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Tennessee Emigration and Immigration: Difference between revisions

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=== Online Resources ===
==How to Find the Records==
*'''1500s-1900s''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7486/?arrival=_tennessee-usa_45&count=50 All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s - Tennessee, USA] at [http://search.ancestry.com/ Ancestry]; index only ($); ''Also at [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10017/passenger-immigration-lists-1500-1900?s=1&formId=pili&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.Tennessee+epmo.similar MyHeritage]''; index only ($)
Tennessee, being entirely inland, has no seaports. Immigrants would have initially arrived at a port on the coast. To search those records, see [[United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records|'''United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records.''']] Most foreign-born immigrants arrived at the ports of '''New Orleans, New York, or other Atlantic and Gulf ports.''' The major port of entry for the Mississippi River was '''New Orleans.'''
===Online Resources===
*'''1500s-1900s''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7486/?arrival=_tennessee-usa_45&count=50 All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s] at Ancestry - index only ($); ''Also at [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10017/passenger-immigration-lists-1500-1900?s=1&formId=pili&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.Tennessee+epmo.similar MyHeritage]''; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee
*'''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.Tennessee+epmo.similar&qevents=List United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956]; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee
====Cultural Groups====
*[https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/49091/ British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812], e-book
*'''1920-1939''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10924/germany-bremen-emigration-lists-1920-1939?s=1&formId=collection_10924:searchFormDef&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=master,immigration&p=1&qevents-event1=Event+et.any+ep.Tennessee+epmo.similar&qevents=List Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee
*[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.Tennessee+epmo.similar Germans Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee
*[https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10030/italians-immigrating-to-the-united-states?s=1&formId=immigration-norels&formMode=1&useTranslation=1&exactSearch=&action=query&initialFormIds=immigration,pili,immigration-norels&p=1&qimmigration=Event+et.immigration+ep.Tennessee+epmo.similar Italians Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee
*[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.Tennessee+epmo.similar Russians Immigrating to the United States] at MyHeritage - index only ($); includes those with Destination of Tennessee


=== Migration Trends ===
==== Passport Records Online ====
*'''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 and images
*'''1795-1925''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1174 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925] Index and images, at Ancestry ($)


'''European.''' Pre-statehood settlers of Tennessee generally came from Virginia and the Carolinas by way of the Cumberland Gap and other land routes. Some settlers from Pennsylvania and New England poled keel boats from the Ohio River up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Most of these early settlers were of English and Ulster Scottish origin, although some were of German, Irish, and French ancestry.  
===Offices to Contact===
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.  


Tennessee continued to attract settlers from the Atlantic Coast into the 1830's and received Irish and German settlers during the European immigrations beginning at that time. However, most of the overseas immigrants preferred the industrialized North rather than the agricultural South. Many settlers moved from Tennessee to areas further west, most notably to Arkansas and Texas.  
====U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program====
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>


'''African.''' The African-American population comprised about 10 percent of the total population in the first federal census and is only a little above that percentage today. For information on African-Americans in Tennessee, see [[African-American Resources for Tennessee|African American Resources for Tennessee]].
=====Requesting a Record=====
*[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''']


'''Native American.''' The Chickasaw and Cherokee Indians had nearly all been exiled from the state by 1839. For further information on the tribes and their records in Tennessee, see [[Indians of Tennessee|Indians of Tennessee]]. For information on specific settlement patterns, see county and local histories.
==Finding Town of Origin==
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''']]


'''Major Ports of Entry.''' Most foreign-born immigrants arrived at the ports of New Orleans, New York, or other Atlantic and Gulf ports. The major port of entry for the Mississippi River was New Orleans. Passenger lists for these ports are at the Family History Library and the National Archives. [[Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]] and&nbsp;[[United States Emigration and Immigration|United States Emigration and Immigration]] articles give details about those records.  
==Background==
'''European.''' Pre-statehood settlers of Tennessee generally came from '''Virginia and the Carolinas''' by way of the Cumberland Gap and other land routes. Some settlers from '''Pennsylvania and New England''' poled keel boats from the Ohio River up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Most of these early settlers were of '''English and Ulster Scottish origin, although some were of German, Irish, and French ancestry.'''


