North Carolina Emigration and Immigration: Difference between revisions

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==How to Find the Records==
 
=== Online Resources ===
North Carolina’s treacherous coastline prevented significant immigration by sea. Most immigrants arrived at major northern ports such as New York, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. The [[United States Emigration and Immigration|United States Emigration and Immigration]] Wiki article lists several important sources for finding information about immigrants to this country. These sources include many references to people who settled in North Carolina. [[Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]] introduces the principles, research strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant’s original hometown.
*'''1500s-1900s''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7486/?arrival=_north+carolina-usa_36&count=50 All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s] at Ancestry - index only ($); ''Also at [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10017/passenger-immigration-lists-1500-1900?s=1&formId=pili&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.North%2F3Carolina+epmo.similar MyHeritage]''; index only ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina
 
*'''1774-1775''' {{FSC|170905|item|disp=''Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775''}}  
=== People  ===
*'''1895-1956''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10942/united-states-border-crossings-from-canada-1895-1956?s=1&formId=collection_10942:searchFormDef&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=master,immigration&p=1&qevents-event1=Event+et.any+ep.North%2F3Carolina+epmo.similar&qevents=List United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956] at MyHeritage - index & images ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina
 
*'''1908-1958''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20347/north-carolina-passenger-crew-lists?s=275764761 North Carolina, Passenger and Crew Lists] at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
The earliest pre-statehood settlers of North Carolina were generally of English descent and came from Virginia and South Carolina to the Coastal Plain region, between 1650 and 1730. In the early 1700s, small groups of French Huguenot, German Palatine, and Swiss immigrants founded towns on the coast. Between 1729 and 1775, several thousand Scottish settlers came directly from the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles to settle the upper Cape Fear Valley.
*'''1908-1958''' [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2072744 North Carolina, Wilmington and Morehead City Passenger and Crew Lists, 1908-1958] at FamilySearch - [[North Carolina, Wilmington and Morehead City Passenger and Crew Lists - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
 
*'''1908-1958''' [https://www.findmypast.com/search/results?datasetname=united%20states%2c%20passenger%20and%20crew%20lists&state=north%20carolina&datasettitle=north%20carolina%2c%20wilmington%20and%20morehead%20city%20passenger%20lists%2c%201908-1958&sid=999 United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - North Carolina, Wilmington And Morehead City Passenger Lists, 1908-1958] at Findmypast - index & images ($)
During the same period, many Ulster Scots and Germans came overland down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road into the central and western portions of the state. African Americans were brought to North Carolina very early and now constitute about one-fifth of the state’s population. Histories of Germans, Scots, and African Americans are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under NORTH CAROLINA - MINORITIES.
*[https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1gEPDH-Y5EEmL_78yhM2a4zc81C6_yVU&ll=2.0214455198272887%2C156.72834639000985&z=3 World Passenger Lists Map]
 
Although most of the Cherokee Indians were removed from North Carolina in the late 1830s, some remained and many of their descendants still live in the western part of the state. See [[Indians of North Carolina|Indians of North Carolina]] for further information about American Indians in North Carolina.
 
North Carolina did not attract heavy settlement after the Revolutionary War and lost much of its population in the westward movement to Tennessee, Illinois, and other new states and territories.
 
=== Ports  ===
 
*Edenton<ref>Raymond A. Winslow, "Vessel Bonds, 1759," ''The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal,'' Vol. 17, No. 1 (Feb. 1991):2-4.</ref><ref>J.R.B. Hathaway, "Merchant Marine, Port of Roanoke (Edenton, N.C.)," ''The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register,'' Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jun. 1900):433-437. Digital version at [http://archive.org/stream/northcarolinahi00hathgoog#page/n446/mode/2up Internet Archive] - free.</ref>
*Wilmington
 
=== Records  ===
 
 
*Clay, James W. ''North Carolina Atlas''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1975. {{FHL|177459|item|disp=FHL film 1597810, item 2; book 975.6 E3c}} This atlas shows the formation of counties and the patterns of European settlement.
 
