You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.
Q. My parents came to this country from Germany around 1929. I know they came through Ellis Island. Will records for this time frame
be made available? If so, when?
A. Even at the Ellis Island Web site for the years 1892 to 1924, you don't get
the results of the Ellis Island medical exam, the inspector's name and so on. What you get is a passenger list. If you don't have an exact date
of arrival, you can probably get that from naturalization records
(US Immigration and Naturalization Service).
If your ancestor came through Bremen,
passenger lists exist for 1920 through 1939 (previous years' lists have been destroyed); they can be searched by the
Bremen Society for Genealogical Investigation, Die Maus. Its Web site is
db.genealogy.net/maus/gate/index_en.html.
If your ancestor came through Hamburg, indexes are available on
Family History Library (FHL) microfilm. For the name Spittka in 1929, you
will need to check FHL film numbers 0473166 (January through March) and
0473168 (March through December).