Sep 1, 2010 - o Name/address of relative in the old country ... Finding that Grain of Truth⦠... collections require a
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Coming to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors Presented by Juliana Smith September 1, 2010
DISCOVERING THE STORIES
Sometimes you have to look deeper than the names and dates on records. Look for stories of chain migration, where one or more family member immigrates and then sends for other family members once he or she is established. Put your ancestor’s trip in the context of history. What prompted him or her to leave? Look for extended family and friends who may be traveling with your ancestor. This can help you make sure you have the right family. Look at conditions. Were they traveling in steerage or 1st class? What time of the year was it? How long did voyages take during the era? Look at the list as a whole. Were there many deaths? What was the ethnic background of fellow passengers? Ages? Were there many families traveling together or mostly men? How old were your ancestors? Check newspapers around the time of the ship’s arrival to see if there is information about the voyage. Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ERAS OF IMMIGRATION
Pre-1820 Passenger Lists No laws required captains to maintain passenger lists (also called manifests). Some lists were kept, though, and have survived from this period. Others have been lost or destroyed, although some were published and saved prior to destruction. Look for references to immigration in biographical materials and local histories. The Card Catalog on Ancestry.com is a good place to start your search. Check libraries and archives near the port to learn more.
1820s to 1890s Passenger Lists Steerage Act of 1819 was aimed in part at regulating overcrowding on ships and required a list of passengers be submitted to the customs collector at the port of arrival. “Customs Manifests” or “Customs Passenger Lists” required: o Ship and captain’s name o Ports of departure and arrival o Date of arrival o Passenger name o Age o Gender o Occupation o Nationality Your ancestors may not have been married when they came over. Try searching for female ancestors using their maiden names. Births and deaths on board the ship were noted, sometimes with a notation by the parents’ listing or at the end of the manifest. 1890s to 1957 Passenger Lists In 1891, responsibility for passenger lists was transferred to the U.S. Office of Immigration. Additional information was added beginning in the 1890s. o Marital status o Last residence (Home city/town names!) o Final destination o If the passenger had been in the U.S. previously, plus when, where, and how long o Where the passenger was going to join a relative, who and where. o Whether the passenger could read and write o Whether the passenger had a train ticket to his/her final destination. o Who paid for the passage o How much money the passenger was carrying o Whether the passenger had been in a prison, almshouse, or institution for the insane o If the passenger a polygamist o Whether the passenger had a contract to work in the U.S. o If the passenger was healthy o Ethnic background o Name/address of relative in the old country Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Ethnic given names (e.g., John = Jan, Janos, Johann, Giovanni, etc.) Surname variants o Phonetic spellings o Non-Anglicized names o Aliases and name changes Place names o Phonetic spellings o Name/border changes Age (estimate from census, vital records, etc.) Family structure, including extended family Nationality Estimated date of arrival Narrowing the Arrival Date Create a timeline chronicling events in your family’s life and where they took place. Birth dates and birthplaces of children, marriage dates and location and other details can help you narrow the time frame you are searching. If your immigrant ancestors were in the U.S. and alive at the time of the 1900, 1910, 1920, or 1930 federal census, check the column that lists the year of immigration to the U.S. Check state censuses for places your ancestor lived. Sometimes these will list how many years in the U.S. Naturalization records, particularly 20th century records, may list the ship, port, and date of arrival. Check to see if your ancestor applied for a U.S. Passport (1795-1925) as these, too, may include immigration information. Vital records may include how many years in the U.S. Seek out unique collections like the records of the Emigrant Savings Bank, 1850-1883. Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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CONSIDERATIONS
Finding that Grain of Truth… Keep in mind that records that list the date of immigration may have been created many years after the event. If you’re having trouble finding the record in the year listed on the record, think about what would have stood out in the immigrant’s mind. Would he remember the exact year? Maybe not, but arriving on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, a birthday, etc., would have been more memorable. Look for extended family in passenger lists, particularly in 20th century records, which list who they are going to join in the U.S. Check multiple ports and bear in mind that your ancestor may have made several trips before finally settling in for good. Worth Noting Large numbers of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe prior to and in the early 20th century prompted the Quota Act of 1921 limiting the number of immigrants who could enter the U.S. Many immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe departed from northern European ports to try to circumvent these measures. Coming in through Canada or Mexico to visit family was another way to get a foot in the door. Throughout much of history, travel to Canada from Europe was cheaper than to the U.S. Check Border Crossings for Canada (1895-1956) and Mexico (1903-1957) for ancestors who entered the U.S. via these countries. Canadian passenger arrivals (1865-1935) are also available. Emigration records are available for several European ports and contain similar information as inbound passenger lists. Finding your ancestor in these records will give you the ship name and allow you to estimate entry into the U.S. Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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SEARCHING ALL IMMIGRATION & TRAVEL RECORDS
To search the entire Immigration & Travel category of records, enter your search terms here.
See sample records from this collection.
Learn more about the records and get helpful tips here.
Select Passenger Lists to narrow your search to only passenger lists from all of the ports currently available.
Links to the category’s most popular collections.
Articles listed here can help you get the most from these records.
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SEARCH ONLY PASSENGER LISTS
Click the Default settings link to refine your search.
Add estimated birth and migration years, specify exact, but select +/- 1, 2, 5 or 10 years to narrow your focus to a particular window.
If you know the name of the ship, enter it in the keyword field.
Select United States in the Collection Priority box to give U.S. collections higher ranking in results. Click the box below it to limit results to only U.S. collections.
Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE TRIP
Learn about the ship your ancestor traveled on through two collections in the Ships Pictures category. Listen to the Ellis Island Oral Histories to hear the stories of people who may have come from the same places your ancestors lived and learn about their experiences on their voyage to America. Enter the arrival year or ethnicity to learn more about the type of experience your own ancestor may have had as an immigrant or search by name to see if a family member is included in the collection. Search the Internet for [your ancestor’s origin] + immigration or emigration. Check out the links on the following pages for more information. Check your local library for books on immigration. Notes:_________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
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ANCESTRY.COM LINKS Note: Ancestry.com collections require a membership or participation in a free trial. Click here to start your free trial. Brooklyn, New York Catholic Church Baptism Records, 1837-1900 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1254 Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8769 Immigration & Travel Search http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=40 Passenger List Search http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=112 Emigrants from England to the American Colonies, 1773-1776 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=49141 Directory of Scots in the Carolinas, 1680-1830 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48518 Great Migration Begins Index: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5221 Card Catalog http://search.ancestry.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx U.S. Federal Census Collection http://search.ancestry.com/search/grouplist.aspx?group=USFEDCEN Census & Voter Lists http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=35 Citizenship & Naturalization Records http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=115 Birth, Marriage & Death Records http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=34 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1174 New York Emigrant Savings Bank, 1850-1883 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8760 Border Crossings & Passports http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=114 Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1263
Immigration & Emigration Books http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=116 Passenger Ships and Descriptions http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=118 Ellis Island Oral Histories http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2142 EXTERNAL LINKS Behind the Name http://www.behindthename.com Norway Heritage: Hands across the Sea http://www.norwayheritage.com Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives http://www.gjenvick.com/Steerage/ Cyndi’s List: Ships & Passenger Lists http://www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm Emigration & Immigration Records & Links http://www.germanroots.com/ei.html The Ships List http://www.theshipslist.com Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG) http://www.immigrantships.net A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/manifests/ Emigrant Traffic on the North Sea by Nils William Olsson http://www.genealogi.se/roots/hull.htm Also check local historical societies. Many have information and collections regarding immigration to that state. See this example from the Wisconsin Historical Society. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-018
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