*United States. Bureau of Customs. ''Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820–1873''. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M575. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1964. {{FHL|66154|item|disp=FHL films 830231 (first of 26)}} Incomplete lists of passengers for five minor ports in North Carolina: Beaufort, 1865; Edentown, 1820; New Berne, 1820–1865; Plymouth, 1820–1840; and Washington, 1820–1848.
 
:*Indexes to these minor ports lists<br>United States. Bureau of Customs. ''A Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports, 1820–1874''. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M334. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1960. {{FHL|67478|item|disp=FHL films 418161–418348)}} A comprehensive list of about 140,000 immigrants to America from Britain is:
 
*McBride, Ransom. "Lists of Scottish Rebel Prisoners Transported to America in the Aftermath of Culloden - 1746," ''The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal,'' Vol. 6, No. 2 (May 1980):78-94. {{FHL|41760|item|disp=FHL Book 975.6 B2s}}.
 
*Newsome, Albert Ray, ''Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775'' (Raleigh, NC&nbsp;: State Dept. of Archives and History, 1962) {{WorldCat|12182612|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|170905|item|disp=FHL book 975.6 A1 no. 30}} Digital version available through catalog entry for this book.
 
*''Wayne County, Indiana, settlers from North and South Carolina,'' {{FHL|156490|item|disp=FHL film 908530 item 6; book 977.263 H2w}}
 
*Meyer, Duane, ''The Highland Scots of North Carolina, 1732-1776'' (Chapel Hill, NC&nbsp;: University of NC Press, [1966]) {{WorldCat|466801|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|178202|item|disp=FHL book 975.6 F2me}}
 
*Johnston, Hugh B., ''They Moved Away&nbsp;: North Carolinians Who Went to Other States'' (Wilson, NC&nbsp;: Wilson County Genealogical Society (NC), c1997) {{WorldCat|38214181|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|692205|item|disp=FHL book 975.6 W2j}}
 
*Eaker, Lorena Shell, ''German speaking people west of the Catawba River in North Carolina, 1750-1800&nbsp;: and some émigrés participation in early settlement of Southeast Missouri'' (Franklin, NC&nbsp;: Genealogy Pub. Service, c1994) {{WorldCat|31738564|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|694562|item|disp=FHL book 975.6 W2e)}}
 
*Tyler H. Blethen and Curtis W. Wood, Jr. ''From Ulster to Carolina&nbsp;: the Migration of the Scotch-Irish to southwestern North Carolina'' (Raleigh, NC&nbsp;: North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, c1998) {{WorldCat|39557158|At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|742097|item|disp=FHL book 975.6 F2bL}}
 
*[http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ote/caroship.htm Passenger Lists of Ships to South & North Carolina] RootsWeb
*North Carolina passenger lists and other lists of immigrants can be found in the FamilySearch Catalog by using a Place Search under:
 
:'''NORTH CAROLINA - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION'''
 
:'''NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION'''
 
=== Migration  ===
 
Three of the major roads used to reach North Carolina:  


====Cultural Groups====
*[[King's Highway]]  
*[https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/49091/ British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812], e-book
*[[Fall Line Road]]  
*'''1920-1939''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10924/germany-bremen-emigration-lists-1920-1939?s=1&formId=collection_10924:searchFormDef&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=master,immigration&p=1&qevents-event1=Event+et.any+ep.North%2F3Carolina+epmo.similar&qevents=List Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina
*[[Great Valley Road]]
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10019/germans-immigrating-to-the-united-states?s=1&formId=immigration-norels&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration,pili&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.North%2F3carolina+epmo.similar Germans Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10030/italians-immigrating-to-the-united-states?s=1&formId=immigration-norels&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration,pili,immigration-norels&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.North%2F3Carolina+epmo.similar Italians Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10029/russians-immigrating-to-the-united-states?s=1&formId=immigration-norels&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration,pili,immigration-norels&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.North%2F3Carolina+epmo.similar Russians Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of North Carolina


==== Passport Records Online  ====
Other migration routes are listed on the [[North Carolina Genealogy|North Carolina]] page.  
*'''1795-1925''' {{RecordSearch|2185145|United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925}} at FamilySearch - [[United States, Passport Applications - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
*'''1795-1925''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1174 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925] Index and images, at Ancestry ($)


