How are people finding the name of the ship their ancestor came to New York on?

Question

Adam Bohn, my great grandfather came to America in late 1800's, into New York harbor, from Germany. Where do I begin to look to find the name of the ship? Info. I have is, name, date of travel, and where he was born. Any info. would be appreciated!

A1 Reference Branch · Accepted Answer

LittleDocsdaughter 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub! 
 Passenger arrival records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) document the arrival of citizens and immigrants into U.S. ports between approximately 1820 and 1957. The U.S. Customs Service maintained passenger lists from 1820 through 1890, although these records are not always complete. Beginning in 1891, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) maintained records of arrivals. 
 Until January 1, 1820, the U.S. Federal Government did not require captains or masters of vessels to present a passenger list to U.S. officials. Thus, NARA generally does not house passenger lists that predate 1820. There are two exceptions: NARA has passenger lists for Philadelphia arrivals beginning in 1800, and for New Orleans arrivals beginning in 1813. 
 For pre-1820 passenger arrival records for other ports of entry, check with archival repositories in the city or state where the port is located. For additional information about passenger arrival records that predate NARA holdings, see: P. William Filby and Mary K. Meyer, eds., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index: A Guide to Published Arrival Records of ... Passengers Who Came to the United States and Canada in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries, 3 volumes plus annual supplements (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1981). 
 NARA&rsquo;s passenger arrival records are available as microfilm, and the microfilm has been digitized in full and made available online through multiple partner websites. For information about these resources, please consult our webpage https://www.archives.gov/digitization/digitized-by-partners . Please note that researchers can access these online resources free of charge from any NARA facility. 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 Sincerely, Archives 1 Reference Branch (RR1R) RR1R-23-65555-RH