EMIGRANT RECORDS by Brian Bonner Mavrogeorge <Brian_Mavrogeorge@broder.com> The Learning Company Between 1820 and 1860, 20 percent of America's immigrant population was from Germany, and in the same period the largest group of new immigrants was Irish. Every step of the way through the process of immigrating to the United States, and in some instances to Canada, these people left records and documents. So, if you know where your gateway ancestor lived before emigrating, check for information in the "old country" localities. -- At the national level. In order to emigrate, the person may have had to prove he was released from service to a nobleman (letter of manumission) or that his military service was completed. Then he would have to apply for a passport or "permit to emigrate." These records might have information about birth, residence, parentage, spouse, and children of the emigrant. -- At the local level. Many people emigrating had to use baptismal records to prove their identity. The local minister would issue a certified copy of their baptismal entry with their name, birthdate/place, baptism date, and their parents' names. Often the minister entered into the register something like "went to the New World in 1740" next to their baptismal entry. Sometimes the emigrants simply received a letter that identified them as a member of a specific congregation. Estate and property settlement records in the "old countries" may give information regarding an emigrant's departure. English court records include names of people who committed misdemeanor crimes and were sentenced to serve as the indentured servants of plantation owners and businessmen in the colonies. These owners and businessmen paid for the servants' passage. Many of those court records have been abstracted and published. -- At the ports. North American researchers often check passenger lists for arrivals at U.S. and Canadian ports. But remember that such lists were created at both ends of the journey. While not all lists have survived, a search for both can be worthwhile. In some instances government agents and real estate companies recruited workers, and they maintained lists and recorded the location of the lands they would settle. The lists sometimes contain the emigrant's residence at time of departure, the cost of the ticket, the name of the person who paid the fare, and the final destination. According to the Immigration and Naturalization Tutor that accompanies Ultimate Family Tree <http://www.uftree.com>, there are more than 3,500 printed emigration sources (and some on CD-ROM). Use those indices as finding aids and to establish where your ancestors came from. Then systematically search that location for the records the emigrants left behind. -- Barbara Farthing Bonham Summerville, SC The Family Snitch's Web http://www.tfsweb.net League of the South - SC Chapter http://www.palmetto.org