Week 7: Landed

Week 6: Landed
The Week 7 theme is "Landed." There are many meanings of landed: to have arrived at a destination, to have been delivered, to own real property, to be part of the "landed gentry." So many ways you can go with this week's theme!

"The Eagle Has Landed" - Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were part of the American crew that piloted the Apollo Lunar Module, Eagle. Neil said this now-famous quote to Houston after they landed on the moon. It is now a phrase that is used constantly to signify something has arrived.

    The phrase "Landed" I'm sure is used quite a bit in reference to many things. Especially when it comes to our genealogy research. When a family has moved to another location, they have landed. When they fly somewhere for vacation or to visit relatives and they arrive at their final destination, they have landed. But the first thing that comes to my mind is when our ancestors arrived on ships from their old countries.

    When did your ancestors "Land" in this new country? Do you know there are a couple of places to look for the exact date of when the "Landed"? There are a couple of places to check.

• Passenger Lists
• Passport Applications
• Census Records
• Naturalization Records

    These are just a few options. To read more in-depth about these, click here to read about Passenger Lists - How Do We Know With Database to Search?

    But did you know there is another place to find out when your ancestor's ship landed? I just happen to run across this while researching my 2nd Great Grandma, Pauline Ilg. Newspapers! That's right! Newspapers. I thought maybe they would give some announcement or something when new ships had come in, but it was actually something different.

    Newspapers were the best place to get information and to share information. From Bus Schedules to train schedules and even ship arrivals! While looking through each page of the New York Tribune, I came across a section called "Marine Intelligence". This section reports all kinds of information about the ships that were coming and going. This is where I found my 2nd Great Grandma Pauline's ship and her soon-to-be husband's ship. Now this is only helpful if have the actual name of the ship. There are no passenger names listed in these articles, just ship names. This clipping is for my 2nd Great Grandma's ship. She was on the Vessel EMS. Can you find her ship?

New York Tribune
3 Jun 1887
New York, NY
Source: Newspapers.com

    As you can see, you can find out when a ship has left, when a ship has landed, and even when a ship has passed others. Knowing what ship, she was traveling on, I was able to find when they left Bremen too. All from knowing what ship she landed on. This is just another great source to include with your records. 

    Now, this is just for the Port of New York. Since this is just for New York City, it doesn't include other ports in which your ancestors may have Landed. And this is just for the Port. Depending on when they arrived will determine where they were processed. Check here to see where your ancestors would have been processed: Castle Garden and Ellis Island.

    This section of the newspaper only started showing up because of The Great Migration. I am unsure of the exact date this section started to appear. There was no reason for them to share this information when many people were not immigrating. This only occurred because of the influx of immigrants and people needed to know when their families would be arriving. Always scan through newspapers for new sections that were added. They are a great source of historical information.

What other sections of the newspaper have helped you in your research? When did your ancestors "Land" in America? What do you think of when you hear the word "Landed"? Let me know in the comments!