North Carolina’s treacherous coastline prevented significant immigration by sea. Most immigrants arrived at major northern ports such as New York, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. *Immigrants to New Jersey frequently arrived in the United States at nearby larger ports with better harbors, especially New York; Wilmington, Delaware; Boston,  
Many researchers know an ancestor was born in North Carolina, but they don't know precisely where. To begin in-depth research in the state, you will need to pinpoint specific counties where your ancestors lived. Jeffrey L. Haines, CG, prepared a list of "people finders" that can help you accomplish this task during different periods of North Carolina's history. See:  
Massachusetts; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
:*[[Delaware Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|Delaware Emigration and Immigration Online Resources]]
:*[[Massachusetts Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|Massachusetts Emigration and Immigration Online Resources]]
:*[[New York Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|New York Emigration and Immigration Online Resources]]
:*[[Pennsylvania Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|Pennsylvania Emigration and Immigration Online Resources]]


===Offices to Contact===
*Haines, Jeffrey L. "People Finders for North Carolina," ''North Carolina Genealogical Journal'', Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb. 2009):5-14. {{FHL|12718|item|disp=FHL Book 975.6 B2j}}.
Although many records are included in the online records listed above, there are other records available through these archives and offices. For example, there are many minor ports that have not yet been digitized. There are also records for more recent time periods. For privacy reasons, some records can only be accessed after providing proof that your ancestor is now deceased.
====National Archives and Records Administration====
*The [https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/overview '''National Archives (NARA)'''] has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by [https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/passenger-arrival.html#https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/passenger-arrival.html#where '''Port of Arrival (See Part 5).''']
:*You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001. 
*Some [https://www.archives.gov/locations '''National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities'''] have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.
*Libraries with large genealogical collections, such as the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog '''FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah'''] and the [https://acpl-cms.wise.oclc.org/genealogy '''Allen County Piblic Library'''] also have selected NARA microfilm publications.
:*Order copies of passenger arrival records with [https://www.archives.gov/files/forms/pdf/natf-81.pdf '''NATF Form 81'''.]
=====North Carolina Ports in NARA Records=====
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/port/atlantic-gulf-great-lakes.html Beaufort, North Carolina, 1865]
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/port/atlantic-gulf-great-lakes.html Edenton, North Carolina, 1820]
*[https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEBHWND=&_sn=d5lX08DUaDOh3tEXa6h1RFMPKfFcNGT4XfaM8cWH6bLduds7YpfZsk4X4KHVhImlPV9i.VY21pzWXxV55fZIc9mo3Lu6WG2ybysyEn23hIWwyt7voC6MlektTMU7NZ2nLDjgUDLU9gMKxogWbbAFqjyLOBrdzkDe46gMVGrkLE0No7PeSpuoCD9vOfIyfe5ComVGUw6rFPc_&SWEView=GPEA+Microfilm+Landing+Page+View+MIF&SRN=&SWEHo=eservices.archives.gov&SWETS=1617407806&SWEScreen=GPEA+Microfilm+MIF Morehead City, North Carolina, 1908-1958]
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/port/atlantic-gulf-great-lakes.html New Bern, North Carolina, 1820-1865]
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/port/atlantic-gulf-great-lakes.html Plymouth, North Carolina, 1820-1840]
*[https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/port/atlantic-gulf-great-lakes.html Washington, North Carolina, 1820-1848]
*[https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEScreen=GPEA+Microfilm+MIF&SWEView=GPEA+Microfilm+Landing+Page+View+MIF Wilmington, North Carolina, 1908-1958]


====U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program====
Free native-born North Carolinians, alive in 1850, who had left the state, resettled as follows:<ref name="Lynch">These statistics do not account for the large number of North Carolinians who had migrated and died before the year 1850. See: William O. Lynch, "The Westward Flow of Southern Colonists before 1861," ''The Journal of Southern History,'' Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1943):303-327. Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2191319 JSTOR] ($).</ref>  
The [https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy '''USCIS Genealogy Program'''] is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.
=====Immigration Records Available=====
*[https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/historical-record-series/a-files-numbered-below-8-million '''A-Files:'''] Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
*[https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy/historical-record-series/alien-registration-forms-on-microfilm-1940-1944 '''Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s):'''] Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
*[https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/historical-record-series/registry-files-march-2-1929-march-31-1944''' Registry Files:'''] Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
*[https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/historical-record-series/visa-files-july-1-1924-march-31-1944'''Visa Files:'''] Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.<ref>"Genealogy", at USCIS, https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy, accessed 26 March 2021.</ref>


