Finding Your

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Immigrant Ancestors
AT ANCESTRY.COM

Homeward Bound Life in America

More than 95 percent of Americans descend from individu- Not all passenger arrival lists were created equally. Here’s what
als who did not live on this continent in the 18th century. you’ll find and where to look to help fill in any blanks:
While immigration has occurred steadily since the first
settlers ventured to the new world, most arrivals can be KEY DATES WHAT YOU’LL FIND
categorized into three major waves:
Colonial Passenger lists weren’t required but
FIRST WAVE: Settlers in the 1600s were fleeing religious period thru some ship captains retained lists of all
persecution and/or seeking new opportunities in a compar- 1819 aboard ship. Search the Passenger and
atively richer land. Most immigrants from this wave were Immigration List Index to see if a record
German, English, Welsh or Dutch. of your ancestor’s arrival exists. Records
in this collection date back to the 1500s.
SECOND WAVE: Crop failure, political turmoil and poor
living conditions brought on by the industrial revolution 1820 – 1893 Passenger lists first required to be
all motivated people to leave their homelands for America kept; however, details on these lists
in the 1800s. Additional migration motivation came from are somewhat limited. To successfully
people seeking religious freedom. While immigrants arrived identify an ancestor in a less-detailed
from around the world, the greatest numbers came from list, look for the full family unit. Com-
places including Scandinavia, Ireland, Scotland, England, pare names, location information, dates
Turkey, Armenia and China. and any other available details to facts
you’ve discovered in later U.S. records
THIRD WAVE: Political turmoil and, ultimately, wars in about the family to determine if the
Europe in the early to mid 1900s brought more immigrants person could really be your ancestor.
to the U.S. Other immigrants sought relief from religious per-
secution or were seeking political asylum. Well-represented 1893 – 1906 Sixteen new fields added to passen-
ethnicities in this immigration wave include German, Russian ger lists, including marital status, last
and Polish Jews, and Italians, Greeks and Austro-Hungarians. residence, final destination, literacy,
financial status and others. Use each
Tip: Immigrants often settled near other immigrants from of these to help you determine if you’re
their home county – sometimes even the same hometown. looking at the correct person.
You can contact people researching your ancestor’s neighbors
from the Member Connect panel on records at Ancestry.com. 1906 – ON Manifests required to include a physical
description of the passenger and place
of birth; shortly thereafter, name and
address of the closest living relative in
the country of origin was added, too.
Use the latter to help you locate the
family in the homeland.

Tip: Seeing Double or Solo. You may find more than one
passenger arrival record for your ancestor if he or she returned
home to visit. You may also find a parent traveling solo — often
the father would immigrate before other family members and
Click on the name to send a note to another researcher. secure a job and a home before the rest of the family arrived.

1 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Steps to Discovering Your Immigrant Ancestor
in the U.S. and the Homeland

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

STEP 1: BEGIN WITH RECORDS CREATED BY WHERE NEXT: Use the information you discover to create
THE FAMILY IN THE U.S. more searches for the same family moving backwards in
time. Census records are full of details — and
Start with the most recent records, including Save the records 20th-century records include information
the 1930 and 1920 censuses, military draft
registration cards, yearbooks, obituaries and
you find to your about immigration and/or naturalization — so
Ancestry.com try to discover each one your family appears
other records at Ancestry.com. in. And be sure to pay attention to birthplaces
family tree. on all documents. A foreign birthplace points
HOW: Click on the Search tab at Ancestry.com Ancestry.com directly to your family’s immigrant.
to get started. Input the name of an ancestor can use the
who would have been living during the 20th details to help
century. Include other details — birth year,
residence or birthplace and the names of
you discover
other relatives — if available. even more.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Click on the results returned and

inspect the details. Family names, ages and relationships, Tip: Check 20th-century census records for immigration
birthplaces, occupations and addresses (scan horizontally year and/or naturalization status. Then use that information
across the page to see all of the information) can help you to help you focus your next search in the Immigration and
determine if you’ve found the correct family. Travel Collection.

STEP 2: FIND THE IMMIGRANT IN THE HOW: Click on the Search tab at Ancestry.com. From the
IMMIGRATION AND TRAVEL COLLECTION Special Collections list on the right side of the page, select
AT ANCESTRY.COM Immigration and Travel to limit your search to records
from this collection. Fill in the search form with details
Once you know who the immigrant was — and have his you’ve discovered about your family’s immigrant — name,
or her name, approximate birth year and other identifying birth year, year of arrival — and search. Note that the form
details from census and other records — search for records contains fields for names of other family members, locations
directly related to his or her immigration. where your ancestor may have lived, where he or she arrived
in America, and more. You can fill these in later if you’ve
received too many results, but be careful: immigration details
reported years later on a census may not be entirely accurate.

Tip: Discrepancies exist. Details in im-

migration records may not mirror what
you’ve found elsewhere. Census immi-
gration dates may be off by a few years
and even first and last names may differ
slightly (immigrants often Americanized
their names AFTER arriving in America).
Carefully analyze your finds and assess
them against known facts to be sure you
have the right person.

