get to home plate unless they were capable of making "balance of probabilities" decisions or "best guesses"rather than waiting for irrefutable proof, which may never come. Besides, how accurate, really, is that birth/baptismal record that your ancestor was unable to sign or verify because he was illiterate? Record the reasoning behind your best guess and carry on. If later material causes a change, you can always amend.
ReplyDeleteIf it was me Kim Overholt, to verify if I had the correct person on the passenger list, I would find what I could on him/her before leaving wherever they left from & then find what I could on him/her once they arrived & then put the pieces together & see if they fit?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the replies. I've got zip on her from before she left home. I've got zip on what happened between what I think may be her immigration record and when she appears on a census. But my question remains, how complete are the transcriptions of manifests? I've run across references to transcribers guilds. I've really tried to research the answer myself. Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteKim Overholt I don't have a definitive answer to your question. Not sure what you mean by how 'complete'. Passenger manifest formats vary from country to country, perhaps even from port to port and over different time periods. Some are very 'complete', providing names, ages, relationships, occupations, citizenship, intended destination, perhaps the name/relationship of the person at that destination, intended employment at destination, intended duration of stay, what class of travel and so forth. Some offer just names, ages and citizenship? Or do you mean how accurate are the transcriptions? That's something else entirely. That really varies with the transcriber. Ideally, you can find a film image of a handwritten original where you can do your own transcription. From my own experience I've found that spelling of names was rather optional in many places prior to 1900.
ReplyDeleteSorry I wasn't clear. Like the loss of the 1890 census records destroyed by fire are there any time periods or shipping line records similarly gone? Or yet to be transcribed? I have spelled her name seven ways from Sunday and have one hit. I realize of course I may think I have been thorough it doesn't mean I was. :) I'd just like to know I'm not unaware of some big gap in records.
ReplyDeleteThere are literally hundreds of passenger list collections from around the world. So, without knowing which ones you are researching it's hard to provide specific answers. Cindi's list contains a goodly number that extend somewhat beyond the Ancestry collections, for example. Some of those links deal with various gaps that existed in certain collections - if not filling in the gaps, at least defining them. I don't know if you've been through all of that, but if not, it might be a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have not checked Cyndi's list and that's what I needed hear.
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