=== Immigrants from Europe  ===
Tennessee continued to attract settlers from the Atlantic Coast into the 1830's and received Irish and German settlers during the European immigrations beginning at that time. However, most of the overseas immigrants preferred the industrialized North rather than the agricultural South.


Many British immigrants were not afraid to venture out into the wilds of frontier Tennessee. Speaking of English convicts transported to the American colonies in the 1770s, Maryland customs official William Eddis stated "the stamp of infamy is too strong upon them," after they serve their time, many "remove to a distant situation." One of these "distant situations" where ex-convicts started new lives, and where neighbors didn't know their pasts, was undoubtedly frontier Tennessee.
'''African.''' The African-American population comprised about 10 percent of the total population in the first federal census and is only a little above that percentage today. For information on African-Americans in Tennessee, see [[African-American Resources for Tennessee|African American Resources for Tennessee]].  
 
During the War of 1812, American officials required each state to submit lists of British aliens living within their bounds and to publish the lists in local newspapers to make Americans aware of their identities, for fear they might join British forces. Tennessee reported 154 British aliens to the State Department in Washington, D.C. Many of these immigrants had families. Of those 154, 102 lived in the East half of Tennessee and 52 in the West half. These individuals are identified in the following book:
 
*Scott, Kenneth. ''British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812.'' Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979, 372-378. [https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/78653 FHL book 973 W4s] digital version at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=49091 Ancestry] ($).
 
=== Migrants from the Eastern United States  ===
<div style="width: 100%; float: left">
In his well researched article "The Tennessee Constitution of 1796: A Product of the Old West" (1943),<ref name="barnhart" /> John D. Barnhart concluded that because of better road access, the largest percentage of East Tennessee pioneers had come to the area from Virginia. This, he believes changed over time. To reach this conclusion, he did a statistical analysis of the origins of Tennessee Constitution delegates and places of enlistment for Revolutionary War pensioners.
[[Image:{{NatchezT}}]]
''Origins of Tennessee Constitution Delegates (1796)''
 
{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="200" border="1"
|-
| '''Origin'''
| '''No.'''
|-
| Virginia
| 16
|-
| Unknown
| 12
|-
| Pennsylvania
| 8
|-
| North Carolina
| 7
|-
| South Carolina
| 4
|-
| Maryland
| 3
|-
| Ireland
| 3?
|-
| England
| 1
|}
 
''Revolutionary War Tennessee Pensioners (1818)''
 
{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="200" border="1"
|-
| '''Place Enlisted'''
| '''%'''
|-
| Virginia
| 47
|-
| North Carolina
| 27
|}


''Revolutionary War Tennessee Pensioners (1832)''  
'''Native American.''' The '''Chickasaw and Cherokee Indians''' had nearly all been exiled from the state by 1839. For further information on the tribes and their records in Tennessee, see [[Indians of Tennessee|Indians of Tennessee]].
 
{| cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="200" border="1"
|-
| '''Place Enlisted'''  
| '''%'''
|-
| Virginia
| 37
|-
| North Carolina
| 45
|}


Barnhart concludes that these numbers reveal that the earliest settlers (there by 1818) had come principally from Virginia, while between 1818 and 1832, once road access improved, a larger influx of North Carolina migrants&nbsp;settled in&nbsp;Tennessee.<ref name="barnhart">John D. Barnhart, “The Tennessee Constitution of 1796: A Product of the Old West,” ''The Journal of Southern History,'' Vol. 9, No. 4 (Nov. 1943): 532-548. Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2197663 JSTOR] ($).</ref>
==Immigration 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 [[Tennessee Emigration and Immigration#Online Resources|'''Online Resources'''.]]
<br>
Again, Tennessee, being entirely inland, has no seaports. Immigrants would have initially arrived at a port on the coast. To search those records, see [[United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records|'''United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records.''']] Most foreign-born immigrants arrived at the ports of '''New Orleans, New York, or other Atlantic and Gulf ports.''' The major port of entry for the Mississippi River was '''New Orleans.'''
===What can I find in them?===
====[[Tennessee 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.


