Does anyone know anything about CastleGarden.org ?

Question

Is anyone familiar with this website? If so, is this an 'indexed' website? What do the coded 'Destination' numbers mean? Are there any other websites similar to CastleGarden or EllisIsland that are free and searchable that anyone can direct me to?

I've tried Rootsweb.com and MyHeritage.com and LDS. (Is the Mormon website the same as the LDS website and is it free to search? )

Any answers would be appreciated.

Answer 1

The CastleGarden site is a project of the Battery Conservancy. Before there was a single entry point for the immigrant arrivals at Ellis Island, there was a separate, state-level facility called Castle Clinton on the southern tip of Manhattan. It's now part of the Port Authority of NY.

Castle Clinton processed about 80% of all passengers into and out of NYC. The rest got off on Long Island or across the Sound in Connecticut.

The Battery Conservancy just took up the cause of indexing all NYC passenger records through the Port of NY from 1830 until 1935. One interesting thing often overlooked is that Ellis Island didn't process anyone coming into NY who was a first or second class passenger. Those continued being processed through Castle Clinton.

At the moment, CastleGarden is over have finished with the transcription and proof-reading. Plan on another 3 years before it's all complete. If you find the record you need through their website, you can order the full film from the LDS if you think it might be helpful to you

Answer 2

http://www.cyndislist.com/immigrat.htm

there are many sites that focus on immigration and related things. My approach (always) is the more sites you have, the better off you are.