Records to search: Federal census records

Records to research

Records to search: Federal census records Federal census records Track your ancestors' movement over time

Records to search: Federal census records Find names and rough birth years Determine relationships Learn birthplaces Find clues to the previous generation (e.g., birthplace) Learn street address Learn occupations Learn whether a slave or a slave owner

Records to search: U.S. Naturalization records U.S. Naturalization records

Records to search: U.S. Naturalization records Narrow the timeframe to search for a ship passenger arrival list (Pre/Post 1906) Learn immigrant's birth date and/or place (Post 1906) Perhaps find another version of your ancestor's name (Pre/Post 1906) Find the country of origin for your ancestor (Pre/Post 1906) Find clues of relatives or neighbors (Pre/Post 1906) Learn exact village or town your ancestor came from (Post 1906)

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Ship's passenger lists Rare find Prior to 1820

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Country (possibly province, or exact town of origin) Date of arrival in the U.S. Destination in the U.S. Ship's name, its master, its port of embarkation, and its port of arrival Occupation, age, and sex Prior to 1820 Country (possibly province, or exact town of origin) Family members or others who immigrated on the same ship

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Ship's passenger lists Between 1820 to about 1891

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Family members or others who immigrated on the same ship Date of arrival in the U. S. Country, province, or exact town of origin (About 10% of the lists may have an exact town listed) Between 1820 to about 1891 Destination in the U. S. Occupation, age, and sex

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Ship's passenger lists About 1891 to 1957

Records to search: Ship's passenger lists Ship's name and date of arrival in America Family members or others who immigrated on the same ship Look closely for notes marked on the passenger lists Name and address of the alien's nearest relative in the country from which they came, added in 1907 About 1891 to 1957 Birthplace (country and city), added in 1906 If going to join a relative, the relative's name, address, and relationship

Available immigration passenger lists Immigration Passenger Lists in the National Archives Ports Lists Indexes Baltimore, MD Boston, MA 1891-1957 1897-1952 1891-1943 1902-1906, 1906-1920 1903-1945 1899-1940 New Orleans, LA 1897-1948 1900-1952 New York, NY 1883-1945 1897-1902, 1902-1948 Philadelphia, PA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA 1893-1953 1954-1957 1890-1957 1949-1954 1883-1948 1893-1934 Unindexed

Records to search: Passport applications Passport applications Naturalized immigrants may have applied for passports if they returned to visit their native countries

Records to search: Passport applications Family status Date and place of birth Naturalization Occupation or business Physical characteristics

Records to search: Other immigration lists Other immigration lists When our ancestors immigrated to America, especially from Europe, a number of lists were generated

Records to search: Other immigration lists Lists made at the original port of embarkation Lists at the port of arrival in the U.S. (Ships Passenger Lists) Lists by a sponsoring organization (e.g., an emigrant aid society), or if the ship was quarantined when it arrived in the U.S. Newspapers printed lists of ships arriving, departing and type of cargo Lists may have been prepared if the ship stopped at another port along the way

Records to search: Probate records Probate records Wills and other papers document relationships between family members, particularly parent to child

Records to search: Probate records Persons often identified themselves according to the place (often a town) they came from, or were born in Some (but certainly not all) wills and other probate papers may provide a key link between an immigrant in the new world and his family in the old world

Records to search: Land grants and transfers Land grants and transfers Land records are generally not a preferred source for learning the origins of immigrants

Records to search: Land grants and transfers Find death date and place Find residence Discover relationships Discover other places where the ancestor may have held property For names (and addresses) of descendants Find details to search for land records

Records to search: Social Security applications Social Security applications Because the application was filled out by the person applying, the information is fairly reliable The form included 16 questions which have varied over time

Records to search: Social Security applications Applicant's address Applicant's first, middle and last names For women, the maiden name or previous married name Applicant's employer and employer's address

Records to search: Social Security Death Index Immigrants are included in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)

Records to search: Societies Lineage/hereditary societies A lineage society is an organization whose membership is limited to persons who can prove lineal, documented descent from a qualifying ancestor

Records to search: Societies Immigrant and early settler societies Dozens of societies have been established focusing on specific immigrant groups, or early settlers of some locality

Records to search: Societies European ancestry societies Some lineage societies focus on ancestors who were notable long before the American colonies were established

Records to search: Societies Nationality or ethnic lineage societies These are societies that focus on an entire ethnic group

Records to search: Societies Society publications Society publications can be a significant aspect of immigrant research Any local record may be the subject of publication by a local society

Records to search: Societies Local, county, and state historical societies

Records to search: Military records Military records For immigrants of all time periods, military records are very important because they often ask the soldier's birth place, birth date or age at enlistment

Records to search: Military records Records exist for many of the military engagements taken by the United States from the Revolutionary War forward There are 3 types of military records Service records Pension records History records

Records to search: Cemeteries Cemeteries

Records to search: Cemeteries Name Age Date of death (sometimes only giving the day of the week) Family information Names of survivors Church or mortuary holding the service and/or cemetery

Records to search: Cemeteries Find dates of life events to research further Find cause of death Learn about military service Find names of family members, neighbors and others who are buried in the same plot and are therefore likely connected to your ancestor Find a woman's maiden name Learn of organizations to which your ancestor belonged

Records to search: Obituaries Obituaries Community newspapers Ethnic newspapers Religious newspapers Journals, magazines and even yearbooks Started during the 1870s

Records to search: Immigrant church records Immigrant church records The American church records are often overlooked, yet provide important information for an ancestor s origins Weddings & burials

Records to search: Immigrant church records The American churches called ethnic churches catered to a specific ethnic group German Irish Norwegian

Records to search: Immigrant church records Two common immigrant churches were 1. Roman Catholic: Mostly found in the larger cites such as New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit serving the ethnic communities of the Germans, Italians, Irish, Poles, French and others

Records to search: Immigrant church records 2. Lutherans: Usually found in rural areas serving the Germans and Scandinavians The minister was trained in the old world They often held services in the native language of the congregation

Records to search: Immigrant church records Immigration Passenger Lists in the National Archives Adventists Church American Baptists Southern Baptists Brethren in Christ Church Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (Mormons) Churches of Christ Congregational Location Washington, D.C. Rochester, NY Nashville, TN Grantham, PA Salt Lake City, UT Memphis, TN Boston, MA

Records to search: Histories and biographies Local, county, and state histories detail the events that occurred and the people who played a part

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