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Archiver > ILFRANKL > 2005-08 > 1123280373


From: "Sheree Falkenberry" <>
Subject: Re: Re:Castle Garden
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 17:19:33 -0500
References: <1f6.f3d5925.302511a4@aol.com>


I must have missed the point but regarding Castle Garden this came in my
email this afternoon from Family Tree Magazine.

Not-So-Secret Garden
Used to be, if you wanted to find ancestors who immigrated through Castle
Garden--New York's primary emigrant landing depot from 1855 to 1890--you had
to crank through reels of unindexed microfilm or buy a subscription to
Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com). Now you can go to
http://castlegarden.org and search a free online database of New York
passenger lists from 1830 through 1913.
The Battery Conservancy (http://www.thebattery.org), an organization to
restore Manhattan's Battery Park, launched the 10 million-name database
Monday. Besides Castle Garden immigrants, says Conservancy program associate
David Bromwich, it includes passengers who were dropped off at the Battery
before Castle Garden opened and 2,000 Ellis Island immigrants who aren't in
the database at http://www.ellisisland.org. (Ellis Island opened in 1892.)
CastleGarden.org transcription project leader Ira Glazier expects to add 2
million more immigrants to the site's compilation.

CastleGarden.org's free Quick Search lets you look for a first and last name
and arrival date range. You can narrow your results by choosing a place of
origin, occupation and ship. The search returns only exact matches, so
you'll need to try spelling variations on your ancestor's name. If you're
not sure of the first name, leave that field blank to see everyone with the
surname you're looking for. Results show name, occupation, age, sex, arrival
and ship's name.

Webmasters hope to enhance the database with Soundex searching-which would
catch similar-sounding surnames- and images of the original passenger lists.

For $45, you can submit an Advanced Search request, which lets you select
variables for sex, age, ship, port of departure, country of origin,
occupation and destination-without specifying a name. Although the site
recommends this search for scholars and genealogists, the Quick Search will
do in most cases. If you're prepared to pay, it might be a better value to
buy a $79.95 subscription to Ancestry.com's US Immigration Collection, which
includes images from microfilm of the original passenger manifests.

Follow the site's Timeline link for a trip through Castle Garden's
illustrious history starting as a military fort called the Southwest
Battery. It was reincarnated as a prestigious performing arts venue, the
immigrant processing station and an aquarium before being designated a
national monument bearing its 1817 name, Castle Clinton. For more ways to
find Castle Garden passengers,
see the August 2005 Family Tree Magazine.

Once you surfed CastleGarden.org, drop an e-mail to
and let us know what you think of the site.



----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 2:01 PM
Subject: Re:Castle Garden


> Why do I feel like I live in Roman times ??
>
> All roads lead to Ancestry.com .................. Nothing is sacred
> anymore.
>
> BEST
> steve
>
>


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