IMMIGRATION RECORDS Presented by DeAnne Shelley DeAnne Shelley

Migration Immigration (Come In) Emigration (Exit) Emigration & Immigration Schematic diagram of a country and its population centers

GOALS n Review some of the background and conditions under which immigration to the US took place. n Remind you of some of the records on immigration and emigration and where one finds information. n See/tell a little about the type of data one typically finds. n Review some methods/protocols for searching the sources.

CONDITIONS n Why did they come? –Own land, religious freedom, adventure, avoid persecution, home country deported, better life... etc. n How did they come? –They came by ship. n What were conditions like? –Often crowded, unsanitary, disease ridden, inadequate provisions and potable water, poor ventilation, bad weather and poor navigation. »From one European port more than 700 of the 1,267 persons aboard one ship died from “Ship Fever”. »From one European port more than 700 of the 1,267 persons aboard one ship died from “Ship Fever”. »In 1818, out of 5,000 passengers who sailed from Antwerp to America, about 1,000 died.

M M M No US laws governingLaws passed governing E/I Poor travel conditions Greed Long travel times Poor knowledge of food and water preservation. Gradual Improvement Greed subverted by laws By 1869 Steamers cut time More time to get knowledge preserve food and water Problems with Records Not Uniform No Repository Bars, Attics, Basements, Museums,Scrapbooks, etc. Many Collected, Published INDEX - Filby Books Records required General Uniformity U.S. Archives, FHL FHLC - Indexes

RECORDS THREE TYPES EMPHASIZED: –Pre-1820 »Many published sources - dedicated genealogists »Filby indexed these –Pre-1820 »Many published sources - dedicated genealogists »Filby indexed these –Post-1820 »National Archives, FHL »FHL Catalog provides indexes –Post-1820 »National Archives, FHL »FHL Catalog provides indexes –LDS Immigration Records Mormon Immigration Index CD ($5) –LDS Immigration Records Mormon Immigration Index CD ($5)

Filby, P. W., Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 18 vols. Sets must be searched separately An excellent index of over 2,500,000 names found in more than 2,500 published sources is: Filby’s Passenger List Index Books--FHL

SOURCES & HELPS n Research Outlines –Tracing Immigration Origins –United States, p n Ethnic Special Books –Germans, CD 356; Huguenots, CD 600; Irish, CD 257; Italian, CD 353 n LDS Emigration, CD 60; Mormon Immigration Index CD –Foreign Emigration Records - Hamburg

SOURCES & HELPS (cont.) n WEB sites, –e.g. n Filby - <1820 n FHLC - Archives, U.S. Passenger Lists –CDs for Boston and Philadelphia –CDs 590, 354, 350, 256, 170, and regular additions

EMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION RECORDS 1820 was an Important Transition Year n Refer to your United States Research Outline pages 24 ‑ 28 and read these few pages. They are valuable in getting started. n For Pre ‑ 1820 immigration, the most convenient and widely used reference is the FILBY Index. William Filby has indexed over 2500 publication on books written to document the many passenger lists which were badly scattered in the early days. All the Filby sets must be searched. Remember, prior to 1820 there were no laws governing immigration, and no official records were required. His index (alphabetical) will refer you to a specific book where these lists were published or discussed..

EMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION RECORDS (cont.) n For Post ‑ 1820 immigration. there were now laws in place, and it was required to have official passenger lists. n Many foreign ports have quite good EMIGRATION passenger lists. Many of these are in the FHLC. e.g. the Hamburg lists are in printed form. n The five major ports for the immigration during the post 1820 period were New York, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia. and New Orleans. There were about 150 ports total which were used.  The Family History Library Catalog can be used in Locality Search mode to search the various ports. Most have index films and then films containing the actual passenger lists. Many of the indexes are Soundexed.

USING THE FILBY INDEXES Filby sets must be searched independently. 1. Search alphabetically for ancestor. In addition to name, find date of immigration to help identify individual. 2. Record name, port of entry, immigration date, Filby reference number and page number. 3. Look up reference number in front of book, and find author and title.

28 Review of Em & Immigration n 1. Check the FHLC for your locality n 2. Check the Web n 3. Check FILBY’s Index to Passenger Lists »Use the index on CD, and Ancestry.com

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