A. Overview Most Italians arrived in America at the Port of New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They came for a better life. The Passenger List or Ship Manifest provides important information that includes: name, age, marriage status, occupation, destination. In about 1900, U.S. Immigration Services revised their arrival forms and started asking more detailed questions that include:
Place of Birth?
The name and complete address of nearest relative or friend in country whence the alien came?
Whether ever before in the United States; and if so, when and where?
Whether going to join a relative or friend; and if so, what relative or friend, and his name and complete address?
Who paid for the passage? How much money did the passenger possess?
The information on Passenger Lists can help validate whether the listed passenger is indeed the correct person and your ancestor. Moreover, depending on information listed, you might also find the name of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, or other relative.
B. Search Strategies
(1) Search Ancestry, Ellis Island, and MyHeritage If you have a subscription to Ancestry, Ellis Island, and/or MyHeritage, search these databases first. They have powerful search engines and you will be able to better narrow down your search. But they do require a subscription. The links below are to Passenger Lists on Ancestry and Ellis Island. I do not have a MyHeritage subscription, so I don't know the comparable link.
(2)Search New York Passenger Lists on FamilySearch These following three FamilySearch Passenger Lists have been indexed and allow you to search by name. If you know when your ancestor arrived in America, choose the related Passenger List. If you don't know, search for your ancestor in all three options.
(3) Search Historical Records on FamilySearch This is FamilySearch's main search engine. You can search by name and other criteria. You will probably get many results from your search. As result, you should narrow your search accordingly. Take a look at "#5 FamilySearch" on Resources for help.
Names were not changed on arrival at Ellis Island. Passenger Lists were prepared by the Steamship Company at the port of departure. The names you see are the Italian names. Immigrants would have changed their names after they settled in America.
Maiden names were used for married women. Therefore, you need to search for the maiden name. On lines 6-8 (middle of page), you will see that Isabella Nicoletti, daughter Serafina Barberio, and son Rosario Barberio arrived on 31 October 1903 at the Port of New York on the S.S. Prinz Oscar. They came to join husband and father Francesco Barberio in Fairmont, WV.
As stated, Passenger Lists changed significantly after 1900. The examples below show the change. BTW, some Passenger Lists are one-page and some two-pages. It is a good practice to always check for a second page. And sometimes you can't read the column headings. If so, move to another page to see if it is better. You can also look at the National Archives' Charts and Formsto see column headings on passenger lists as well as census records and other forms.