Belgium Emigration and Immigration
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Online Records
These sources cover multiple countries.
- 1835-1912 Belgium, Aliens Police Individual Files Indices, 1835-1912, index and images
- 1840-1930 Belgium, Antwerp Police Immigration Index, 1840-1930 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images. Also at MyHeritage; index & images ($). Also at Ancestry.com; index and images ($)
- 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Belgium
- 1901-1919 Belgium, Antwerp Police Immigration, 1901-1919 - Ancestry, images only ($)
- 1904-1914 Germany, Bremen Passenger Departure Lists, 1904-1914 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Belgium
- 1921-1939 Reseñas de pasaportes de varios consulados, 1921-1939; images only - includes those in Belgium
- 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.
- Free Access: USC Shoah Foundation, Holocaust – Jewish Survivor Interviews
- Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Belgium under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
Finding the Town of Origin in Belgium
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Belgium, see Belgium Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.
Belgium Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. (See Immigration into Belgium.)
Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.
Emigration
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One option is to look for records about the ancestor in the country of destination, the country they immigrated into. See links to immigration records for major destination countries below. |
Belgian Immigration Records by Country of Destination
Canada
Canada Online Sources
- Canada Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Belgians
Canada Background
Sweden
A large group of emigrants left Wallonia to work in promoting mining and industry in Sweden. Walloons are a Romance ethnic group native to Belgium, principally its southern region of Wallonia. For more, see: Vallons in Sweden.
United States
United States Online Sources
- Aux Wallons qui fondèrent New-York : éphérides pour le troisième centenaire (To the Walloons who founded New York) e-book, in French. This is a chronology of the founding of New York state and highlights the contributions made by the Walloons. The primary source of information was the log of Jessé de Forest, the founder of Neuf-Avesnes which was later named New York. Includes an incomplete list of Walloon emigrants.
- 1821-1873 The Belgian compass Lists ships leaving Antwerp, Belgium and arriving mainly in New York and Boston. Volume 1. 12 February 1821 to 16 January 1860 -- Volume 2. 8 May 1848 to 17 May 1873.
- United States Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Belgians
United States Background
- According to the 2019 US census, there are 339,512 Americans who identify themselves as partially or fully of Belgian ancestry.
- During the 17th century, colonists from the Southern Netherlands (the area of modern-day Belgium) lived in several of the Thirteen Colonies of North America. Settlements already existed in New York — in Wallabout (Brooklyn), on Long Island and Staten Island—and New Jersey (Hoboken, Jersey City, Pavonia, Communipaw, and Wallkill).
- Later, other settlers moved into the Middle States.
- There were also Southern Netherlands colonies in Connecticut, Delaware, and Pennsylvania established primarily by Walloons, many of whom arrived with the Dutch West India Company (founded by Willem Usselincx, a Fleming).
- The first major wave of people from Belgium arrived to the United States during the 19th century, looking better economic and social conditions for their families. Belgian immigrants were first registered in 1820; from then to 1910, 104,000 Belgians entered the U.S. and from 1910 to 1950, the number dropped to 62,000.
- Between 1847 and 1849 (when Belgium was plagued with disease and economic hardship), 6,000–7,000 Belgians a year arrived in the United States.
- During this era, most Belgians coming to the U.S. were farmers, farm workers or miners; craftsmen (such as masons, cabinetmakers or carpenters) or other persons engaged in commerce (such as lace-makers or glass blowers).
- During the 20th century many Belgians arrived in the United States to work in spaces such as universities, laboratories and industry. This is especially true after the world wars ended.
- From 1820 to 1970, about 200,000 Belgians emigrated to the United States. Since 1950, about 1,350 Belgians migrate to the United States each year.[1]
Immigration into Belgium
For Further Reading
Emigration records (Emigratie registers, Registres des émigrés)
Research use: Very valuable for making proper connections to place of origin and residence in Belgium. Many researchers do not know their ancestor's place of origin.
Record type: Lists of emigrants and immigrants, and permissions for those moving within Belgium.
Time Period: 1500-present.
Content: Emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, birth dates and places, residences, destination; wife’s and childrens’ given names and ages or number of children; reasons for emigration; taxes paid; religion, military service, etc.
Location: Provincial and municipal archives.
Population coverage: 5-10%.[2]
For an extensive article with many resources, click here.
References
- ↑ "Belgian Americans", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Americans, accessed 4 May 2021.
- ↑ The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Belgium,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1987-1999.