Illinois Emigration and Immigration

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U.S. Emigration and Immigration

Illinois

Emigration and Immigration

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United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records

How to Find the Records

Major ports of entry for immigrants who settled in Illinois include New Orleans, New York, and Canadian ports. See United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records.

Online Resources

• 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois; Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
• 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritge; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois
• 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois
• 1943-1963 Chicago, Illinois, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists of Airplanes 1943-1963 at Ancestry; index & images ($)

Cultural Groups

• 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois
• Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois
• Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois
• Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Illinois

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.

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.

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.

• U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin

Background

• Pre-statehood settlers of English and Ulster Scots descent came from Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky by way of the Ohio River, where they joined a few hundred Frenchmen already in the area.
• The first blacks came to Illinois in 1719 with the French, but their numbers remained few until after the Civil War.
• When Illinois became a state in 1818, most of the population lived near the waterways of southern Illinois. During the 1830s and 1840s, most settlers came from New York and New England by way of the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes or on the National Road. They settled the central and northern counties. Southerners from Kentucky and Tennessee settled the southern counties. Overseas immigration of the 1840s and 1850s was composed mainly of Germans and Irish. After the Civil War, immigrant groups included Austrians, Hungarians, Slovakians, Russians, Scandinavians, Italians, and Poles.

Iowa was the destination of many who left Illinois in the 1850s. Illinois families also helped settle Kansas and Nebraska. Others joined the California gold rush or traveled the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest.

The abundance and availability of land attracted the most Swedish immigrants, especially Illinois and Minnesota. For further reading, see: Illinois: Swedish American.

SEE ALSO: Illinois Migration for information about migration routes

Histories

Some helpful published sources about Illinois immigrants include:

• Wyman, Mark. Immigration History and Ethnicity in Illinois: A Guide. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Historical Society, 19–?. Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977.3 A1 no.293
• White, Elizabeth Pearson. "Illinois Settlers and Their Origins." National Genealogical Society Quarterly (Washington, D.C.: The Society) vol.74, no.1 (Mar. 1986): 7–17.Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 973 B2ng v.74

French

• Eckberg, Carl J. Colonial Ste. Genevieve: An adventure on the Mississippi Frontier. Gerald, Missouri: Patrice Press, 1985. Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977.8692/S1 H2e
• Buck, Solon J. Illinois in 1818. Springfield, Illinois : Illinois Centennial Commission, 1917. Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977.3 B4ic v. 0

German

• Freund, Hanns Egon. Emigration Records From the German Eifel Region, 1834–1911: with Major Emphasis on Those Emigrants Whose Final Destinations Were Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Crystal Lake, Illinois: McHenry County, Illinois Genealogical Society, 1991. Other libraries (WorldCat)FHL book 977 W2f
• Frizzell, Robert W. "Migration Chains to Illinois: The Evidence from German–American Church Records." Journal of American Ethnic History,7 (Fall, 1987). Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 970 F25j
• Wyman, Mark. Immigrants in the Valley: Irish, Germans, and Americans in the Upper Mississippi Country, 1830-1860. Chicago, Illinois: Nelson-Hall, 1984.Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977 H2wm

Irish

• McCaffrey, Lawrence J. The Irish in Chicago. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1987. Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977.311 F2m
• Wyman, Mark. Immigrants in the Valley: Irish, Germans, and Americans in the Upper Mississippi Country, 1830-1860. Chicago, Illinois: Nelson-Hall, 1984.Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977 H2wm

Italian

• Nelli, Humbert S. Italians in Chicago, 1880-1930; a Study in Ethnic Mobility. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. Other Libraries (WorldCat)
• Schiavo, Giovanni. The Italians in America before the Revolution. New York, New York: Vigo Press, 1976. Other Libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 973 F2sg

Scandinavian

• Lindmark, Sture. Swedish America, 1914-1932. Studies in ethnicity with emphasis on Illinois and Minnesota.Stockholm: Läromedelsförlagen, 1971. Other Libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 948.5 B4shu v. 37 (intl)
• Olson, Ernst W.History of the Swedes of Illinois. Chicago: Engberg-Holmberg Pub. Co., 1908. Other Libraries (WorldCat) FHL film 934968 item 1Ancestry ($)
• Strand, A.E. A History of the Norwegians of Illinois. Chicago:J. Anderson Pub. Co., 1905. Other Libraries (WorldCat) FHL book 977.3F2s Ancestry ($)

County Histories

Consult Illinois county wiki pages for available county histories.  Many of these histories contain information about ethnic groups which settled that county.  Explore the wiki page Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois. These books include a section or volume about Illinois state history and then a second volume or section specific to the  history of the respective county.  The wiki page shows available copies and where online digital copies can be accessed.

Learn More

• Rubincam, Milton. "Migrations to Illinois, 1673–1860." In Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. (Springfield, Illinois: The Society) volume 4, number 3 (Oct. 1972):127–34. Other libraries (WorldCat) FHL film 1954961 FHL book 977.3 B2is v.4
• Dollarhide, William. Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735–1815. Bountiful, Utah: AGLL Genealogical Services, 1977. FHL book 973 E3d. This includes a place-name index.
• Everton, George B.The Handy Book for Genealogists. Logan, Utah: 1999.Other libraries (WorldCat)FHL book 973 D27e). This well-known reference is described in the United States article.Includes maps of several migration trails into Illinois and other states.

Immigration information can be found on state, county and local levels. Links to county pages appear below. Additional resources for Illinois immigration may be found in the Illinois-Emigration and Immigration topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog . Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Also find Illinois immigration resources available at other libraries (WorldCat). Explore how to search WorldCat and the FamilySearch Catalog.

When Illinois became a state in 1818, most of the population lived near the waterways of southern Illinois. During the 1830s and 1840s, most settlers came from New York and New England by way of the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes or on the National Road. T

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National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

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