Coming to America: Immigration, Emigration, and Naturalization

on



Coming to America: Immigration, Emigration, and Naturalization


Definitions

  • Immigration - refers to a person arriving from another country to settle in a new country
  • Emigration - refers to a person leaving their country to live in another place
  • Naturalization - the court procedure granting US citizenship to non-citizens (usually the number one goal of the immigrant)


History of Early European Immigration to America

  • 16th and early 17th centuries:
    • Settlements established by Spanish and French
    • First British colony in 1607, Jamestown, VA
    • British colonies in New England and Virginia
    • Dutch colonies in New York and New Jersey
    • Swedish colonies in Delaware
    • German colonies in New York and Pennsylvania
  • One-half or more early Europeans came as indentured servants
    • Voluntarily indentured themselves to pay their passage (one-way passage = 4-7 yrs. unpaid labor)
    • Kidnapped and forced into servitude in America
  • Thousands of English convicts (estimates up to 50,000) shipped to America
  • Africans forced into slavery
    • 20 in Jamestown, VA in 1619
    • 7,000 by 1680
    • 700,000 by 1790


Why They Came

  • Push
    • Religious persecution
    • War
    • Poverty/crop failure
    • Primogeniture
  • Pull
    • Economic opportunity
    • Free land
    • Promises from propaganda (shipping companies)
    • Wanderlust


Colonial America Immigration

  • Less than 1 million immigrants (estimated as few as 400,000)  crossed the Atlantic during 17th and 18th centuries
  • America was not a foreign country - the ships docked and people just walked off
  • People from Great Britain were already citizens
  • Non-English people signed a loyalty oath to Great Britain
  • After 1776 everyone arriving was a foreign citizen
  • Immigration under federal control by newly formed federal government in 1787
  • Incoming passenger lists for ships from foreign ports not required until the Steerage Act of March 2, 1819
  • Major Ports of Departure
    • France:  La Rochelle, LeHavre, Bordeaux
    • Belgium: Antwerp
    • Netherlands:  Amsterdam, Rotterdam
    • Scotland:  Glasgow
    • Sweden: Göteborg
    • Norway:  Trondheim, Oslo, Bergen
    • England:  London, Deal
    • Germany: Bremen, Hamburg
  • Multiple stops along the way
  • Very lengthy journey
  • 17th and 18th Century passenger lists (from port of origin) rarely survived
  • Surviving lists usually only contained names
  • Alternate records for genealogical research
    • Loyalty oaths
    • New settlement charters
    • Freeman records
    • Town meeting minutes
  • Compiled information and indexes in publications (in English)
    • Local genealogical society periodicals and publications
    • Books
      • Local library (Fort Worth Central Library)
      • familysearch.org
      • Google to find online
      • Sometimes searchable on ancestry.com


Research Tips for Colonial America Immigration

  • Must be able to make family connections back to the immigrant
  • Remember:  many records no longer exist
  • Search published/printed material first
  • One matching name in one publication doesn't account for missing records
  • Follow the chain of source material
  • Verify sources of other people's research


Sailing Ships

  • Sailing ships prior to mid 1800s
  • 35 days of more to cross the Atlantic
  • Most immigrants were extremely poor - steerage class
  • Passengers treated like cargo

Steerage Act of 1819

  • Penalty for overcrowding
  • Minimum provisions
    • 60 gallons of water per passenger
    • 100 lbs of “wholesome ship bread” per passenger
  • Jurisdiction only over ships leaving US ports – not arriving vessels
  • Arriving ships provide US customs agents with written manifest of all passengers
    • Name
    • Age
    • Sex
    • Occupation
    • Country of origin
    • Final destination


Steam Ships

  • Steam ships introduced in mid 1850s and widely used by 1870
  • Transatlantic journey shortened to 10-12 days 

For more information about ships and ship conditions click here


Carriage of Passengers Act of 1855

  • 18 sq ft of "clear space" per passenger
  • Detailed provisions stocked for every ship - even arrivals
  • Ventilators to "carry off the foul air" from steerage holds
  • Physician and "hospital" on board each ship
  • One bathroom per 100 passengers
  • Captain fined $10 for every passenger who died "by natural disease" during the voyage
1853 Passenger List


1911 Passenger List


Shipping Companies

  • German ships considered best and most often were the largest
  • Scandinavian ships were small but clean
  • British ships were at the bottom of the list
  • All heavily marketed to potential emigrants






Liverpool

  • 1830-1930 most popular port of departure
  • Northern and Western Europeans would cross the North Sea to Hull, England
  • Travel across England to Liverpool by train
  • Immigrants typically spent 1-10 days (or more) in Liverpool waiting in a lodging house
  • Lodging houses were often inhospitable, dirty, and overcrowded
  • Immigrants were subject to fraud, harassment, and theft
  • For more information click here


















 







 

