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US Immigration Canadian Border Crossings

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Online Records

Canadian Border Crossings: Canada to the United States

St. Albans, Vermont District Records

From 1895 through 1954, records were kept of many people who crossed the border from Canada into the United States. The records are mostly for people who:

  • Were immigrating into the United States.
  • Were visiting the country.
  • Were United States citizens returning to the United States.

The records include people coming in ships and trains. People who crossed the border in any other way, such as by horse or car, are not in the records.
Lists of passengers crossing the Canadian border were collected into "Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont District', 1895-1954." In spite of the title, this collection includes records from all over Canada and the northern United States (not just St. Albans). These are the records of U.S. immigration officials who inspected travelers at the following places:

  • From 1895 to 1914, at all Canadian seaports and train arrival stations from Washington state to Maine (including major interior cities such as Quebec, Winnipeg, etc.). Officials used shipping company passenger lists (manifests) to determine passengers bound for the United States via Canada.
  • From 1915 to 1954, border crossing records were only kept at train arrival stations along the northern borders of New York and Vermont.

Contents of the Records

The information you find varies from record to record. These records may include:

  • Name.
  • Port or station of entry.
  • Date of entry.
  • Literacy.
  • Last residence.
  • Name of nearest relative at last residence.
  • Previous visits to United States.
  • Place of birth.

Detroit Records

Canadian Border Crossings: United States to Canada

In April 1908, the Canadian government began recording the names of immigrants crossing into the country from the U.S. These records are the official immigration records for Canada as no other immigration records exist.

  • From 1908-1918, the government used border entry lists to record information about individuals coming into the country.
  • From 1919-1924, Form 30 (individual form) was used in place of the border entry lists to record similar information. In 1925 border entry lists came into use again.


Not all immigrants coming into Canada were registered. Some people may have entered the country through non-port cities or when ports were closed. Also, if at least one parent in a family was born in Canada or previously resided there, then the whole family was considered as returning citizens instead of immigrants, and were therefore not recorded.

Contents of the Records

The amount of information recorded in these records varies according to form type and year. Below is a list of the type information you may find in these records. Please keep in mind that not all of this information will be available on every form. Additionally, there may be other information provided that is not listed below.[1]

  • Port of arrival
  • Date of arrival
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Country of citizenship
  • Birthplace
  • Last permanent address
  • Marital status
  • Spouse name
  • Race or people
  • Purpose in coming to Canada
  • Occupation
  • Language
  • Religion
  • Destination
  • Health questions
  • Physical description

Tips

Tip 1: Try various spellings

Your ancestor's name may have been misspelled in the border crossing record or the index. Try variations of the way the last name was spelled. For suggestions, see Name Variations. Then look in the index using the spelling variations of your ancestor's name.

Tip 2: Check the records for that day

Your ancestor's name may have been left out of the index. If you know the date he or she came into the United States, you should check the border crossing records for that day.

The following records may give you the day, month, and year your ancestor came into the United States:

Written family histories
Family traditions
Obituary of the immigrant.

Tip 3: Try one of the smaller collections

Try one of the following smaller collections of border crossing lists, if applicable to your ancestor:

  • Vermont ports of entry from 1895-1924
Alphabetical Index to Canadian Border Entries Through Small Ports in Vermont, 1895-1924
  • Michigan ports of entry from 1906-1954
Card Manifests (Alphabetical) of Individuals Entering Through the Port of Detroit, Michigan, 1906-1954

Tip 4: Additional strategies 

If you cannot find the immigrant in the border crossing records,

  1. Search the records for spelling variations for the name. Your ancestor's name may have been misspelled or mis-indexed. For suggestions, see Name Variations.
  2. Look for people who came with your ancestor, such as relatives or friends.
  3. Read newspapers around the expected date, both in Canada and the place your ancestor went in the United States. The "social columns," especially of rural areas, may mention who is new or visiting in the area.


A wiki article describing this collection is found at: 

  1. ↑ "Canada, Border Crossings from U.S. to Canada, 1908-1935", at Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1344/, accessed 14 August 2021.
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