Civil and Church Records

Immigration to the United States

From 1600 to 1776, statisticians conclude that 2 million people sought refuge in America. The predominant population through these early years were from the British Isles. During 1783 to 1820 approximately 500,000 more immigrants arrived from Great Britain and Germany. From 1821 to 1880 over 10 million immigrants came to the U.S. from England, Ireland, and Germany. It was not until 1881 that large numbers of Italians, Poles, Jews, Greeks, Russians, Slavs, Turks, Armenians, Syrians, and Portuguese came to America, adding 24 million people. Six million more immigrants came from Europe and Asia throughout 1921 to 1950. Persons who crossed between 1820 and 1892 often passed through the Immigration Center at Castle Garden. Their database is available at http://castlegarden.org. Ellis Island in New York, founded in 1892, was the largest port of immigration. New York passenger arrival records are online at www.ellisislandrecords.org and ancestry.com.

Immigration passenger lists often provide an immigrant's last place of residence and birthplace. 

Records in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

1. Federal census schedules, 1790-1930
2. Passenger arrival lists (immigration records) since 1820
3. Military records (pension applications, service records, etc.)
4. Federal land records (homestead records, bounty land records, etc.)

Naturalization Records

Naturalization records include Declarations of Intention, Petitions for Citizenship, and Certificates of Naturalization. On the Declaration of Intention, the immigrant renounces allegiance to foreign rules. Then, after fulfilling the residence requirements, he or she petitiones for citizenship. Candidates for citizenship were required to life in the U.S. for 5 years. An individual must live at least one year in the state where they file their petition for citizenship. After being granted citizenship by a Court of Record, a Citizenship Certificate of Naturalization is issues. Each certificate is attached to a stub containing a summary of the new citizen's personal information.

• Petitioner's age
• Name changes
• Birthplace
• Port of debarkation
• Marital status
• Mailing address
• Names of spouse and children

Naturalization applications were processed by district/federal, state, county, or other local courts. On 27 Septbemer 1906, the Immigration and Naturalization Service began filing copies of all naturalization applications. To obtain a copy of your ancestor's naturalization records after 26 Sept 1906, contact the INS District Office of the area where your ancestors lived of the INS Office in your community.

Military Records

The most valuable U.S. military records for family historians are pension applications submitted by soldiers or their surviving spouse. The FHL (Family History Library) has a large collection of pension records They can be found in the FHLC by searching under "United States Military Records."

Information on Military Pension Applications 

• Birth date and place
• Age at enlistment
• Regiment
• Physical description (hair, eye color, height, distinguishing marks)
• Military campaigns and battles
• Disabilities incurred through military service
• Testimonies of contemporaries
• Places of residence
• Marriage (if applied for by the surviving spouse)
• Occasional names and birth dates of heirs