Major US Ports of Arrival

  • Galveston
    • Most immigration from 1840s-1920s
    • Early Swedish, Norwegian, and German immigrants
    • Later Russian and Jewish immigrants
    • Displays at the Texas Seaport Museum
    • Online database
    • For more information click here
  • Baltimore
    • Official point of entry from 1706-1814
    • 2nd leading port after NY late 1800s and early 1900s
    • Popular with Irish and German immigrants
    • Baltimore Immigration Museum
    • For more information click here and here
  • Philadelphia
    • Attracted German immigrants during 1700s
    • Additional 200 miles from European ports
    • 4-5% of immigrants during 1800s and 1900s
  • New Orleans
    • Estimated 550,000 immigrants between 1820-1860
    • Popular with Irish, German, and French immigrants
    • Fewer regulations than many US ports
    • Access to steamboat travel up the Mississippi River
    • For more information click here
  • Boston
    • 1847 - "coffin ships" from Ireland's great potato famine
    • Sickness spread due to ship overcrowding and filth
    • "The passengers have not more [room] that their coffins"
    • Deer Island Quarantine Hospital and Almshouse 1847-1850
    • More than 4,000 people quarantined, many died
    • For more information click here
  • San Francisco
    • Most traveled overland from the East coast
    • Could take 8 months around Cape Horn
    • Canoe/hike through jungles of Panama
    • 1847 Gold rush - more popular port
  • New York
    • 1820s-1860s more than 2/3 of all immigrants
    • By 1890s more than 4/5 of all immigrants
    • No central processing area prior to 1855
      • Passengers and crew inspected on board ship
      • Quarantined on Staten island (beg 1799)
      • Quarantine moved to a large ship in 1858
    • Immigrants just walked off the ship
    • Immigrants processed at Castle Garden after 1855
    • Ellis Island officially opened 1 Jan 1892
      • "Island" chosen to minimize exploitation
      • More than 12 million immigrants between 1892-1954
      • 1st class passengers examined on ship and released
      • Processing took a few hours to days, weeks, months, or years
      • No travel papers required
      • For more information click here and here













For more information about US ports of entry click here

US Immigration Through Canada

  • Mid to late 1800s (even into 1900s)
  • No US immigration inspections, easier and faster
  • Mostly Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, & Russian initially
  • 1894 Canadian agreement with US
    • Passenger manifests
    • Only sell tickets to those who appeared admissible
    • US Immigration officials stationed at Canadian ports
  • Largest summer ports: Quebec and Montreal
  • Largest winter ports: St. John and Halifax
  • Passengers received a "Certificate of Admission" to present prior to boarding a US-bound train
  • For more information click here


Online Immigration Sources


Online Immigration Search Tips

  • Use census records to find countries of origin
    • Place of birth 1850-1940
    • Parent's place of birth 1870-1940
  • Use census records to find immigration information
    • Length of time in US 1890
    • Year of immigration 1900-1930
  • Use wildcard searches to compensate for name variations
  • Reach out to international DNA matches
  • Use Google to find books and other resources

Naturalization

  • First naturalization law in 1790 – allowed free whites who had lived in US for 2 yrs. and the same state for 1 yr. to apply for citizenship
  • 1795 – residency requirement increased to 5 years with applicant giving 3 yrs. notice in intention
  • 1798 (repealed in 1802) – required 14 yrs. residence and 5 yrs. notice
  • 1824 – waiting period after declaring intent reduced to 2 yrs.
  • 1790-26 Sep 1906 naturalization authority given to any court of record including federal, state, and local courts
    • Court records varied over time and location (some filed in criminal or marine court)
    • Most were not federal
    • A man’s naturalization also applies to wife and children
  • 26 Sep 1906 – Basic Naturalization Act – Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (later INS then USCIS)

Types of Naturalization Records

  • Declaration of Intention (first papers)
    • Declares intention for US citizenship
    • Renounces allegiance to foreign governments
    • Bare-bones information prior to 27 Sep 1906
    • More info 1906-1952 – birthplace; port and date of arrival; physical description or photo; name of wife/children
  • Petition for Naturalization (second or final papers)
    • Submitted to court after declaration of intention, residency requirements, and waiting period
    • Name; residence; occupation; birth date and place; citizenship; personal description; date of arrival; length of residence; marital status (wife’s name and dob); children's info
  • Certificate of Naturalization
    • Name, certificate number, name of court where filed, date issued












Clues to Naturalization Records

  • Census records
    • If naturalized 1870, 1900, 1940
    • Year naturalized 1920
  • Immigration records
    • International travel - notation on arriving passenger list
  • Voter registrations
    • Citizenship required to vote after 1906
  • Land records
    • Could not apply for land through Homestead Act without at least a declaration of intention
  • Military records
    • After 1862 aliens honorably discharged from US Army could apply for citizenship on abbreviated timeline; check for pension application
    • WWI draft records indicate naturalization status
  • Not everyone became US citizens
    • No intention of owning land
    • Declaration expired
    • Died before completing process
    • Unwilling to renounce allegiance to home country
  • Can't find anything on ancestry.com?
    • Browse state, county, and local court records on familysearch.org
    • Visit courthouse where you think naturalization occurred – check their website or call ahead for locations of historical records and research rules
    • For more information click here

Helpful Links

Genealogy Workbook:  Passenger Lists click here

Genealogy Tips for Tracing Your Colonial and Early American Ancestors click here

Finding immigration records on ancestry.com click here

Passenger Lists and Emigrant Ships click here





 
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment