Alberta Emigration and Immigration

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Canada

Alberta

Emigration and Immigration

Canadian Border Crossing Records

The United States kept records of people crossing the border from Canada to the United States. These records are called border crossing lists, passenger lists, or manifests. There are two kinds of manifests:

• Manifests of people sailing from Canada to the United States.
• Manifests of people traveling by train from Canada to the United States.

In 1895 Canadian shipping companies agreed to make manifests of passengers traveling to the United States. The Canadian government allowed U.S. immigration officials to inspect those passengers while they were still in Canada. The U.S. immigration officials also inspected train passengers traveling from Canada to the United States.  The U.S. officials worked at Canadian seaports and major cities like Québec and Winnipeg. The manifests from every seaport and emigration station in Canada were sent to St. Albans, Vermont.

The Family History Library has copies of both kinds of manifests.  Because the manifests were sent to St. Albans, Vermont, they are called St. Albans District Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory.  Despite the name the manifests are actually from seaports and railroad stations all over Canada and the northern United States, not just Vermont.

Border Crossing Manifests:

Manifests may include each passenger's name, port or station of entry, date of entry, literacy, last residence, previous visits to the United States, and birthplace. The manifests are reproduced in two series:

• Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895–January 1921.(608 rolls; Family History Library films 1561087–499;)  Includes records from seaports and
   railroad stations all over Canada and the northern United States. These manifests provide two types of lists:

—Traditional passenger lists on U.S. immigration forms.

—Monthly lists of passengers crossing the border on trains. These lists are divided by month. In each month, the records are grouped by railroad station. (The stations are listed in alphabetical order.) Under the station, the passengers are grouped by railroad company.

• Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific Ports, 1929–1949. (25 rolls; Family History Library films 1549387–411; Travel to the United States from Canadian Pacific seaports only.

Border Crossing Index:

In many cases, index cards were the only records kept of the crossings. These cards are indexed in four publications:

• Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895–1924. (400 rolls; Family History Library films 1472801–3201.)

The Soundex is a surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than how it is spelled. Names like Smith and Smyth are filed together.

• Soundex Index to Entries into the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1924–1952. (98 rolls; Family History Library films 1570714–811.)
• St. Albans District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Records of Arrivals through Small Ports in Vermont, 1895–1924. (6 rolls; Family History Library films 1430987–92.) The records are arranged first by port and then alphabetically by surname. Only from Vermont ports of entry: Alburg, Beecher Falls, Canaan, Highgate Springs, Island Pond, Norton, Richford, St. Albans, and Swanton.
• Detroit District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Arrivals at Detroit, Michigan, 1906–1954.(117 rolls; Family History Library films 1490449–565.) Only from Michigan ports of entry: Bay City, Detroit, Port Huron, and Sault Ste. Marie.

Bibliography

• Brunvand, Jan Harold, Norwegian Settlers in Alberta. National Museum of Man, National Museum of Canada, Ottawa, 1974.
  No. 8 in the Mercury Series: Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies, details the project which studied the traditional culture and folklore of Norwegians settlers in the Camrose/New Norway/Viking area. Includes interviews with first to third generations.
  

• Dempsey, Hugh A. (ed), The Rundle Journals—1840-1848. Historical Society of Alberta and Glenbow-Alberta Institute 1977.
  

• Frieson, Gerald,The Canadian Prairies: A History. University of Toronto Press; Toronto and London, 1984.
  

• Kaye, Vladimir, Dictionary of Ukrainian Canadian Biography of Pioneer Settlers of Alberta 1891-1900. Ukrainian Publishers Asson of Alberta, 1984.
  Recovered facts about Ukrainian families who came to Canada including family information about birth place, date of migration, place of settlement, marriage, children and time of death.
  

• Krontki, Joanna E., Local Histories of Alberta: An Annotated Bibliography, 2nd ed. Department of Slavic and East European Studies, University of Alberta, and Central and East European Studies Society of Alberta, 1983.
  Published as part of the Monographs, Papers and Reports: Central and East European ethno-cultural Groups in Alberta Study Project, co-ordinated by T. Yedlin, this book is a valuable resource for seeking ancestors in rural Alberta. Local histories of all descriptions are listed alphabetically by author or society, with details on their contents. These are then cross-referenced through five Subject Indexes: by place name; by ethno-cultural and religious groups; church histories and denominations; school, college and university histories; and hospital histories. A title index and appendix follow. Although the 1983 publishing date misses anything printed after this date, it does include the plethora of local histories compiled during and following Canada’s centennial.
  

• MacGregor, James, G., A History of Alberta. Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, Alberta, 1972.
  

• Martynowych, Orest T., The Ukrainian Bloc Settlement in East Central Alberta, 1890-1930: A History. Alberta Culture, Historica Sites Service, Occasional Paper No. 10, 1985.
  

• Palmer, Howard and Tamara (eds), Peoples of Alberta: Portraits of Cultural Diversity. Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1985.
  Details the settlement patterns of fifteen ethnic groups, including minorities such as Asians, Jews, and Blacks. Also looks at the settlement by Ontarians in Alberta.
  

• Swyripa, Frances,The Ukrainian Bloc in East Central Alberta 1976 (Provincial Archives of Alberta Library).
  Report submitted to the Director, Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, Alberta Culture. Written in six small volumes, this report looks in detail at Ukrainian settlement in Alberta.

• Volume 1 describes history of immigration, geographical areas of Ukrainian concentration, settlement, language, religion and communities.

• Volume 2 describes communities along the Canadian National Railroad line (1905-1906) with businesses and economic development.

• Volume 3 describes communities along the Northern Alberta Railroad line (1917) with businesses and economic development.

• Volume 4 describes communities along the Canadian National Railroad line (1918-1919) (Edmonton to St. Paul des Métis) with businesses and economic development.

• Volume 5 describes communities along the Canadian Pacific Railroad line (1927-1928) with businesses and economic development.

• Volumes 2, 3, 4 and 5 include names of proprietors, churches, social and cultural organizations and activities.

• Volume 6 lists rural communities alphabetically.