1884 Passenger Lists – Castle Garden Era
📜 Abstract
Passenger lists from 1884 reflect the Castle Garden era of immigration and ocean travel. These records survive as both decorative souvenir lists for Saloon and Cabin passengers and as working manifests, documenting details such as names, occupations, and destinations. They remain invaluable for genealogists, historians, educators, and collectors, preserving the stories of travelers who crossed the Atlantic during this pivotal decade.
Overview
Passenger lists for 1884 highlight voyages by prominent British steamship companies such as the Inman Line and the Anchor Line. Surviving examples in the GG Archives collection include Saloon-class souvenir lists, many with illustrated covers, that showcase the elegance of ocean travel while also preserving valuable genealogical details.
1884-06-05 SS City of Berlin Passenger List
Steamship Line: Inman Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 8 June 1884
Route: Liverpool to New York
Commander: Captain Arthur W. Lewis
1884-08-23 SS City Of Rome Passenger List
Steamship Line: Anchor Steamship Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 23 August 1884
Route: Liverpool to New York
Commander: Captain R. D. Munro
1884-09-02 SS City of Chester Passenger List
Steamship Line: Inman Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 2 September 1884
Route: Liverpool to New York
Commander: Captain Henry Condron
1884-09-05 Anchoria Passenger List
Steamship Line: Anchor Steamship Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 5 September 1884
Route: Glasgow to New York via Moville
Commander: Captain John J. Small
1884-10-25 SS City of Chester Passenger List
Steamship Line: Inman Line
Class of Passengers: Saloon
Date of Departure: 25 October 1884
Route: New York to Liverpool via Queenstown (Cobh)
Commander: Captain Henry Condron
📌 Featured 1884 Passenger Lists
8 June 1884 – RMS City of Berlin (Inman Line)
- Class: Saloon
- Route: Liverpool → New York
- Commander: Capt. Arthur W. Lewis
- Note: Souvenir Saloon list from one of Inman’s premier liners.
23 August 1884 – SS City of Rome (Anchor Line)
- Class: Saloon
- Route: Liverpool → New York
- Commander: Capt. R. D. Munro
- Note: A massive Anchor liner, famous for her size and luxury, captured here in a rare Saloon list.
2 September 1884 – SS City of Chester (Inman Line)
- Class: Saloon
- Route: Liverpool → New York
- Commander: Capt. Henry Condron
- Note: Souvenir cover survives, showing Inman’s artistic style in passenger list design.
5 September 1884 – SS Anchoria (Anchor Line)
- Class: Saloon
- Route: Glasgow → New York (via Moville)
- Commander: Capt. John J. Small
- Note: A Glasgow-based Anchor Line voyage, documenting Saloon passengers on the emigrant route.
25 October 1884 – SS City of Chester (Inman Line)
- Class: Saloon
- Route: New York → Liverpool (via Queenstown/Cobh)
- Commander: Capt. Henry Condron
- Note: A west-to-east return voyage, highlighting the bidirectional nature of 19th-century ocean travel.
📅 Passenger Lists by Voyage – 1884
| Date | Vessel & Line | Route |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Jun 1884 | RMS City of Berlin Inman Line · Saloon · Capt. A. W. Lewis |
Liverpool → New York |
| 23 Aug 1884 | SS City of Rome Anchor Line · Saloon · Capt. R. D. Munro |
Liverpool → New York |
| 2 Sep 1884 | SS City of Chester Inman Line · Saloon · Capt. H. Condron |
Liverpool → New York |
| 5 Sep 1884 | SS Anchoria Anchor Line · Saloon · Capt. J. J. Small |
Glasgow → New York (via Moville) |
| 25 Oct 1884 | SS City of Chester Inman Line · Saloon · Capt. H. Condron |
New York → Liverpool (via Queenstown) |
🌍 Historical Relevance
Immigration History: These voyages document the continuing flow of emigrants through Castle Garden, with New York and Glasgow as major departure and arrival hubs.
Ocean Travel: Passenger lists illustrate the division of classes aboard ships, with Saloon passengers receiving decorated booklets.
Research Value:
🏫 Teachers & Students – Primary sources for 19th-century immigration studies.
🧑🤝🧑 Genealogists – Names, occupations, and details of Saloon travelers.
📖 Historians – Evidence of the competition between Inman and Anchor in the 1880s.
🗂️ Collectors – Passenger list covers from this year are scarce and highly desirable.
🛳️ Special Note: The City of Rome
The SS City of Rome was one of the largest and most luxurious passenger steamers of her era. Built in 1881 for the Anchor Line, she measured over 8,400 tons and was among the finest examples of British shipbuilding in the early 1880s.
Although admired for her size and beauty, she was never a financial success and was eventually chartered and sold out of Anchor Line service. This makes surviving souvenir passenger lists from her active years particularly rare and desirable.
For genealogists, lists from the City of Rome capture emigrants and Saloon passengers who experienced travel aboard what was, at the time, one of the grandest ocean liners afloat. For collectors, she represents a prestige vessel whose ephemera is prized in maritime archives.
✨ Related GG Archives Links
📬 Help Us Grow the Collection
If you have a souvenir passenger list from 1884, we would be grateful for a digital copy to help expand and preserve this record set. Please email 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.