This early history may have influenced many of our ancestors to venture out to this newly opening area of settlement:
*'''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.


*Smith, Daniel. ''A Short Description of the State of Tennessee: Lately Called the Territory of the United States, South of the River Ohio; to Accompany and Explain a Map of that Country''. Philadelphia: Printer for Mathew Carey by Lang and Ustick, 1796. Digital version at [http://www.archive.org/details/shortdescription00smit Internet Archive].
*'''1891-1954''' - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
**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.  


How did your ancestor find the correct destination out West? Quite possibly they had a copy of Brown's book:
*'''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.


*Brown, Samuel R. ''The Western Gazetteer or Emigrant's Directory, Containing a Geographical Description of the Western States and Territories, viz. The States of Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi: and the Territories of Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, and North-Western''. Auburn, N.Y.: H.C. Southwick, 1817. Digital versions at [http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/navigate.pl?lincoln.13 NIU Library Digitization Projects] and [http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?akid=k160710&cpn=pfmxk160710&ix=cdusaus0358_westerngazetteer World Vital Records] ($).
====[[Tennessee Emigration and Immigration#Passport Records Online|Information in Passports]]  ====
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:  


=== Records ===
*Birthplace  
 
*Birth date
Some published sources about migration to Tennessee include:<br><br>
*Naturalization information  
 
*Arrival information, if foreign born
*Lightfoot, Marise Parrish. ''Let the Drums Roll: Veterans and Patriots of the Revolutionary War Who Settled in Maury County, Tennessee.'' [Columbia, Tennessee]: Maury County Historical Society, 1976. {{FHL|199697|item|disp=FHL book 976.859 D3L}}. This record contains maps, historical information, biographical sketches, and an index.
*Peden, Henry C. ''Marylanders to Tennessee''. Lewes, Delaware: Colonial Roots, 2004. {{FHL|1202774|item|disp=FHL book 973 W2pm}}.
*Williams, Mike K. ''Virginians in Tennessee, 1850.'' Signal Mountain, Tennessee: Mountain Press, 1988. {{FHL|679525|item|disp=FHL book 976.8 W2w}}. This book is divided into two parts: the first contains an alphabetical list of Virginians with their ages, county of residence, and the birth date and place of the spouse; the second part contains historical and genealogical information. There is an index.
 
For the history and location of some of the old roads in Tennessee used by immigrants, see:
 
*Daniels, Jonathan. ''The Devil’s Backbone: The Story of the Natchez Trace, with Map and Headpieces by the Dillons.'' New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, [1962].{{FHL|290185|item|disp=FHL book 976 B4d}}.
 
For a brief history of the pertinent treaties, roads, waterways and railroads of Tennessee, see:
 
*"Transportation," in ''Tennessee: A Guide to the State''. Compiled and Written by the Federal Writers' Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Tennessee. American Guide Series. (No Place: New Deal Network, 1996) Original published: Tennessee: State of Tennessee. Department of Conservation, Division of Information, 1939. [http://newdeal.feri.org/guides/tnguide/ch08.htm Available online.] This chapter briefly describes the pertinent treaties, roads, waterways, and railroads of Tennessee.<br>
 
=== Westward Migrants  ===
 
The&nbsp;''Ozarks Migration Patterns Project'' by Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, CGL, FASG and Gale Williams Bamman, CG, CGL, determined that 74% of the original 1000&nbsp;land purchasers in Greene County, Missouri had migrated there from Tennessee.<ref>Marsha Hoffman Rising and Gale Williams Bamman, "Forging Links in a Surveyor's Chain: Samuel M. Scroggins of Missouri and Tennessee," ''National Genealogical Society Quarterly'', Vol. 83, No. 4 (December 1995):268-276. {{FHL|39597|item|disp=FHL Book 973 B2ng}}</ref>


==In-country Migration==
*Many settlers moved from Tennessee to areas further west, most notably to Arkansas and Texas.
Free native-born Tennesseans, alive in 1860, who had left the state, most popularly resettled in:<ref name="Lynch">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] ($).</ref>  
Free native-born Tennesseans, alive in 1860, who had left the state, most popularly resettled in:<ref name="Lynch">William O. Lynch, "The Westward Flow of Southern Colonists before 1861," ''The Journal of Southern History,'' Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug. 1943):303-327. Digital version at [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2191319 JSTOR] ($).</ref>  