2 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Steps to Discovering Your Immigrant Ancestor
in the U.S. and the Homeland

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

STEP 2 CONTINUED WHERE NEXT: Your goal is to find the location of the home
in the old country so you can dive into records created
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Immigration and Travel col- there. Some passenger lists and naturalization documents
lection includes passenger arrival lists, naturalization include this information — but not all do. Search for details
(citizenship) documents, passport applications and other in death certificates, church records, military documents
records that link to a person’s international travel. and wills and resources in your own attic (place names may
Compare dates, family members and other details you be listed on the backs of old photos and letters could point
find on an Immigration and Travel record to the informa- to family members who remained behind). Also look at im-
tion you’ve already collected about your ancestor to see if migration and travel records created by other immigrating
you’ve found a match. family members, which may include the details even if your
own ancestor’s record don’t. You’ll find more tips for finding
the hometown in the appendix at the end of this guide.

Census record with Teresa Ventura’s family Passenger list with the right Teresa shows Passenger list for a different Teresa Ventura
the same family members and age ranges, can be ruled out since children’s names and
but with ethnic-equivalent given names. ages don’t match the later U.S. census record.

STEP 3: USE NAME, BIRTH DETAILS AND PLACE WHERE NEXT: Your ancestors likely left a long trail
INFORMATION TO LOCATE YOUR ANCESTOR through their homeland records but you may need assis-
IN INTERNATIONAL RECORDS tance locating some of these. In addition to the searchable
records at Ancestry.com,
Just like in the U.S., records in other countries were also also use the site’s message
created and retained on a local level. Knowing where your boards to find other re-
ancestor lived plus details about his or her family can help searchers who can help. You
you pinpoint the right person when searching through inter- can also hire a professional
national records. to assist with some — or
all — of the research. You’ll
HOW: Click on the Search tab at Ancestry.com and choose find details about profes-
“Show Advanced.” Then fill in the search form with details sional research services at
you’ve learned about your the “Hire an Expert” button.
ancestor. At the bottom of
the form is a “Collection
Priority” option. Select the
country you’re interested in Not sure a record you found is linked to
locating records from and your family? Save it to your Ancestry.com
choose “Show only records Shoebox so you can review it later
from this location.” Be sure after you’ve had time to learn more
to undo these settings be- about the family.
fore your next search of all
records at Ancestry.com.

3 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Key Resources at Ancestry.com for
Researching Immigrant Ancestry

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

U.S. FEDERAL CENSUS OBITUARIES AND NEWSPAPERS —
COLLECTION — to help you discover to locate other family lines and pos-
more about your family’s life in the sibly the birthplace of an ancestor;
U.S. and to give you the clues you’ll check for obituaries for siblings, too,
need to to follow them back through some of which may contain additional
generations until you reach your details.
family’s immigrant ancestor.
LOCATION MAPS — to quickly view
IMMIGRATION AND TRAVEL all of the records available from a
COLLECTION — to discover the mo- specific location at Ancestry.com;
ment your ancestor arrived as well as access the map at the bottom of the
details reported to obtain citizenship; Ancestry.com search page and click
note that women and children may on the location you’re interested in to
not have naturalization records and learn more.
may have been naturalized through a
parent or spouse, depending on laws MESSAGE BOARDS — to connect
at the time. with other researchers who have
experience researching German
MILITARY COLLECTION — to learn records.
more about military service in both
the U.S. and other countries; look
for key records associated with the
Revolutionary War, Civil War and all FAMILY TREES — to link to other
the way through to World War II and family members, possibly even distant
beyond, some of which mention land, cousins, who are also researching the
give personal stories and information same family lines; one of them may
about other relatives. have the details you’re searching for.

Tip:Always view the original image. While the typed

search result you receive includes a lot of information,
the original image may include even more — including
clues to other relatives.

Note the search result for Luigi provides

his birthplace, arrival date and other
details but page 2 (right) of the original
passenger list record also states Luigi’s
destination in the U.S., health condition,
physical description and more.

4 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Helpful Information

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

GOOD TO KNOW SEVEN TRICKS FOR TRICKY NAMES

Having the following details handy can make searching for Immigrant names can be tricky. Even something as simple
a foreign-born ancestor in U.S. passenger lists, international as Luigi may have been changed to Lou after arrival. Use the
records and elsewhere much simpler: following tricks to help you uncover your ancestor, regardless
of the name he or she is hiding behind.
• Ethnic given name (for instance “John” could also be
Jan, Janos, Johann or Giovanni); search the Internet to TRICK 1. Use the Internet to help you determine ethnic equiv-
find equivalents. alent of an ancestor’s name. Sites like BehindtheName.com
let you type in your ancestor’s name and search for related
• Surname variations; sound the name out and see what names that include various ethnic equivalents.
types of phonetic spellings you can come up with;
also search the Internet for variations of the name and TRICK 2. Look for literal translations: the German surname
review citizenship to see if aliases or name changes Schwartz may have been changed to Black just like the
were included. French surname LeBlanc may have been changed to White.

