1
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:_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2
3
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:_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4
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:_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5
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.
6
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:_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7
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:_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
8
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
Thanks for taking part in our online class!
9