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Rhode Island Emigration and Immigration

Revision as of 14:54, 1 April 2021 by Hanna5974 (talk | contribs) (→‎Online Resources)

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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.

National Archives and Records Administration

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

note to me: Add collections for each state

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

This heading will include information and subheadings (as needed) detailing the history, trends, peoples, or other relevant information about the nature of immigration in this state or country. Subheadings may be included as necessary for specific cultural groups or immigration/emigration patterns.

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 Databases and Resources.

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

This section will detail any relevant migration patterns or influences that pertained to this location, such as common migration routes in the location, or groups of people from one location who congregated in another location, etc. (for state pages of the United States, this section will only include migration patterns that were relevant to that particular state)

For Further Reading

This heading will contain any other publications/websites, etc. that may be relevant to researching/understanding immigration and emigration for this country.

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References

  1. ↑ "Genealogy", at USCIS, https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy, accessed 26 March 2021.

Pre-statehood settlers of Rhode Island generally were English Protestants, but liberal policies attracted French Huguenots, Blacks, Jews, and other minorities. Heavy Irish immigration began about 1830 and continued through the rest of the nineteenth century. A great influx of French Canadians began after the Civil War and continued to the turn of the century. Rhode Islanders leaving the state often went to areas such as Vermont and Nova Scotia.

Beginning about 1880, overseas emigration shifted from northern Europe to southern and eastern Europe. The Italians were the largest ethnic group to arrive at this time. Other groups who arrived in Rhode Island between 1880 and 1915 include the Portuguese colonials, Poles, and Jews from Russia.

Sources of information about ethnic groups, such as French Canadians, Blacks, and Jews, are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under RHODE ISLAND - MINORITIES.

More detailed information on immigration sources United States Emigration and Immigration.


Rhode Island Ports

  • 1798-1872 Rhode Island passenger lists : port of Providence, 1798-1808, 1820-1872; ports of Bristol and Warren, 1820-1871 FHL book 974.5 W3t
  • 1829-1857 List of American seamen of Providence District pursuant to the act for the relief and protection of American seamen : found at U.S. Customs House, Providence, R.I. FHL film 022383 item 2
  • 1912-1943 Passenger Lists, Providence, Rhode Island, 1911-1943; book indexes, 1911-1934; card indexes, 1911-1926 FHL films 1421060-68
  • To see other indexes and information regarding Passenger Lists, access FamilySearch Catalog under:
RHODE ISLAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION
UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION
UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION - INDEXES.
  • The Rhode Island Historical Society has Marine Hospital Records, Custom House passenger lists and alien passenger reports, 1798-1870, Maritime papers, 1723 to 1790 and Admiralty papers, 1726 to 1777.

Port of Boston

The major port of entry to New England is Boston, Massachusetts. The Family History Library and the National Archives have passenger lists for Boston for 1820 to March 1874 and 1883 to 1935 (listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under MASSACHUSETTS, SUFFOLK, BOSTON - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION). The following indexes are also available:

  • 1891-1943 Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Aug. 1, 1891-1943; Book indexes to Boston Passenger Lists, 1899-1940; Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Jan. 1, 1902-Dec. 31, 1920 FHL films 1324975 (first film)

Atlantic Ports

  • 1820-74. A Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports (excluding New York) FHL films 418161-348

General

  • Names of immigrants listed in published sources to about 1920 are indexed in P. William Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 15 Volumes (Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1981-) FHL book 973 W32p The first three volumes are a combined alphabetical index published in 1981. Supplemental volumes have been issued annually. There are also cumulative indexes.
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