St. Albans Manifest - Canadian Border Crossings

Anyone researching their ancestors in Shoshone County should be aware of the important connection between Shoshone County, Bonner County, Kootenai County, Spokane, WA and Rossland & Trail, B.C., Canada. To not look at these connections could mean missing your ancestor completely.
Spokane, Rossland and Trail are all innerconnected to Shoshone County, particularly if your ancestor was in the mining industry. Miners came to Shoshone County from Rossland and Trail after the mines dried up in British Columbia.
You can track your ancestors crossing the Canadian Border via films from the Mormon Library Family History Center, called the St Albans Border Crossing. If you suspect or know that your ancestor was a miner, you can contact the Lei Roi Mining Museum in Rossland, B.C., to see if they have any records. Additionally, Spokane, WA was built by money from the Silver Valley Mining industry. Contact the Eastern Washington Genealogy Society in Spokane, WA to see if they have any information on your ancestor. Most miners made migrations through Bonner County, ID to get from Rossland to Shoshone, and many left Shoshone eventually to live in Kootenai County. The lesson here is to check all surrounding counties!

Many far flung border stations sent records to the St. Albans, Vermont District Office monthly. The records cover 1895-1954. The "Event Place" of Vermont references the district office location, the actual crossing point is generally referred to as the "Port".

The entry's are soundex coded to the surname. If you do not understand the soundex system, your local Mormon Library FHC will be able to help you. The topic at your local Mormon Library to look under is: CANADA EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION. Here is a listing of the holdings I am aware of:

• St. Albans District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory, 1895-1915: 937 rolls of microfilm, covering crossings from Maine to Washington (also Alaska) between 1895-1915. After 1915, records are limited to border crossings in the NY-VT areas.
• Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries Through the St. Albans, VT. District, 1895-1924: 400 rolls of index cards.
• Soundex Index to Entries into the St. Albans VT District Through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1924-1952: 98 rolls of index cards pertaining to border crossings in the NY-VT area.
• Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans VT District Through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954: Ship lists of arrivals. FHC has 413 rolls of microfilm, and the National Archives have 225 rolls of film. (***Be careful here, there is another set of fims for 1925-1949-see next paragraph***)
• Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans VT District Through Canadian Pacific Ports, 1929-1949: The 25 rolls of film supplement the above passenger lists.
• St. Albans District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory, 1895-1924: 6 rolls of microfilm indexing arrivals at small ports in VT.
• Detroit District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory, 1906-1954: 117 rolls of microfilm for persons entering through Detroit and other Michigan ports.

This information was donated by past Shoshone Coordinator Nancy Russell in 2000, if you have any questions, contact us.

2021 Update - Family History Centers no longer supply the actual microfilms, now the images are online to browse through, although you must have a free guest account. For more information see the Wikipage at FamilySearch LINK

Page updated August 2021