Make the most of the Ellis Island Foundation Web site

If you're one of the fortunate rooters whose ancestors arrived at Ellis Island or the Port of New York between 1892-1924, you should be able to glean a wealth of information from the Ellis Island Foundation's Web site at www.

ellisisland.org.

spmorse/ellis/ellis.html or try using these helpful hints recently compiled by the Foundation

-- Is your ancestor's name spelled correctly? Can you think of alternate spellings? Some names may have been misspelled at the time the manifest was recorded, which always took place at the port of departure. If you don't find a match, the database offers alternate spellings. Remember, there was and is no universal way to spell surnames. Many times the spelling changed from one generation to the next into the early 1900s.

-- To broaden your search, use just the first initial and last name. Not only were last names changed by immigrants; often first names were anglicized from the original spelling. Irving Berlin's name, for instance, was actually "Israel Beilin." Keep in mind that first and/or middle names may be baptismal names. Johannes and Maria, for instance, are baptismal names frequently given to German children. A boy who was given the name "Adam Schneider" at birth would become Johannes Adam Schneider after his baptism.

-- Most manifests are actually two pages, not one. The most important is the first page, with the passenger's name on the far left side. Sometimes the second page of the manifest turns up on your computer screen first. Make certain you are looking at the proper page. Click on the button in the toolbar that enlarges your screen view of the manifest. Then scroll down the left side of the screen and look for passenger names. If there aren't any, you're not on the first manifest page.

To get where you want to go, click on "Close Window," which brings you back to the search results page. Right above the magnifier you will find "Previous" and "Next" buttons. Click on those to work your way backward or forward through the manifest pages. Be aware that the pages are not necessarily in order.

-- These records are not in perfect order. Sometimes you may not find an ancestor's name where the database says it should be on a particular page. I so, try clicking the "Previous" or "Next" buttons on the search results page to expand your search. You might very well find the name on a nearby manifest.

-- Don't get discouraged! Although this Web site is the most efficient way to find your ancestors' arrival records if they came through Ellis Island, it might take you a few tries to get your match. And don't be surprised if what you find conflicts with family lore. Information passed down through the generations can prove unreliable. Perhaps your grandmother did not arrive in 1905, but another year. Or the name was spelled differently than anyone in your family can recall. Maybe great-grandfather was actually a laborer, not a lawyer. Keep an open mind.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 to

raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Working in partnership with the National Park Service, it receives no government funding.

In addition to restoring and preserving Lady Liberty and Ellis Island, creating the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the American Immigrant Wall of Honor (www.wallofhonor.com), where you can permanently place a loved one's name, the Foundation most recently completed The American Family Immigration History Center.

-- Donna Murray Allen welcomes your questions about genealogy and will respond to those of general interest in future columns. Sorry, she can't take phone calls, but you can write to her c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com .

You can read her column online at www.sptimes.com. Type Donna Murray Allen in the search box. Or visit www.rootsdetective.com.

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