http://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/apr01/ellisdb.html The records of 17 million Ellis Island immigrants will arrive on the Web on April 17th. If you're among the more than 40 percent of Americans with at least one ancestor who immigrated through Ellis Island, a crucial part of your family history is about to hit the Internet. In April, The American Family Immigration History Center will open its doors both on Ellis Island and on the Web. The center will provide easy access to the ships' passenger manifest records of the more than 17 million people who entered the United States through the Port of New York and Ellis Island from 1892 to 1924. Until now, these records have been available only on microfilm at the National Archives at www.nara.gov and on loan through local Family History Centers (which you can find at www.familysearch.org). It's taken more than four years, millions of volunteer hours and nearly $25 million to painstakingly input and double-check the passenger records. Each immigrant's entry will contain up to 11 fields of digitized data, including name, ship name and port of origin, arrival date, gender, age on arrival, marital status and last residence. You'll also be able to obtain a reproduction of the ship's manifest on which your ancestor's name appears and a photo of the ship.