Ireland Emigration and Immigration: Difference between revisions

Emigration records are records of people leaving a country. Immigration records are records of people entering a country. Records of emigration and immigration include passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, records of passports issued, lists of transported prisoners, and registers of assistance to emigrate. These records may contain the name, age, occupation, destination, place of origin or birthplace, date of departure, and date and ship of arrival of the person immigrating or emigrating. Names of fellow passengers may suggest familial relationships or provide hints about a passenger's place of origin or destination.  

Many emigration and immigration sources not discussed in this section are listed in:  

Smith, Frank''. Smith's Inventory of Genealogical Sources: Ireland''. (FHL book Ref 941.5 D23s.)  

A more detailed discussion of emigration and immigration records is also provided in:  

Falley, Margaret Dickson. ''Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research.'' 2 vols. Evanston, Illinois: Margaret Dickson Falley, 1961-62. (FHL book Ref 941.5 D27f 2 vols.)  

== Emigration from Ireland ==

No records are required for movements within the British Isles (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands). Records were not required for free emigrants to the United States until 1773, to Canada until 1865, or to Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa until the twentieth century. There was no systematic, official method of emigration from Ireland. As a result, you may not find emigration records for your Irish ancestor.

Emigration from Ireland began as early as 1603, when people immigrated to areas such as continental Europe, the islands of the Caribbean, the British colonies, and other parts of the British Isles. Emigration increased during periods of civil or religious unrest or famine in Ireland as well as during various gold rushes in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. The period of greatest emigration began around 1780 and reached its peak from 1845 to 1855, when more than two million people left Ireland because of the potato famine. The following categories of emigrants account for most people who emigrated from Ireland:

*'''Free emigrants.''' Starting in the seventeenth century, emigrants left Ireland to seek opportunity in a new land; to flee religious persecution, poverty, or oppression; and to seek political asylum following rebellion in Ireland.

*'''Assisted emigrants'''. In the nineteenth century, qualified emigrants received passage money or land grants as incentives to emigrate. Assistance was viewed by officials as an alternative to providing poor relief for able-bodied, unemployed workers and for the starving masses during famine. After 1840, colonies such as New Zealand and Australia offered money or land grants to skilled workers to attract needed immigrants.

*'''Transported prisoners'''. From 1611 to 1870, more than fifty thousand Irish criminals were sentenced to deportation to a penal colony for a number of years. Beginning with Irishmen who rebelled against Cromwell's army in 1649, political prisoners were also often deported. Many Irish prisoners were sent to America, primarily to Virginia and Maryland, until 1775. From 1788 to 1869, over forty thousand Irish prisoners were sent to Australia. Many of those deported were later pardoned on the condition that they would never return to Ireland.

*'''Military personnel'''. Soldiers serving overseas were offered land or other inducements to settle in the colony where they were serving when they were discharged. This settlement practice was common for soldiers in Australia from 1791, Canada from 1815, and New Zealand from 1844.

=== Finding the Emigrant's Place of Origin ===

 

 

=== Records of Irish Emigrants in Their Destination Countries ===

Naturalization records in the destination country can be more helpful than immigration records in determining your ancestor's place of origin. To learn more about naturalization records, consult the "Naturalization and Citizenship" section of the destination country's research outline, if available, or see [[Portal:Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]].  

 

Many records of Irish emigration are kept in England. To effectively search these records, it helps to know the approximate date of emigration, the ship in which your ancestor emigrated, the type of or reason for emigration, or the previous residence of your ancestor in Britain. If you know the ship name, Lloyd's ''Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1776-1880''(LaCrosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1981; FHL fiche 6024581-5194 6025259-95, 6053006-7; not available at Family History Centers) may provide additional details on the ship, including ports of embarkation and arrival. Once you have gathered background information, you can search British emigration records including:  

'''Passenger lists'''. Passenger lists are port records listing departing or arriving passengers. British passenger departure lists are rare before 1890. From January 1890, records were kept of passengers departing from ports in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. These lists usually give the emigrant's name, age, occupation, departure date, address in the United Kingdom, and sometimes destination. These records are arranged by date and by port of departure. They are kept at the Public Record Office, Kew. The Family History Library does not have copies of these records. Therefore, you may want to check Irish emigrant lists that have been compiled from these records and published in recent years by such authors as Ira A. Glazier, Michael Tepper, and Brian Mitchell.  

'''Assisted emigrant registers'''. Assisted emigrant registers list people applying for assistance to emigrate. These records often contain the petitioner's name, age, occupation, residence, destination, name of sponsor, address of relative, and size of family. The registers available at the Family History Library appear in the Place Search of the catalog under the following headings:  

IRELAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

GREAT BRITAIN - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

== Immigration into Ireland ==

Immigrants to Ireland came primarily from elsewhere within the British Isles or from continental Europe by way of England. Specific groups of immigrants included refugees from various wars (such as the French Revolution), Huguenots, Germans, and Jews. Ireland kept no official immigration records, so you must rely primarily on (1) English records of immigrants who passed through England on their way to Ireland and (2) emigration records of the country from which your ancestor moved.  

No consistent records of arrivals into the United Kingdom were kept until 1836. Beginning in 1836, certificates of entering aliens were kept. These are arranged by port. They provide name, nationality, profession, date of arrival, country last visited, and the signature of the alien. The Public Records Office, Kew has an alphabetical index to these certificates.  

Beginning in 1878, passenger lists were kept of those entering the United Kingdom (see "British Records of Irish Emigration" in this section). Passenger lists no longer exist for the years between 1878 and 1883. Records surviving from 1883 to 1891 are for the Irish ports of Cork (Queenstown), Londonderry, and Belfast. After 1891 the records are more complete. However, passengers from Europe or the Mediterranean are rarely listed. These passenger lists are arranged by port and are kept at the Public Record Office, Kew.  

One good, though limited, source of information on British immigrants, especially for before 1836, is naturalization and denization records.  

Other sources of information on people entering Ireland include court records, state papers, and plantation and settlement records.  

The Family History Library has few records of immigration into Ireland. The sources the library does have are mostly published works. They are listed in the Place Search of the catalog under the following headings:  

IRELAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

ENGLAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

GREAT BRITAIN - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

The library may have emigration records of the country from which your ancestor moved. These are listed in the Locality Search of the catalog under:  

[COUNTRY OF ORIGIN] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION  

[[Category:Ireland]] [[Category:Scots-Irish]]