Immigration Records “Give me your tired!” ancestry/library/view/ancmag/2043.asp

1. Immigration Records“Give me your tired!”http://ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/2043.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

2. 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 state’s capital

3. 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

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

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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/

11. Internet sites cont. • www.Colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/natinfo.htm • http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/naturalizationrecords.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

12. 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.

13. 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_forms.html#bymail • Or Write to National Archives and Records Administration, Att: NWCTB, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20408-0001

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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.