Texas Emigration and Immigration
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How to Find the Records
Online Resources
- 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); Also at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- 1846-1948 Galveston Immigration Database 1846-1948; index only
- 1846-1849 Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Galveston Arrivals: Vol. 1; index only
- 1893-1963 Texas, Passenger Lists, 1893-1963 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
- 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- 1896-1951 Texas, Passenger and Crew Lists Arriving at Various Ports, 1896-1951 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1903-1910 Texas and Arizona Arrivals, 1903-1910 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1903-1929 Texas Laredo Index of Arrivals 1903-1929 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1903-1955 Texas, Laredo Arrival Manifests, 1903-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1905-1927 Texas, El Paso Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of El Paso, 1905-1927 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
- 1905-1953 United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - Alien Arrivals At Eagle Pass, Texas; index & images ($)
- 1905-1954 Texas, Eagle Pass Arrival Manifests and Indexes, 1905-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1906-1953 Texas, Indexes and Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Del Rio, 1906-1953 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
- 1906-1956 Indexes of vessels arriving at Brownsville, Texas, 1935-1955; Houston, Texas, 1948-1954; and at Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana 1908-1954 - FamilySearch, images
- 1909-1924 Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1909-1924 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1912-1965 Aransas, Texas Crew Lists, 1912-1965 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
- 1924-1952 Texas, El Paso Alien Arrivals, 1924-1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1924-1954 Texas, Manifests of Aliens Granted Temporary Admission at El Paso, ca. July 1924-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1924-1954 Texas, Manifests of Permanent and Statistical Alien Arrivals at El Paso, 1924-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1929-1955 United States, Texas, Laredo, Index to Manifests of Permanent and Statistical Alien Arrivals, Dec 1929-Apr 1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1931-1964 Texas, Passenger and Crew List of Airplanes, 1931-1964 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1943-1964 Texas, Brownsville Passenger and Crew List of Airplanes, 1943-1964 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
- 1944-1952 Texas, San Antonio, Alien Arrivals, May 1944-March 1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
- 1945-1952 Texas, El Paso, Applications for Non-Resident Aliens Border Crossing Identification Cards, 1945-1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- 1946-1954 Texas, Houston Arrival Manifests of Airplanes, 1946-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
- 1948-1959 Texas, Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Corpus Christi, Texas, and Vicinity, June 1948-January 1959 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
- Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)
- OliveTree Genealogy, Ships Passenger Lists to Texas
Cultural Groups
- 1901-1917 Galveston, Texas, Jewish Immigration Records, 1901-1917 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
- 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- 1844-1847 A New Land Beckoned:German Immigration to Texas, 1844-1847 at Ancestry; images only ($)
- 1847-1861 A New Land Beckoned:German Immigration to Texas, 1847-1861 at Ancestry; images only ($)
- Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
- Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Texas
New Orleans
Many immigrants to Texas arrived through the port of New Orleans. See also Louisiana Emigration and Immigration.
Mexican Border Crossing Records
Numerous Mexicans came to Texas in the late 19th and early 20th century. Records of 20th century Mexican border crossings are available at the National Archives and Family History Library. These include:
- Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Laredo, Presidio, Rio Grande City, and Roma, Texas, alien arrivals 1903-1909 (A3365)
- Brownsville, indexes and manifests 1905-1953 (M1502)
- Eagle Pass, chronological manifests 1905-1953 (M1758)
- Eagle Pass, alphabetical cards 1905-1929 (M1754)
- Eagle Pass, index to manifests 1929-1953 (M2040)
- Eagle Pass, mostly alphabetical manifests 1928-1953 (M2041)
- El Paso, alphabetical manifests 1924-1954 (M1757)
- El Paso, alphabetical applications for I.D. cards 1945-1952 (M175)
- Fabens, alphabetical cards 1924-1954 (M1768)
- Fort Hancock, alphabetical manifests 1924-1954 (M1766)
- Laredo, alien arrivals 1903-1907 (M2008)
- Laredo, alphabetical manifest cards 1903-1929 (A3379)
- Laredo, alphabetical manifest cards 1929-1955 (M1722)
- Progreso/Thayer, index and manifests 1928-1955 (M1851)
- Roma, index and manifests 1928-1955 (M1503)
- Ysleta, alphabetical manifests and applications for I.D. cards 1924-1954 (M1849)
- Zapata, indexes and manifests 1923-1953 (M2024)
Passport Records Online
- 1795-1925 - United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1795-1925 - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Index and images, at Ancestry ($)
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.
National Archives and Records Administration
- The National Archives (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival (See Part 5).
- You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.
- Some National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.
- Libraries with large genealogical collections, such as the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Allen County Piblic Library also have selected NARA microfilm publications.
- Order copies of passenger arrival records with NATF Form 81.
Texas Ports in NARA Records
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
- Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
- Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions
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
References
- ↑ "Genealogy", at USCIS, https://www.uscis.gov/records/genealogy, accessed 26 March 2021.
Texas Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1998, 2001.(All of the information from the original research article has been imported into this Wiki site and is being updated as time permits.)