Hi,
I've just come across an ancestry hint that my ggm's brother, Chaim Isser Bornstein born c 1869 (though there are various spellings of the surname), featured in the 'New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957'.

I haven't done any research into American records so if there is anyone experienced who can advise me how to find records for him and what sort of records I am likely to be able to locate I would be very grateful. It would be amazing to find his descendants!!

Michelle Moshelian
mmoshelian@... 

 I suggest that you start with stevemorse.org, where you will find a wonderful set of tools for searching ship manifests and other lists. 
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Barbara Sloan
Conway, SC

And from there is familysearch.org

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Diane Jacobs, Somerset, New Jersey

Michelle,

If you have a current paid Ancestry account, you should be able to view the record by clicking on the hint. Then you can examine it to see if it looks consistent with your ancestor. The information included on older passenger manifests varies, but after 1906, a consistent form was used that gives a lot of useful details.

If you don't have a paid Ancestry account, you should be able to obtain the same record in other ways. Many local public libraries offer Ancestry library edition. You must use it in the library, and it doesn't give you access to your tree or hints, so you'll have to search for the record. Family Search also has New York passenger lists, and it is free and available online to all (the wiki has more information about them https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/New_York_Passenger_Arrival_Lists_(Ellis_Island)_-_FamilySearch_Historical_Records). Other sources also offer the same records in some form, including the Ellis Island/ Statue of Liberty site (https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/) and NARA (https://www.archives.gov/nyc/finding-aids/passenger-lists.html).

Without a hint, you'll have to search for the record. Sometimes this is as easy as typing the name in the search box. In other cases, getting results is not so simple. As Barbara Sloan mentioned, the Steve Morse site (https://stevemorse.org/) has search tools that may be helpful if you don't find what you need with a simple search.

Even if you have to work at it, it will be worthwhile to find that record. Passenger lists can provide useful information such as names of relatives traveling together, contacts in the old and new country and more.

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Meta S. Brown
Chicago, IL