In Episode #344 of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss Colonial American Research. Diana explains the difficulties of finding the original immigrant for ancestors who immigrated during the colonial years. Nicole suggests learning from historians who have studied immigration patterns and developing a hypothesis based on what is known about ancestors and their groups. They introduce the book “The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction” by Bernard Bailyn as a resource for...
In this episode, Diana and Nicole discuss finding immigration records for ancestors arriving in the United States after 1906. They provide a timeline of important immigration laws and their impacts, such as the 1906 establishment of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, the 1917 Immigration Act, the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, the 1924 National Origins Act, the 1945 War Brides Act, the 1948 Displaced Persons Act, the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act, and the 1965...
If you have colonial American ancestors, you may or may not have been successful in your quest to find the original immigrants. This can be difficult for a number of reasons. Because people from Britain were emigrating to the British colonies, not many records were kept. Also, the early years in the Americas saw colonists struggling to survive in this new land. Record keeping would not have been high on the list of priorities...
Finding an immigration record for an ancestor arriving in the United States after 1906 will depend on record availability and good search techniques. Identifying your ancestor among people of the same name is a challenge and thorough research in the U.S. records is important to find every clue available. Timeline of Immigration Laws Key to understanding 20th-century immigration is knowing the laws and historical context that influenced an ancestor’s desire to emigrate from their home...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, we discuss strategies for researching ancestors who emigrated to the United States after 1820, emphasizing the wealth of ship manifests and other records available for identifying individuals among those with the same name. We explore immigration trends from the 19th to the early 20th century, the impact of U.S. immigration laws on the process, and the roles of key immigration stations like Castle Garden and Ellis Island....
Diana and Nicole discuss tracing ancestors back to the Colonial Era in the United States, emphasizing the scarcity of immigration records before the establishment of the U.S. Federal Government in 1789. They highlight strategies such as cluster research and the use of DNA testing to overcome the challenge of limited documentation, particularly for those who emigrated from England, Scotland, France, Germany, and other regions. They explain the significance of creating a locality guide based on...
This episode of Research Like a Pro focuses on the intricacies of tracing immigration records in genealogical research. Diana and Nicole discuss the common challenges faced when trying to locate an ancestor’s passenger list and the various entry points into the U.S., such as New York, New Orleans, Boston, San Francisco, Canada, and Mexico. They emphasize the importance of combing through U.S. records for clues about an ancestor’s home country, ship’s name, date of immigration,...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro we delve into the intricacies of naturalization records, with a special focus on 20th-century cases. A significant part of the episode is dedicated to a case study of Adolph Salmon, a German immigrant. We discuss how Diana traced his naturalization journey through various records, including census data, newspapers, and court documents. We highlight the significance of creating timelines and merging information from diverse sources to reveal a comprehensive...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about naturalization records in the United States. We review the genealogical information naturalization records can hold, and discuss various records created in the process. We talk about Declarations of Intention (first papers), Petitions for Naturalization (second or final papers), and Certificates of Naturalization. We also go over the use of census records for clues about naturalization status, including columns for alien status, declaration of intent filed, and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor Harriett Huggett (Nicole’s 3rd great-grandmother and Diana’s 2nd great-grandmother). Diana researched records for Harriett’s early life in England. She enjoyed finding a personal history written by Harriett’s granddaughter which provided wonderful details about Harriett’s decision to leave her wealthy situation. The history describes their difficult journey and Harriett’s adjustment to poverty in the Utah desert after being used to fine things in England. We...
