The Eagle Pass   Entry Cards

 In seeking out gateway ancestors, researchers don’t normally consider inland U.S. cities as “ports of entry”; however, for immigrants coming into the U.S. across the Canadian and Mexican borders, these “ports” are exactly where the research must be focused. The records of one such entry point—Eagle Pass, Texas—are found in National Archives Microfilm Publication M2041, Temporary and Nonstatistical Manifests of Aliens Arriving at Eagle Pass, Texas, July 1928-June 1953. Recently acquired by Clayton Library, this microfilm publication consists of 14 reels (cabinet 66, drawer 6, second floor microprint area).

 U.S. authorities did not begin keeping records of arrivals across the Mexican border until about 1906, and when the system for keeping such records was put in place, it differed substantially from that used to record information on ship passengers, whose names were conveniently supplied on manifests drawn by the captains of arriving vessels. To gather such information at inland “ports of entry,” immigration officials completed individual Manifest or Application cards. These contain essentially the same type of information collected on the traditional passenger lists-and in some cases, much more.

 Because of variations in the laws governing the type of information to be collected, early records are incomplete, some consisting only of headcounts and summary data. The records imaged in Microfilm Publication M2041, which is specific to individual immigrants entering the country at Eagle Pass, begin in 1928 and extend through 1953. The records are arranged in three sub-series: 1 July 1928 to 21 March 1929 (reel 1); 22 March 1929 to 30 June 1940 (reels 2-7); and 1 July 1940 to 30 June 1953 (reels 8-14). The first sub-series is arranged chronologically by date of arrival and then numerically by manifest number. The two remaining sub-series are arranged alphabetically by surname and then by given name; however, the descriptive pamphlet for the series warns the researcher that the alphabetical arrangement is “rough” and that numerous cards are out of their proper place in the sequence. Also, a word of caution is given concerning the selection (for alphabetical sequencing) of the surname. Surnames such as “De La Huerta” are sequenced as “Huerta.” Names such as “Maria de los Angeles Castro” are sequenced under the surname “Castro.”

 I examined several of the records from this microfilm set in order to assess the data content and legibility, and the records I sampled proved to be very good. There are two types of cards in this collection, both of which contain similar information. The Manifest card has blocks in which to record the person’s name, age, sex, marital status, place of birth, physical description, occupation, nationality, race, native language, place of last residence, arrival date, destination, purpose of entry, the name and address of the resident being visited, the name and address of the alien’s nearest relative, and information concerning the alien’s previous visits to the U.S. The Application card (Application for Nonresident Alien’s Border Crossing Identification Card) contains similar information but, in addition, has blocks in which to record the number and date of issuance of the alien’s foreign passport or other identification. In examining the cards on reel #1, I was surprised to find that some of the cards—about one in a hundred—had affixed to them small photographs of the immigrant or immigrant family (see inset). According to the descriptive pamphlet, inclusion of photographs is more common on the manifest cards from 1940 through 1953. What a nice surprise it would be to find one of these for a long-lost ancestor!

 One item of note before closing: Although it is always preferable to examine original documents when gathering family history data, the Eagle Pass entry cards exist now only on microfilm. The Immigration and Naturalization Service filmed the records in 1953, transferred the film to the National Archives, and then destroyed the original cards.

 For additional information about publication M2041 and related microfilm publications, see the descriptive pamphlet, a copy of which is imaged on the microfilm.