=====Requesting a Record=====
{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1"
*[https://genealogy.uscis.dhs.gov/ '''Web Request Page'''] allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
|-
*[https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy/genealogical-records-help/record-requests-frequently-asked-questions '''Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions''']
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''State'''
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''Persons Born in North Carolina'''
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''Percentage'''
|-
| Tennessee
| 72,027
|-
| Georgia
| 37,522
|-
| Indiana
| 33,175
|-
| Alabama
| 28,521
|-
| Mississippi
| 21,487
|-
| Missouri
| 17,009
|-
| Kentucky
| 14,279
|-
| Illinois
| 13,851
|-
| Arkansas
| 8,772
|-
| South Carolina
| 6,173
|-
| Texas
| 5,155
|-
| Ohio
| 4,807
|-
| Florida
| 3,537
|-
| Louisiana
| 2,923
|}


==Finding Town of Origin==
Dorothy Williams Potter in ''Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823'' ({{FHL|265121|item|disp=FHL Book 975 W4p}}) identifies some migrants from North Carolina into territories that are now [[Alabama, United States Genealogy|Alabama]], [[Florida Genealogy|Florida]], [[Louisiana Genealogy|Louisiana]], [[Mississippi Genealogy|Mississippi]], and [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]].
Records in the countries emigrated from are kept on the local level. You must first identify the '''name of the town''' where your ancestors lived to access those records. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
*[[U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin|'''U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin''']]


==Background==
Robertson compiled a list of North Carolinians living in Kansas in 1860:
*The earliest pre-statehood settlers of North Carolina were generally of '''English descent''' and came from Virginia and South Carolina to the Coastal Plain region, between 1650 and 1730.
*In the early 1700s, small groups of '''French Huguenot, German Palatine, and Swiss immigrants''' founded towns on the coast.
*Between 1729 and 1775, several thousand '''Scottish settlers''' came directly from the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles to settle the upper Cape Fear Valley.
*During the same period, many '''Ulster Scots and Germans''' came overland down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road into the central and western portions of the state.
*'''African Americans''' were brought to North Carolina very early and now constitute about one-fifth of the state’s population.
*North Carolina did not attract heavy settlement after the Revolutionary War and lost much of its population in the '''westward movement to Tennessee, Illinois, and other new states and territories'''.


==Immigration Records==
*Robertson, Clara Hamlett. ''Kansas Territorial Settlers of 1860 Who were Born in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina:&nbsp;A Compilation with Historical Annotations and Editorial Comment''. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976. {{FHL|205844|item|disp=FHL book 978.1 H2ro}}; digital version at [http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=gpc0806306971_clarahamlettrobertson1976 World Vital Records] ($).
'''Immigration''' refers to people coming into a country. '''Emigration''' refers to people leaving a country to go to another.  Immigration records usually take the form of ship's '''passenger lists''' collected at the port of entry. See [[North Carolina Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|'''Online Resources'''.]]
===What can I find in them?===
====[[North Carolina Emigration and Immigration #Online Resources|Information in Passenger Lists]]====
*'''Before 1820''' - Passenger lists before 1820 included '''name, departure information and arrival details'''.  The names of wives and children were often not included.


*'''1820-1891''' - Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for '''each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin''', but not the city or town of origin.
Useful sources showing migration patterns:


*'''1891-1954''' - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
*Dollarhide, William. ''Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735–1815''. Bountiful, Utah: AGLL Genealogical Services, 1997. {{FHL|205844|item|disp=FHL book 973 E3d}} This book contains many good maps.
**name, age, sex,
**nationality, occupation, marital status,
**last residence, final destination in the U.S.,
**whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long),
**if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship,
**whether able to read and write,
**whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage,
**amount of money the immigrant had in their possession,
**whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane,
**whether the passenger was a polygamist,
**and immigrant's state of health.  


