New York City. The Big Apple. What comes to mind when you hear those words? Chaotic Times Square on New Year's Eve, the awe-inspiring Empire State Building, or exciting Broadway shows?

There is indeed an exciting new show in New York, now playing at Ellis Island. The best part is that you can also access it on the Web. Who is headlining in the show? Possibly your ancestors!

A New Resource Makes It Easier to Find Your Immigrant Ancestors

This "show" marks the debut of the American Family Immigration History Center, a landmark new project that brings important and unique immigration information to Ellis Island visitors and anyone with Internet access. Genealogy.com is proud to be the exclusive genealogy sponsor of this exciting project. The company has provided gifts-in-kind relating to technology and promotional efforts, as well as financial contributions, to ensure the successful completion of this endeavor.

Family history is an adventure, all about discovering who your ancestors were and where they came from. For many of our families, Ellis Island played a key role in that adventure, marking the beginning of a new life in a new land. In fact, over 22 million immigrants, passengers, and crewmembers entered through the Port of New York and Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924.

In honor of Ellis Island's remarkable history, Genealogy.com teamed up with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. to launch the American Family Immigration History Center, making family history research more pleasurable and easier than ever.

April 17, 2001

Learn Vital Family Details with Simple Searches

How can you enrich your family history with the resources at the new American Family Immigration History Center and Web site? Begin by searching the database of immigration records. If you find your ancestors among the records, you will generally learn:

• The name of the ship on which they arrived.
• Their names, ages, genders, and marital status.
• Information about their ethnicity, date of arrival, and port of departure.
• The line number on the ship manifest listing their arrival.

This historical information can help you grow the branches of your family tree by indicating possible family members who traveled together. And, with the ethnicity data and date of arrival, you will also have helpful starting points for locating other family records in both your ancestors' home country and the United States.

Your Family History Comes to Life with Scanned Ship Records and Photos

Next, make your family history really come to life by ordering scanned reproductions of the actual ship manifest pages, as well as pictures and historic information on the passenger ships that carried your immigrant ancestors to America. Manifest pages and ship photographs are sure to become treasured heirlooms among your family members.

If you join the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, will also be able to contribute scanned personal family documents, photos, and records into a file in the Family History Scrapbook at the American Family Immigration History Center. Other visitors will be able to view this information, giving you the opportunity to make more family connections.

You also won't want to miss "The Immigrant Experience," a software presentation that documents the real stories of people just like you who have successfully researched their family histories. A little inspiration never hurts!

Welcome to Your Past

The American Family Immigration History Center offers you a wonderful new opportunity to discover your family roots, and Genealogy.com is proud to be a part of that. We wish you the best on your family-finding adventures.

More Immigrant Records Online International and Passenger Records Subscription $129.99 $99.99/year $19.99/month Subscriptions renew automatically until canceled. It's easy to continue your immigrant ancestor explorations. Genealogy.com's new International and Passenger Records Subscription gives you a dynamic online resource for reaching your immigrant ancestors. Instantly access: Information on more than 7 million individuals. Databases covering Britain, Ireland, and Europe. Dates and locations of emigration. Names of family members. Indexed passenger lists & naturalization records. Complete family histories. Property ownership records. Your ancestors braved crowded ships, revolution, poverty, and uncertainty. Their story deserves to be told. Let us help you tell it.