Here is the contact info for the courthouse if you wish to contact them and ask them if they have the ancestor you are looking for on the voter registrations. Allen County Courthouse Box 1243 Lima, Ohio 45802 419-223-8501 or 4129-228-3700 Debbie Carder Mayes http://allencogenealogysociety.homestead.com/Main.html www.tribalpages.com/tribes/deb6102 www.tribalpages.com/tribes/dac6102 www.rootsweb.com/~ohallen/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lilly Martin" <malik@scs-net.org> To: <OHALLEN@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 8:01 AM Subject: Re: [OHALLEN] Voter Registration Rolls > Dear Debbie, > Thank so much for this information. I wonder if there is anyone who might > be going to the courthouse who might look up my ancestor in the 1886 Voter > registration Roll? It does not have to be only the 1886 year > specifically, > it could be any year from 1880 thru 1900, as those were years I know he > was > alive and living in Allen Co OH. > > Let me tell you how I found out about the 1886 voter registration record: > as > I recall, I was looking online in Chicago for a totally different > relative, > and all of a sudden up came a list of 1886 voter registration roll for > Cook > Co IL. I am was able to find my relative and his son and his brother, and > they all gave immigration information which was precious to know. > > My ancestor John D. Miller b. 1823 Wurttemberg arrived about 1852 in Erie, > Erie Co PA, this is according to our family legend. I have never found > any > information on him or his family in Erie, PA. So either the story is not > correct, or he just didn't leave any records there. As far as I can tell, > he was living in America from 1852 to 1880, and it was the 1880 census in > which I first found him in Lima, OH. (Perry twsp). > > I would assume his immigration papers were filed somewhere in > Pennsylvania, > but there is no telling where to look, unless I can find a statement from > him, such as the 1886 voter registration roll, in which he will state when > and were he filed his papers. > > Ellis Island records begin in 1892. In the 1852 time frame there was no > Ellis Island, so immigrants arrived in Canada, New York City, Baltimore, > Philadephia, and then took smaller ships on the available waterways > inland, > to their second destination. There are ship lists which survive, but not > for all years. > > For example, this John D. Miller and his wife and daughter might have > arrived in New York City in 1852, then took a sloop up the Hudson River > all > the way North to Albany, then transfer to the Erie Canal, which connected > Albany, NY to the Great Lakes, they could have sailed directly from Albany > NY to Erie, PA. If my family story is correct, this could have been the > way > they came. > > Once they arrived in Erie, PA John would have perhaps filed what is called > FIRST PAPERS, which are filed at the COUNTY courthouse, then he would have > applied for citizenship after 5 years of filing the FIRST papers. > > The final citizenship papers would have been filed also at the COUNTY > level, > or in some cases at the STATE courthouse. But there were also so many, > many > immigrants who lived long lives in America but never, ever filed any > immigration papers, and in fact on census reports they are listed as > answering NO to the question of whether they have become a citizen. > > Also, I found many ancestors filed FIRST papers in one location, and then > filed their final immigration papaers in a far removed location, and so it > is just hit-and-miss trying to find records. > > Prior to Ellis Island there was Castle Garden in New York City, but the > records are not all available. > www.castlegarden.org This is prior to 1892, but this will NOT have all > the > thousands, if not millions, who came thru other locations than New York > City. There were so many who came first to Canada, because that was a > CHEAPER ticket, then took a ship into America, for example to Philadephia. > So your ancestor's first port might be Philly, and they might have never > have seen New York City! Also, Canada to New Orleans direct, Canada to > Boston direct, so the Castle Garden records are only limited to New York > City, and that was not the only place they could land, in fact it was only > 1 > of many, many places. > > www.ellisislandrecords.com This is 1892 onward. > > http://www.stevemorse.org This uses the Ellis Island records, but allows > a > much better search method. > > Please Note: If there is anyone reading this who is having trouble with > Ellis Island searches, please email me back, I have become very expert in > this, because I help people find their SYRIAN ancestors, and I can give > you > some personal help and pointers, or at least just give you some support in > trying to find your people. > > I hope this information might help others who are facing difficult > immigrations searches. > > Best regards, > Lilly Martin > Lattakia, Syria > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Debbie Carder" <dcarder2@woh.rr.com> > To: <ohallen@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 11:36 PM > Subject: Re: [OHALLEN] Voter Registration Rolls > > >> 1886 voter registrations are not in any of the local libraries that I >> know >> of but should be at the courthouse. I know that the naturalization >> records >> are also at the courthouse. There are also some very good websites (good >> enough that professional genealogists use them) with immigration records >> on >> them. I can't remember without hunting them but I think that those who >> immigrated before Ellis Island are on links from the Ellis Island website >> or go to Steve Morse's website. It is easier to use his website to find >> them, I think. >> Debbie Carder Mayes >> >> http://allencogenealogysociety.homestead.com/Main.html >> >> www.tribalpages.com/tribes/deb6102 >> >> www.tribalpages.com/tribes/dac6102 >> >> www.rootsweb.com/~ohallen/ > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHALLEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message