The site has been deluged since the moment it went live in 2001, and users may very likely find it difficult to access. Those lucky enough to get through will find a searchable database that contains records on the 22 million passengers and ship crew members who passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924. In addition to a basic passenger record (name, ethnicity, place of residence, age, marital status, ship of travel, etc.), users can also view a copy of the original ship manifest (a text version is also available), and even a picture of the ship travelled on! Free registration is required to use the database and a paid membership to use some of the other features at the site, such as creating a public scrapbook (these will be available for free viewing). Easy to use (I found my grandfather-in-law in just a few minutes), this site is an essential resource for genealogy research online, especially once its server capacity improves.