Indiana Emigration and Immigration: Difference between revisions

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*Beginning about 1830, many settlers came from '''Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York'''. Eventually, settlers from the middle Atlantic states and Ohio outnumbered those from the Southern slave states.  
*Beginning about 1830, many settlers came from '''Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York'''. Eventually, settlers from the middle Atlantic states and Ohio outnumbered those from the Southern slave states.  
*Indiana did not attract as many overseas immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century as other Midwestern states. Over half of those who came to Indiana directly from overseas were of '''German''' origin, with the '''Irish''' a distant second. Most of the present Indiana population is of '''English, Scottish, Irish, or German descent'''.  
*Indiana did not attract as many overseas immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century as other Midwestern states. Over half of those who came to Indiana directly from overseas were of '''German''' origin, with the '''Irish''' a distant second. Most of the present Indiana population is of '''English, Scottish, Irish, or German descent'''.  
*Around 1900, East Chicago, Gary, and South Bend attracted '''Polish and other eastern and southern European immigrants.'''  
*Around 1900, East Chicago, Gary, and South Bend attracted '''Polish and other eastern and southern European immigrants.'''
 
 
 
 
For additional information on pre–1850 migration patterns and the location of settlers from specific states and regions within the individual Indiana counties, see:
 
''German Immigrants in Indiana Church Records''. Roger Minert, ed. Rockport, Maine : Picton Press, c2005-201. {{FHL|1316260|item|disp=FHL book 973 W23g}} {{WorldCat|320330938|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}} Vol. 1 of this 10 volume set deals with Indiana Protestants.
 
Rose, Gregory S. "''Hoosier Origins: The Nativity of Indiana’s United States-born Population in 1850''." Indiana Magazine of History 81 (September 1985): 201-202. {{FHL|1565007|item|disp=FHL book 977.2 B2im vol.81}}.) This article contains maps and charts showing Indiana counties, the nativity of the population of each county, and the migration routes into Indiana.
 
For migration settlements from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, see:
 
Rose, Gregory S. "''Upland Southerners: The County Origins of Southern Migrants to Indiana by 1850''." Indiana Magazine of History 82 (September 1986): 242-63. {{FHL|1565012|item|disp=FHL book 977.2 B2im vol. 82}}) This article discusses the migration into Indiana from the upper southern states and shows the states of birth and previous residences of Indiana settlers prior to 1850.
 
Lang, Elfrieda. "''An Analysis of Northern Indiana’s Population in 1850''." Indiana Magazine of History 49 (March 1953): 17–60. (Family History Library book {{FHL|977.2 B2im |disp=977.2 B2im vol.49}}) This includes charts and graphs showing the nativity and age distribution of residents in the individual counties.
 
Lang, Elfrieda. "''Ohioans in Northern Indiana before 1850.''" Indiana Magazine of History 49 (December 1953): 391–404. (Family History Library book {{FHL|977.2 B2im |disp=977.2 B2im vol. 49}}) This report shows where Ohio settlers settled in northern Indiana.
 
Lang, Elfrieda. "''Southern Migrants to Northern Indiana before 1850''." Indiana Magazine of History 50 (December 1954): 349-56. (Family History Library book {{FHL|977.2 B2im |disp=977.2 B2im vol.50}}) In addition to showing the migration routes from the south into northern Indiana, this article shows where the settlers came from in the southern states.
 
=== Major Ports of Entry  ===
 
Evansville was made a United States port of entry in 1856, but there are no passenger lists. Evansville was the gateway to Indiana for overseas immigrants coming by way of New Orleans. There are passenger lists available on microfilm through the National Archives and the Family History Library from New Orleans for 1820 to 1952, and indexes for 1820 to 1850 and 1853 to 1952. After about 1857, when the railroads were completed, the majority of immigrants arrived through eastern ports, such as New York.
 
More information on immigration sources can be found in [[Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]] and [[United States Emigration and Immigration|United States Emigration and Immigration]].
 
'''Publications Listing Immigrants'''
 
There are many publications that list immigrants from different countries, such as Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Scotland, and Sweden. Many of these publications are indexed in:
 
Filby, P. William. ''Passenger and Immigration Lists Index''. For a full citation see [[United States Emigration and Immigration|United States Emigration and Immigration.


==In-Country Migration==
==In-Country Migration==

Revision as of 19:48, 6 April 2021

Indiana Wiki Topics
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Beginning Research
Record Types
Indiana Background
Cultural Groups
Local Research Resources

How to Find the Records[edit | edit source]

Online Records[edit | edit source]

Cultural Groups[edit | edit source]


Passport Records Online[edit | edit source]

Offices to Contact[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

  • You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program[edit | edit source]

The 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[edit | edit source]
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Visa Files: Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.[1]
Requesting a Record[edit | edit source]

Finding Town of Origin[edit | edit source]

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.

United States Emigration and Immigration lists several important sources for finding information about immigrants. These nationwide sources include many references to people who settled in Indiana. Tracing Immigrant Origins introduces principles, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor’s original hometown.

Background[edit | edit source]

  • French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, came from Michigan down to Northern Indiana in 1679. Not long after, traders from the Carolinas and Pennsylvania areas began to settle in the Ohio and Wabish Rivers regions in Indiana. These settlements caused alarm among the French who used the rivers to trade. Subsequently, the French began building forts in the early 18th century. These included Fort-Miami, Fort-Ouiatanon, and Fort-Vincennes.
  • The land was ceded to the British in 1763, and the United States in 1783.[2]
  • American settlement began before 1800 and increased substantially after the War of 1812.
  • The earliest American settlers came mainly from Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Maryland.
  • Beginning about 1830, many settlers came from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Eventually, settlers from the middle Atlantic states and Ohio outnumbered those from the Southern slave states.
  • Indiana did not attract as many overseas immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century as other Midwestern states. Over half of those who came to Indiana directly from overseas were of German origin, with the Irish a distant second. Most of the present Indiana population is of English, Scottish, Irish, or German descent.
  • Around 1900, East Chicago, Gary, and South Bend attracted Polish and other eastern and southern European immigrants.

In-Country Migration[edit | edit source]

  • Before 1850, most immigrants reached Indiana by a water route, such as the Ohio River. In 1816, when Indiana was admitted as a state, the population was concentrated in three areas: in a band along the southern boundary of the Ohio River; along the Wabash River between its junction with the Ohio River and Terre Haute; and along the Ohio-Indiana state line.
  • Iowa was the favorite destination of those leaving Indiana in the 1850s, but by 1880 more were leaving Indiana for Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri.

References
[edit | edit source]

  1. "Genealogy", at USCIS, https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy, accessed 26 March 2021.
  2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Indiana," in Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/place/Indiana-state/History#ref78676, accessed 20 Feb 2020.