Question

What are the handwritten numbers on ships manifests added during the late 1930's?

Comments

Parts of the columns that list country of origin are whited out and numbers added like (5-24140, 5-47964 and 1-173842. The date notes seem to be from about 1935 through 1938. Part of a pre-war alien check for possible European adversaries?

Answer 1

Handwritten annotations were added for several reasons.  One of the most common reasons was the person had applied for citizenship and had requested a Certificate of Arrival for the citizenship application.

Comments

That makes perfect sense. My father came over in 1917 when he was 3, but waited till 1937 to get his Naturalization. I'll bet that there were a lot of applications back there in order to enlist in the service. My father applied for a duplicate in 1942, which I have. Unfortunately, though I know the exact ship name, port of Departure and Arrival date in NY, I can't find him on any ship manifest or Ellis log to check the theory. Thanks for your help!

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Have you searched for a US passport application?  We found a number like that next to a relative's name on a passenger list from the end of WWI.  Most of the passengers were returning US servicemen, but our relative was a civilian.  The number turned out to match his US Passport application number and the documentation for the passport application showed he went over with the YMCA as a support worker.

If your father was a legal resident of the US since 1917, he should have been able,to get a passport in 1937.