Immigration Records

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Immigration RecordsGive me your
tired!http//ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/20
43.asp

• Nearly every American can trace their ancestors
  to a foreign land
• Between 1607 to the present 35 to 50 million have
  entered the this country
• Most entered through the US ports
  Baltimore,Boston, New Orleans, New York City,
  Philadelphia, Minor ports, If they entered
  legally there should be a paper trail

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Federal and State Records

• Two times periods
• Earliest Colonial period until about 1820,
  records were kept by the colony or state where
  the port was located. Ship captains were not
  required to have a list
• After 1820 the records are better and the
  captains had to lists all passengers. About 1
  million people entered the US during this time.
  These can be found at the port city or in the
  archives, usually located in the states capital

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Records found at

• After 1820 the records are found in the National
  Archives
• Regional branch libraries of the National
  Archives
• 2 types of federal immigration records Customer
  Passenger lists and Immigration passenger lists

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Customs Passenger List

• These lists were kept by the US Customs Service
  and cover the years 1820 until about 1891

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Immigration Passenger list

• These lists were kept by the US Immigration and
  Naturalization Service (INS). They began 1906
  and continued until 1957

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Each list can contain

• Name
• Age
• Gender
• Occupation
• Country of Embarkation
• Country of Destination
• They could contain a birth place, last place of
  residence and address of a relative in the native
  country depending on the year

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Passenger lists have been indexed

• These can be found on the internet, National
  Archives and the Family History Library (can be
  ordered to any library)
• Passenger lists have been indexed which help us
  to find our ancestor easier, they are the best
  starting point for finding out where our
  ancestors left and arrived from

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Steps to take to find a ship list

• Complete name of individual (first, middle, last
  and any variations)
• Approximate year of arrival
• Port city where the immigrant entered
• Ships name
• Port of embarkation
• Hometown where they left from

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Resources for immigration

• Book Passenger and Immigration Lists Index A
  Guide to Published Arrival Records and Passengers
  Who Came to the United States and Canada in the
  17th, 18th and 19th Centuries
• Internet
• Family History Library
• Remember to check publications that are specific
  to ethnic groups

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Internet Sites

• www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy
• www.ellisisland.org Ellis Island database
• http//www.castlegarden.org/ Castle Garden
  database
• www.Members.aol.com/rprost/passenger.html (ships)
• www.xmission.com/nelsonb/pioneer.htm (LDS
  pioneers)
• www.genuki.org.uk/big
• www.rootsweb.com/rwguide/lesson16.htm (great
  lesson on immigration)
• http//istg.rootsweb.com/index2.html (ships)
• www.kinshipsprints.com (photos of ships)
• http//archives.ubalt.edu/steamship/photo.htm
  (photos of ships)
• http//www.theshipslist.com/

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Internet sites cont.

• www.Colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/natinfo.htm
• http//home.att.net/wee-monster/naturalizationrec
  ords.html
• www.jgsny.org/kingsintro2.htm
• www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/research_
  topics/naturalization_records.html
• http//uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/history/natzrec/
  natrec.htm
• www.genealogybranches.com/naturalization.html

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Special Note of interest

• If you do not have any idea where or when you
  family members arrived.
• Start with the 1920 Census, Column 13. This asks
  the year of immigration to the US. This would
  help you in finding the Ship and arrival date.

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Paper Copies From NARA

• NATF Form 81 and mailed to the NARA
• Get the form from http//www.archives.gov/research
  _room/obtain_copies/military_and_genealogy_order_f
  orms.htmlbymail
• Or Write to National Archives and Records
  Administration, Att NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania
  Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20408-0001

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Ellis Island

• Between 1892-1954 approximately 12 million people
  were processed in the facilities
• Today 40 of all Americans can trace their roots
  to at least one person who passed through the
  center
• Computerized database of those who passed through
  Ellis Island between 1892 1924. The best
  starting point for searching our immigrant
  ancestors
• Covers 11 fields name, sex, age, marital status,
  ship they arrived on, port of origin, departure
  date, nationality, last residence
• You can get a printed copy of the scanned image
  and a picture of the ship

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• What was the voyage like for your ancestors?
  Can you find their journal or one from someone
  else on the same voyage that would tell you what
  it was like?
• Read about the ships, this also helps you to
  know what it was like.

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• One of the most rewarding aspects of genealogy
  is the contact we have with the lives our our
  ancestors through the records they left behind.