Line 134: Line 96:
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''State'''  
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''State'''  
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''Persons Born in&nbsp;Tennessee'''
| bgcolor="#cccccc" | '''Persons Born in Tennessee'''
|-
|-
| Missouri  
| Missouri  
Line 140: Line 102:
|-
|-
| Arkansas  
| Arkansas  
| 66,609&nbsp;
| 66,609  
|-
|-
| Texas  
| Texas  
| 42,265&nbsp;
| 42,265  
|}
|}
=== Tennessee Migration Routes  ===


Dorothy Williams Potter in ''Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823'' ({{FHL|265121|item|disp=FHL Book 975 W4p}}) identifies some migrants from Tennessee 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]].
[[Cumberland River]]{{·}} [[Mississippi River]]{{·}} [[Tennessee River]]{{·}} [[Avery's Trace|Avery's Trace or Nashville Road]] {{·}} [[Black Fox Trail]]{{·}} [[Bolivar and Memphis Trail]]{{·}} [[Catawba Trail]]{{·}} [[Chattanooga-Willstown Road]]{{·}} [[Natchez Trace|Chickasaw Trail or Natchez Trace]]{{·}} [[Cisca and St. Augustine Trail|Cisca and St. Augustine Trail or Nickajack Trail]] {{·}} [[Cisco and Middle Tennessee Trail]]{{·}} [[Cumberland and Great Lakes Trail]]{{·}} [[Cumberland and Ohio Falls Trail]]{{·}} [[Cumberland Trace]]{{·}} [[Georgia Road|Georgia Road ]]{{·}}[[Georgia Road|Federal Road]]{{·}} [[Great Indian Warpath]]{{·}} [[Great South Trail]]{{·}} [[Great Trading Path]]{{·}} [[Great Valley Road]]{{·}} [[Jackson's Military Road|Jackson's Military Road]]{{·}} [[Jonesboro Road]]{{·}} [[Kentucky Road]]{{·}} [[Lower Warpath or West Tennessee Trail]]{{·}} [[Mississippi and Tennessee River Trail]]{{·}} [[Avery's Trace|Nashville Road or Avery's Trace]] {{·}}[[Nashville-Saline River Trail]]{{·}} [[Natchez Trace|Natchez Trace or Chickasaw Trail]] {{·}} [[Old Cherokee Path]]{{·}} [[Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail]]{{·}} [[Unicoi Trail]]{{·}} [[West Tennessee Chickasaw Trail]]{{·}} [[Wilderness Road|Wilderness Road]]
 
==For Further Reading==
Robertson made a study of Tennesseans and other Easterners who had settled in Kansas by 1860:
The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog:
 
*{{FSC|371410|subject_id|disp=United States, Tennessee - Migration, Internal}}
*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|978.1 H2ro}}; digital version at [http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/indexinfo.aspx?ix=gpc0806306971_clarahamlettrobertson1976 World Vital Records] ($).
*{{FSC|346405|subject_id|disp=United States, Tennessee - Minorities}}
 
[[United States Emigration and Immigration|United States&nbsp;Emigration and Immigration]] article lists several important sources for finding information about immigrants to this country. These nationwide sources include many references to people who settled in Tennessee. The [[Tracing Immigrant Origins|Tracing Immigrant Origins]] FamilySearch Wiki article introduces the principles, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor’s original hometown.
 
See the&nbsp;[[Tennessee Archives and Libraries|Tennessee Archives and Libraries]] article for facilities with regional collections which might include emigration and immigration records. Other sources on emigration and immigration can be found in the&nbsp;Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:  
 
TENNESSEE - MIGRATION, INTERNAL
 
TENNESSEE - HISTORY
 
== Web Sites  ==


== References  ==
== References  ==

Latest revision as of 12:23, 5 January 2024

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

How to Find the Records

Tennessee, being entirely inland, has no seaports. Immigrants would have initially arrived at a port on the coast. To search those records, see United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records. Most foreign-born immigrants arrived at the ports of New Orleans, New York, or other Atlantic and Gulf ports. The major port of entry for the Mississippi River was New Orleans.

Online Resources

Cultural Groups

Passport Records Online

Offices to Contact

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.

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program

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
  • 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

Finding Town of Origin

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.

Background

European. Pre-statehood settlers of Tennessee generally came from Virginia and the Carolinas by way of the Cumberland Gap and other land routes. Some settlers from Pennsylvania and New England poled keel boats from the Ohio River up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Most of these early settlers were of English and Ulster Scottish origin, although some were of German, Irish, and French ancestry.

Tennessee continued to attract settlers from the Atlantic Coast into the 1830's and received Irish and German settlers during the European immigrations beginning at that time. However, most of the overseas immigrants preferred the industrialized North rather than the agricultural South.

African. The African-American population comprised about 10 percent of the total population in the first federal census and is only a little above that percentage today. For information on African-Americans in Tennessee, see African American Resources for Tennessee.

Native American. The Chickasaw and Cherokee Indians had nearly all been exiled from the state by 1839. For further information on the tribes and their records in Tennessee, see Indians of Tennessee.

Immigration 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 Online Resources.
Again, Tennessee, being entirely inland, has no seaports. Immigrants would have initially arrived at a port on the coast. To search those records, see United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records. Most foreign-born immigrants arrived at the ports of New Orleans, New York, or other Atlantic and Gulf ports. The major port of entry for the Mississippi River was New Orleans.

What can I find in them?

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.
  • 1891-1954 - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
    • 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.

Information in Passports

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
  • Birth date
  • Naturalization information
  • Arrival information, if foreign born

In-country Migration

  • Many settlers moved from Tennessee to areas further west, most notably to Arkansas and Texas.

Free native-born Tennesseans, alive in 1860, who had left the state, most popularly resettled in:[2]

State Persons Born in Tennessee
Missouri 73,594
Arkansas 66,609
Texas 42,265

Tennessee Migration Routes

Cumberland River · Mississippi River · Tennessee River · Avery's Trace or Nashville Road · Black Fox Trail · Bolivar and Memphis Trail · Catawba Trail · Chattanooga-Willstown Road · Chickasaw Trail or Natchez Trace · Cisca and St. Augustine Trail or Nickajack Trail · Cisco and Middle Tennessee Trail · Cumberland and Great Lakes Trail · Cumberland and Ohio Falls Trail · Cumberland Trace · Georgia Road · Federal Road · Great Indian Warpath · Great South Trail · Great Trading Path · Great Valley Road · Jackson's Military Road · Jonesboro Road · Kentucky Road · Lower Warpath or West Tennessee Trail · Mississippi and Tennessee River Trail · Nashville Road or Avery's Trace · Nashville-Saline River Trail · Natchez Trace or Chickasaw Trail · Old Cherokee Path · Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail · Unicoi Trail · West Tennessee Chickasaw Trail · Wilderness Road

For Further Reading

The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog:

References

  1. ↑ "Genealogy", at USCIS, https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy, accessed 26 March 2021.
  2. ↑ 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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Cumberland River · Mississippi River · Tennessee River · Cumberland Trace · Black Fox Trail · Bolivar and Memphis Trail · Butterfield Overland Mail · Catawba Trail · Chattanooga-Willstown Road · Nickajack Trail · Cisco and Middle Tennessee Trail · Cumberland and Great Lake Trail · Cumberland and Ohio Falls Trail · Federal Road · Great Indian Warpath · Great South Trail · Great Trading Path · Great Valley Road · Jackson's Military Road · Jonesboro Road · Kentucky Road · West Tennessee Trail · Maysville Turnpike · Memphis, Pontotoc and Mobile Trail · Mississippi and Tennessee River Trail · Nashville Road · Nashville-Saline River Trail · Chickasaw Trail · Old Cherokee Path · Tennessee, Ohio and Great Lakes Trail · Unicoi Trail · West Tennessee Chickasaw Trail · Wilderness Road · Illinois Central Railroad



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