Ship Arrival Discrepancy

[cefola]

I suppose my basic question is "what should I trust"
My Grandfather's ship manifest indicates that arrival
in New York from Naples was expected to be July 12th 1902.
Eillis Island records, for the same ship, indicates
an arrival of July 14th 1902. Two days later.
Do situations like this occur often?
Would the Ellis Island date be the most realistic?
Thanks!
Ray

[johnnyonthespot]

I often see a one and sometimes two day difference between the arrival date at the top of a maifest and the arrival date noted in the Ancestry/EllisIsland/NARA indexes.

I suppose one explanation is that the anticipated arrival date was written on the manifest at the time it was created (before actually "setting sail") and the ship arrived late due to unforseen delays.

Another possibilty (especially for one-day discrepancies) is that the ship arrived to late in the day to be processed and the passengers had to remian on board until the following business day when the ship's arrival was officially noted.

It is a good question; one for which I do not know the true answer. Personally, I usually go by the date on the manifest itself.

[cefola]

Thanks for your advice!