• Age; estimate from a census records or obtain from TRICK 3. Lengthen and shorten names. And remember
vital records. that more than one ancestor may have changed a surname.
Weisenberger, for example, may have originally been
• Family structure; you can discover the names of sib- changed to Weisenberg before becoming Weisen and
lings in census records, which can help you locate the finally, generations later, Wise.
family immigrating, even if the surname has changed
slightly. TRICK 4. Try a wildcard search in which you use asterisks
to replace some of the letters in a name. For example, if the
• Nationality; use caution with Eastern European ances- surname was Berlengauem, B*rl*g*m* would produce it as
tors — countries changed names and borders often. well as Burlingame and other variants.

• Estimated date of arrival; 20th century census records TRICK 5. Search by criteria. Forego the surname and search
include this detail as do citizenship (naturalization) using birthplace, age, gender, occupation and other details
documents; note that both were self-reported and to find people who match the ancestor you’re seeking. Pay
could be off somewhat. special attention to the names in your search results. Do
any of them seem to reflect your family?

TRICK 6. Check immigration records and passports care-

fully — at times they may include notations indicating a
previous name change.

TRICK 7. Try maiden names. Female ancestors may have

traveled using them, even when married.

5 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Appendix: Finding the Hometown

FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Once you find your immigrant ancestor U.S. records, you’ll also need to
discover where he or she was from — region, county, or, better still, a
hometown — so you know exactly where to focus your international search.
Look in the following U.S. records for mentions of the old country home:
AT HOME
Search attics for mementos including wedding announcements, postcards
and letters sent from the old country, any of which could give you names of
relatives who remained behind, other family members and addresses that
point you to a hometown.

IN THE CENSUS
Check birthplaces listed on census records. You may discover that the ancestor you thought was your family’s first im-
migrant was actually the immigrant’s child, cousin or in-law. Begin with 20th-century records and search for the whole
family – parents, siblings and grandparents, too – and look for year of immigration in those same records. Can’t find the
immigrant? Keep working backwards and follow siblings as well. One of them may lead you directly to the immigrant.

WITH FRIENDS AND RELATIVES the names of other passengers, who may have been your
Ever notice how many people on a single page of a census ancestor’s friends or relatives and fantastic record keepers.
seem to be born in the same country? It could be the result Snoop around their family lines, see where they went and if
of chain migration. Often a single immigrant would arrive their paths crossed your ancestor’s again. If you can’t find
in America, land a job and send word of opportunity back a passenger list for your ancestor, consider that at times it
home. Soon more family and friends would immigrate and was cheaper and simpler to travel to the U.S. via Canada.
send for their family and friends. For researchers, these Your ancestor may have crossed the border immediately or
ethnic enclaves can provide all manner of clues: maiden even a generation or two later.
names, hometowns, extended family lines. Do a little
digging and also check Member Connect to see who’s IN CHURCH
researching the neighbors. They may have some details Baptisms, weddings, funerals and more took place in
you’re looking for, too. churches. Use census records and city directories to find
your ancestor’s address, then search for surviving churches
ABOARD A SHIP. OR CROSSING A BORDER. near the family home. Contact the church to inquire about
Immigration was already booming in the mid-19th cen- records created when your ancestor lived in the neighbor-
tury; unfortunately passenger lists were notoriously stingy hood. Also call the local library, which may know of other
with details then. But those mid 19th-century lists do hold resources you haven’t yet considered.

6 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS
ON A DOCKET MAKING HEADLINES
Court records aren’t just for the criminally inclined (al- A graduation, engagement or even a visitor from out of
though those records are full of detail you won’t find else- town — any of these might have been big news at the time.
where). In the Tax, Criminal, Land and Wills collection at Look in local newspapers for daily comings and goings as
Ancestry.com, you’ll also discover real estate transactions, well as bigger events. And if your family is full of city dwell-
small business dealings, records from the emigrant savings ers, ask the local library if there were smaller, neighborhood
bank, probates and more. Search for all members of the or ethnicity-specific publications.
family, read records carefully and check to see if the names
of witnesses sound familiar, too. They may also be family.

IN THE MILITARY
Draft registration cards from World War I and World War
II can be brimming with family details, including hometown,
occupation and name of nearest kin. For earlier arrivals to
the U.S., Civil War-era records – pensions, muster rolls, the
1890 Veterans Schedule census, enlistments and others —
may be even more revealing.

AT THE CEMETERY
A simple tombstone may hold the birthplace or middle name
you’ve been trying to locate for years. The one next to it could
offer an elusive maiden name. Families often stayed together,
even in death, so a trip to the cemetery could introduce you
to distant family lines you may not have heard of and other
details your ancestor surely wanted you to know.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Family stories may not always be entirely accurate, but
they’re often full of names, places and relationships and
can help you figure out when your ancestor was where. Use
them to build a timeline that you populate with details from Image courtesy of Martha McCaffrey Dobbins,
the records you find. And enjoy the tales, which give you a from the McCaffrey-Davis-Johnston-Stockard tree,
better idea of the characters in your family tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/2450685/family

7 FINDING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS