Crossing the Pond: Finding Immigrant Origins

This subject should be of interest to just about everybody tracing their family tree in the U.S., because frankly, most of us descend from at least one immigrant. Even the Spanish were immigrants.  

When you’re trying to find the place of your ancestor’s origin, there are several source types you should search:

Census Records:  Census records will give you the country of origin, but in a rare moment you may find the enumerator went beyond the instructions and actually put the town of birth on the census record.  Beware the immigrant’s language may be hard for the census taker to understand.  In the case of Wenzel Mueller, it appears the informant said he was born in “Bohmen” but the enumerator wrote “Bremen.”  When I had a clue it might be “Bohmen,” I asked a Czech research specialist at the Family History Library how she would pronounce “Bohmen” and it sounded a lot like “Bremen.”  That one threw me off course for a long time until I found his entry on a passenger list.  This census entry shows his wife, Pauline, was born in Baden which narrows the search field for her origin.  [1880 U.S. census, Hamilton Co., Ohio, population schedule, Cincinnati, page 344 (stamped), p. 17 (penned).]   Censuses may be found for searching at Ancestry.com,  Archives.com, and HeritageQuest Online (get the log in and password free from your local library if they participate).  FamilySearch.org also has some census images for free searching online.  (After you click on the FamilySearch link, scroll down to United States Census.)  The 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. censuses also have a column for recording immigration information, the year immigrated and if naturalized.  These entries may help you find the passenger list and naturalization records.

Passenger Lists:  These lists often reveal the country from which the immigrant came.  Wenzel Mueller arrived with his wife and two children at Baltimore, Maryland, April 1874 on the ship Berlin.  His last legal residence was listed as “Wischlofka,” his country of birth “Bohmen,” (now the Czech Republic), country claiming allegiance, “Bohemia.”  To have his town listed is a gold mine.  Most passenger lists only record the Country. [“Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948,” Ancestry.com; citing NARA microfilm M255, roll 22.].  Many passenger lists are available for searching at Ancestry.com.

Naturalization Papers: These are the papers filed to apply for U.S. citizenship.  Though harder to find, they are worth the effort because they reveal the birth date, county, and country where the person was born.  Thomas Francis Farrell’s naturalization papers state he was from County Galway, Ireland.  [Thomas Francis Farrell, declaration of intention, case no. 39-333, U.S. Circuit Court at Boston; National Archives, New England Region, Waltham, Massachusetts.]  Some are available at Ancestry.com.   Fold3 has some.  Check out Joe Beine’s webpage, “Online Searchable Naturalization Indexes and Records” for places to start your search.

Alien Registration Records – 1917-1918 for World War I, and 1940-1944 for World War II:  If your immigrant was not a U.S. citizen and lived in the U.S. during one of these time periods, he was required to register.  For the details about this requirement, Kimberly Powell has written an excellent article about alien registrations on About.com.

Military Pension Applications:  If your ancestor served in a war and he was entitled to a pension, his pension application may have his birth place listed.  Military pension files for the Revolutionary War are available at Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com).  The files for the War of 1812 and the Civil War are not available online yet.  For those wars, you will need to order a copy of the file from  the National Archives.  

Land Entry Papers for Homestead, Donation Land Claims, etc:  To be awarded one of these land patents, the applicant had to be a citizen or make a declaration to become one which usually included his place of birth!  Be sure you check the BLM General Land Office website to see if you ancestor claimed a land patent under one of these programs.  If they did, you will have to order a copy of the application from the National Archives.

Death Certificate:  More recent death certificates record the place of birth. Just be aware that it is an informant giving the information and not the deceased!  Death certificates may have been registered at the town, county, or state level.  You will need to research the particular state where your ancestor died.

Obituaries: Patrick Farrell’s obituary reveals he was born at County Tipperary, Ireland, on 1 May 1823, and came to the U.S. in 1849.  [Boston Globe, 8 November 1907, GenealogyBank.com.]Having his date of arrival in the U.S., I can search the passenger lists for him. You may check for obituaries in online newspapers such as GenealogyBank.com, the Online Historical Newspapers Website by Miriam J. Robbins, World Vital Records, or the Library of Congress: Chronicling of America: Historic American Newspapers.  If you can’t find one online, it doesn’t mean one does not exist.  Contact the local library where your ancestor died, give them the death date, and ask if they can search the week after his death.  I’ve done this many times.  The reference librarians I’ve worked with have been very accommodating.

Tombstone:  Tombstones sometimes have the immigrants place of origin carved into the memorial.  You may find his burial place at FindAGrave.com, BillionGraves.com,  Interment.net, or listed on his death certificate, in his obituary, or in a tombstone transcription, some of which are found at USGenWeb.org, Linkpendium.com, or through the Family History Library Catalog.

Town and County Histories:  Search town and county histories for your ancestor but don’t stop there.  Study who else is living nearby and may have come to the area at the same time as your ancestor.  Town and county histories may be found at  USGenWeb.org,  Linkpendium.com, Family History Library Catalog, or “Google” the location.  If you find a source in the Family History Library Catalog, “Google” the source to see if it’s been put online.

Friends, Neighbors, and Associates:  These often came from the same place.  Consider searching the same sources for his associates.  It’s possible they will be able to lead you to the homeland.

I’ve given you a lot of places to search for your immigrant’s homeland.  Where have you found your ancestor’s homeland listed?