1880 Passenger Lists – Castle Garden Era
📜 Abstract
Passenger lists from 1880 provide a fascinating glimpse into the Castle Garden era of immigration and transatlantic travel. These records survive as both decorative souvenir lists, often featuring ornate covers for saloon passengers, and as official manifests, documenting names, ages, occupations, and nationalities. They remain invaluable to genealogists, historians, educators, and collectors, preserving details of journeys that shaped family histories and migration patterns.
Overview
Passenger lists for 1880 document voyages during a transformative era of immigration and ocean travel. Steamship companies produced both:
Souvenir Passenger Lists 🖼️ – Elegant keepsakes given to first- and cabin-class passengers.
Ship’s Manifests 📜 – Working records submitted to U.S. authorities, often listing all passengers by class.
Both types capture details not always preserved in government registers, making them valuable historical sources.
1880-05-29 SS City of Chester Passenger List
Steamship Line: Inman Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon/First Cabin
Date of Departure: 29 May 1880
Route: New York to Liverpool
Commander: Captain Frederick Watkins
📌 Featured 1880 Passenger List: SS City of Chester (Inman Line)
- Date of Departure: 29 May 1880
- Steamship Line: Inman Line
- Class of Passengers: Saloon/First Cabin
- Route: New York → Liverpool
- Commander: Capt. Frederick Watkins
Why it’s interesting:
⚓ Represents the Inman Line, a major competitor in transatlantic passenger service.
🧳 Provides a record of Cabin Class travelers crossing eastbound from the U.S. to England.
🎨 Features a souvenir cover highlighting the artistry of passenger list design in this period.
🌍 Historical Relevance
Immigration History: Though Castle Garden processed most westbound immigrants, eastbound passenger lists like this one show how Americans and expatriates returned to Europe for business, study, or family visits.
Ocean Travel: The City of Chester demonstrates the division of passengers into Cabin, Second Cabin, and Steerage, reflecting both luxury and hardship aboard the same ship.
Research Value:
🏫 Teachers & Students – Illustrates transatlantic migration and class structures.
🧑🤝🧑 Genealogists – A valuable record of names and details often missing from official ledgers.
📖 Historians – Documents the Inman Line’s role in connecting New York and Liverpool.
🗂️ Collectors – Souvenir covers are rare ephemera highly prized in maritime collections.
Image: The Very Ornate Front Cover from a Saloon/First Cabin Passenger List of the Inman Line SS City of Chester, Departing 29 May 1880 from New York to Liverpool.
✨ Related GG Archives Links
- Inman Line Passenger Lists Collection
- Castle Garden Immigration Station – Overview
- Souvenir Passenger Lists Collection
- New York Immigration Passenger Lists
📬 Help Us Grow the Collection
If you own or have access to a souvenir passenger list from 1880, we would appreciate a digital copy to help expand the archive. Please contact us at history@ggarchives.com.
⚠️ About Accuracy in Historical Records Research Tip
Context. The GG Archives presents passenger lists as faithfully as possible to the original documents. While OCR is generally accurate, portions of these collections—especially image captions and some transcriptions—are typed by hand and may include typographical or spelling variations. The original manifests themselves also contained clerical inconsistencies (names recorded phonetically, mid-voyage corrections, etc.).
What this means for your research:
- Search variant spellings of names (e.g., “Schmidt/Schmitt/Smith,” “Giuseppe/Joseph”).
- Cross-reference with immigration cards, passport applications, naturalization files, city directories, and newspapers.
- Treat manifests as primary sources with historical quirks—use them alongside corroborating records.
- For place names, consider historical borders and language variants (e.g., Danzig/Gdańsk, Trieste/Trst).
How to cite. When quoting a name from a manifest, consider adding [sic] for obvious misspellings and include a note such as “spelling as printed in original passenger list.”
Need help? If you spot a likely transcription error in captions, feel free to contact us with the page URL and a brief note—we love community input. 🙏
Curator’s Note
For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.
It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.
If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.
📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.