*'''1906--'''  - In 1906, the '''physical description and place of birth''' were included, and a year later, the '''name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin''' was included.
*Billington, Ray Allen. ''Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier''. 5th ed. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1982. {{FHL|51843|item|disp=FHL book 973 H2bw}} This book has explanations and maps of settlement and migration of various groups.


====[[North Carolina Emigration and Immigration#Passport Records Online|Information in Passports]]  ====
Works on migration within and through North Carolina are listed under:  
Over the years, passports and passport applications contained different amounts of information about the passport applicant. The first passports that are available begin in 1795. These usually contained the individual's name, description of individual, and age. More information was required on later passport applications, such as:  


*Birthplace 
:'''UNITED STATES - MIGRATION, INTERNAL'''
*Birth date
*Naturalization information
*Arrival information, if foreign born


== In-Country Migration  ==
:'''NORTH CAROLINA - MIGRATION, INTERNAL'''
===North Carolina Migration Routes===
[[Atlantic Coast Ports]]{{·}} [[Black Fox Trail]] {{·}} [[Catawba and Northern Trail]] {{·}} [[Catawba Trail]] {{·}} [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad]] {{·}} [[Fall Line Road]] [[Fall Line Road|Southern Road]] {{·}} [[Fayetteville, Elizabethtown, and Wilmington Trail]] {{·}} [[Great Valley Road]] {{·}} [[Jonesboro Road]] {{·}} [[King's Highway]] {{·}} [[Lower Cherokee Traders' Path]] {{·}} [[New River and Southern Trail]] {{·}} [[Occaneechi Path]] {{·}} [[Old Cherokee Path]] {{·}} [[Rutherford's War Trace]] {{·}} [[Secondary Coast Road]] {{·}} [[Unicoi Trail]] {{·}} [[Upper Road]] {{·}} [[Wilmington, Highpoint, and Northern Trail]]
==For Further Reading==
The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog:
*{{FSC|United States, North Carolina - Emigration and immigration|subject|subject-id=478986908|disp=United States, North Carolina - Emigration and immigration}}
*{{FSC|United States, North Carolina - Minorities|subject|subject-id=813785263|disp=United States, North Carolina - Minorities}}


== References  ==
== References  ==

Revision as of 20:52, 12 January 2021

North Carolina Wiki Topics
North Carolina flag.png
Beginning Research
Record Types
North Carolina Background
Cultural Groups
Local Research Resources






North Carolina’s treacherous coastline prevented significant immigration by sea. Most immigrants arrived at major northern ports such as New York, Baltimore, Boston, and Philadelphia. The United States Emigration and Immigration Wiki article lists several important sources for finding information about immigrants to this country. These sources include many references to people who settled in North Carolina. Tracing Immigrant Origins introduces the principles, research strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant’s original hometown.

People[edit | edit source]

The earliest pre-statehood settlers of North Carolina were generally of English descent and came from Virginia and South Carolina to the Coastal Plain region, between 1650 and 1730. In the early 1700s, small groups of French Huguenot, German Palatine, and Swiss immigrants founded towns on the coast. Between 1729 and 1775, several thousand Scottish settlers came directly from the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles to settle the upper Cape Fear Valley.

During the same period, many Ulster Scots and Germans came overland down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road into the central and western portions of the state. African Americans were brought to North Carolina very early and now constitute about one-fifth of the state’s population. Histories of Germans, Scots, and African Americans are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under NORTH CAROLINA - MINORITIES.

Although most of the Cherokee Indians were removed from North Carolina in the late 1830s, some remained and many of their descendants still live in the western part of the state. See Indians of North Carolina for further information about American Indians in North Carolina.

North Carolina did not attract heavy settlement after the Revolutionary War and lost much of its population in the westward movement to Tennessee, Illinois, and other new states and territories.

