Sammlung F923 - Port of New York collection

An act of March 2, 1819 (3 Stat. 488), provided that effective January 1, 1820, the captain or master of a vessel arriving at a port in the United States or its territories from a foreign country was to submit a list of the passengers to the collector of customs in the district where the vessel arrived. The act also provided that for each quarter year every collector should submit copies of the lists to the Secretary of State who, in turn, was to report on them at each session of Congress. The Secretary's reports, published in Congressional documents, indicate by port of arrival the number of passengers, nationality, and occupation. Each list or copy normally gives the name of the vessel, its master, port of embarkation, date of its arrival, and the following information about each passenger: name, age, sex, occupation, the country to which he belongs, the country of which he intends to become an inhabitant, and, if he died en route, the date and circumstances of his death. The law required that the list be sworn to by the master in the presence of the collector.