Departure from Antwerp The launch of the Red Star Line in 1872 and the new modern ships, a combination of sail and steam, were the main reasons that emigrants choose Antwerp as port of departure. From 1843 to 1905, a total of 1.086.153 European emigrants departed from the port of Antwerp.

Tracing of emigrant or immigrant ancestors Tracing ancestors is an interesting and challenging task. With the help of documents kept in various archives both at home and abroad, your search can be succesful. Once you begin your search, it is very important to collect as many details as possible regarding the person to be traced. It is essential to find the date of departure of the person from Antwerp, the name of the ship and the destination.

The Antwerp City Archives (Stadsarchief Antwerpen) Migration files

Foreigners are often difficult to trace. Only when an arriving person or his family stayed in Antwerp for an extended period of time, they are registered. In these cases they can be found in the migration files. A file is public when the persons mentioned therein are deceased. The most recent files can only be consulted by the person concerned or by permission of the archivist and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. (GSU)

Hotels and hostels Most immigrants stayed in cheap hostels in Antwerp, the more well-off stayed in hotels.

(1801 - 1898) A number of hotel registers are preserved in the city archives. These registers very seldom have alphabetical indexes. They are exclusively chronological. Names of hotel guests, occupation, place of residence and destination are sometimes noted.

In the chronological register of the Jozef Sels House, Lange Sint-Annastraat 1 you will find information from 1925 to 1946. Thereafter, it was a rented house untill 1979. First names and surnames of guests, occupation, year of birth and place of residence, date of departure and sometimes destination are noted.