Ports[edit | edit source]

Records[edit | edit source]

  • Clay, James W. North Carolina Atlas. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1975. FHL film 1597810, item 2; book 975.6 E3c This atlas shows the formation of counties and the patterns of European settlement.
  • United States. Bureau of Customs. Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820–1873. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M575. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1964. FHL films 830231 (first of 26) Incomplete lists of passengers for five minor ports in North Carolina: Beaufort, 1865; Edentown, 1820; New Berne, 1820–1865; Plymouth, 1820–1840; and Washington, 1820–1848.
  • Indexes to these minor ports lists
    United States. Bureau of Customs. A Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports, 1820–1874. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M334. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1960. FHL films 418161–418348) A comprehensive list of about 140,000 immigrants to America from Britain is:
  • McBride, Ransom. "Lists of Scottish Rebel Prisoners Transported to America in the Aftermath of Culloden - 1746," The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2 (May 1980):78-94. FHL Book 975.6 B2s.
  • Newsome, Albert Ray, Records of Emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775 (Raleigh, NC : State Dept. of Archives and History, 1962) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 975.6 A1 no. 30 Digital version available through catalog entry for this book.
  • Eaker, Lorena Shell, German speaking people west of the Catawba River in North Carolina, 1750-1800 : and some émigrés participation in early settlement of Southeast Missouri (Franklin, NC : Genealogy Pub. Service, c1994) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 975.6 W2e)
  • Tyler H. Blethen and Curtis W. Wood, Jr. From Ulster to Carolina : the Migration of the Scotch-Irish to southwestern North Carolina (Raleigh, NC : North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, c1998) WorldCat 39557158; FHL book 975.6 F2bL
NORTH CAROLINA - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION
NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

Migration[edit | edit source]

Three of the major roads used to reach North Carolina:

Other migration routes are listed on the North Carolina page.

Many researchers know an ancestor was born in North Carolina, but they don't know precisely where. To begin in-depth research in the state, you will need to pinpoint specific counties where your ancestors lived. Jeffrey L. Haines, CG, prepared a list of "people finders" that can help you accomplish this task during different periods of North Carolina's history. See:

  • Haines, Jeffrey L. "People Finders for North Carolina," North Carolina Genealogical Journal, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb. 2009):5-14. FHL Book 975.6 B2j.

Free native-born North Carolinians, alive in 1850, who had left the state, resettled as follows:[3]

State Persons Born in North Carolina Percentage
Tennessee 72,027
Georgia 37,522
Indiana 33,175
Alabama 28,521
Mississippi 21,487
Missouri 17,009
Kentucky 14,279
Illinois 13,851
Arkansas 8,772
South Carolina 6,173
Texas 5,155
Ohio 4,807
Florida 3,537
Louisiana 2,923

Dorothy Williams Potter in Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823 (FHL Book 975 W4p) identifies some migrants from North Carolina into territories that are now Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri.

Robertson compiled a list of North Carolinians living in Kansas in 1860:

  • Robertson, Clara Hamlett. Kansas Territorial Settlers of 1860 Who were Born in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina: A Compilation with Historical Annotations and Editorial Comment. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976. FHL book 978.1 H2ro; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

Useful sources showing migration patterns:

  • Dollarhide, William. Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735–1815. Bountiful, Utah: AGLL Genealogical Services, 1997. FHL book 973 E3d This book contains many good maps.
  • Billington, Ray Allen. Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier. 5th ed. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1982. FHL book 973 H2bw This book has explanations and maps of settlement and migration of various groups.

Works on migration within and through North Carolina are listed under:

UNITED STATES - MIGRATION, INTERNAL
NORTH CAROLINA - MIGRATION, INTERNAL

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Raymond A. Winslow, "Vessel Bonds, 1759," The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Feb. 1991):2-4.
  2. ↑ J.R.B. Hathaway, "Merchant Marine, Port of Roanoke (Edenton, N.C.)," The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jun. 1900):433-437. Digital version at Internet Archive - free.
  3. ↑ These statistics do not account for the large number of North Carolinians who had migrated and died before the year 1850. See: William O. Lynch, "The Westward Flow of Southern Colonists before 1861," The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1943):303-327. Digital version at JSTOR ($).
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