1/1/2004
By Sharon Debartolo Carmack
Haven't mastered Ellis Island's online passenger-lists database? Don't lose hope — use these search secrets to unlock your ancestors' immigration records.
Some 17 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924, but those "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" are far outnumbered by their millions of descendants logging on to the Ellis Island Web site to look for them. Since the site <
www.ellisisland.org> launched in April 2001, it's recorded nearly 4 billion hits, and more than 60,000 users visit every day.
For some researchers, finding their immigrant ancestors in Ellis Island's massive data-base of passenger arrival lists proves to be a snap. But for others, Ellis Island's sobriquet of "Island of Hope, Island of Tears" takes on new meaning. You know your ancestors are in that giant computer file somewhere — but where? And why can't you find them? Or you do find them — you think — but the records don't show what you thought they would. You're tired, you're poor and you're yearning for some answers.
Don't give up! Ellis Island's records can still open a golden door into your past — if you know some essential strategies for turning those tears into hope.