In our eagerness to find our ancestors, we can sometimes spend too much time and energy looking in the wrong places, or even the right place but in the wrong sequence. We might also, because of our lack of understanding of the research process; overlook records that we were unaware might have revealed our ancestor. I for example, as a novice, began researching my immigrant ancestors using passenger lists. This I guess was a natural instinct for me. Coming from a sea-faring family, where many of my male relatives were, merchant seamen, sailors, and in a few instance privateers, I was keen to know about the ship on which my ancestors immigrated to America.

I also thought in my naivety that a passenger list would tell me everything I needed to know about my ancestor; where they came from, their age, their occupation – a one-stop-shop for everything you ever wanted to know about your ancestor. Of course ship passenger lists can be very revealing, but unless you know exactly when and where your ancestor arrived in the United States (I didn’t), you can spend a lot of time reading about complete strangers and the ships they sailed on – interesting but not particularly constructive! I also came to discover that Ship Passenger Lists, though listing the country of origin, rarely named a person’s native town. One thing of immense value I learned was that understanding immigration patterns is often the key to success in locating your immigrant ancestor.

Immigration Patterns and Locating Your Ancestor

Some people arrived at their destinations directly from their places of birth, but the vast majority did not. Many came from other countries where they had been living and working for months or even years. Some French Huguenots for example spent years in Germany, Holland or England before immigrating to America, while many Irish, French and English, as well as many other nationalities made their home in Canada before moving to America. Being unaware of this type of information can cause a researcher to miss out on vital records that could be right under their nose. Another overlooked fact is that many of those who came to America did not stay there.

Many of our ancestors arrived in America as adventurers, merely looking to find temporary forms of income that would allow them to return to their homelands with a bit of wealth. Many groups travelled back and forth across the oceans, following opportunity as it arose. I had the personal experience of documenting two generations of my family in Scotland, only to find that some of my family members suddenly disappeared. It turned out that those individuals had become with the lifestyle there and had returned to their homeland. Of course they could have died, but I found no record of their deaths in Scotland, so I returned to the records of their country of origin where they popped up again in Census Reports.

Understanding a Bit about Your Ancestors Journey

Over time the conditions of an immigrant’s voyage changed, especially with the advent of steamships. In the early nineteenth century, many countries began to establish rules and regulations regarding immigration; especially the amount of immigrants that a ship could carry relative to its size. The nature of your ancestor’s voyage may have been similar to those who left Germany for Pennsylvania; their voyage was a three part one. First they would have travelled down the Rhine River to either Rotterdam or Amsterdam. Hmm…nice beginning you might think. But the romance of sailing down the Rhine would have been offset by the twenty six customs houses the ship had to pass through, at all of at which the ship was examined by customs officials, and apparently at their leisure. This part of the journey could take an astounding six months!

After finally being cleared to leave Rotterdam, a ship would then sail to the Isle of Wight, where it would harbour in the port of Crowes, the main port for immigrant traffic. Ships also stopped in other ports such as Dover, Plymouth or London on occasion, but generally this phase of the journey would last two or three weeks. Next came the seven to twelve week ocean crossing to the New World, although the steamers later shortened this to less than two weeks. Shipping companies often crammed passengers into the cargo holds to increase profits, and consequently mortality rates were high. The fact is; records could have been created at any port along the journey, and for a number of reasons. It is this fact that underlines the importance of understanding your ancestor’s journey.

Upon Arrival

Upon arrival in the new world another series of records were created. One passenger described his arrival during the 1760’s in Philadelphia as follows:

“One or more of the merchants receive the lists of freights and the agreement which the emigrants have signed with their own hand in Holland, together with the bills for their travel down the Rhine and the advances to the “newlanders” for provisions they received on the ships on account… Before the ship is allowed to cast anchor at the harbour front, the passengers are all examined according to the law in force, by a physician, as to whether any contagious disease exists among them. Then the arrivals are led to the City Hall, and there they must render the oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain. After that they are brought back to the ship…Those who have money are released. Whoever has well-to-do friends seeks a loan from them to pay the passage, but there are only a few who succeed. The ship becomes the market place. The buyers make their choice among the arrivals and bargain with them for a certain number of years and days. They then take them to the merchant, pay their passage and their other debts and receive from the government authorities a written document, which makes the newcomers their property for a definite period.”

As you can see many of the aspects of the immigration process were harrowing. People had to sell all their earthly possessions to avoid being indentured if they could, watch their loved ones fall ill and die because of the unsuitable conditions, or in the worse case scenario; being sold into what amounted to slavery. Many were fortunate to have relatives already settled, and so were able to cushion their experience by staying with them. This is why it is important when searching census records, to record the names of all householders listed in a multiple family dwelling, as even though the surnames might be different, they could be relatives.

Understanding the immigration process and the insight it can give you into finding your ancestor is a prime example of how a little knowledge of history can lead you to your relative. By knowing the journey, you know where to look, and what records to look for there. Too often we chase facts and figures without taking the time to understand the person we’re looking for, which is really what genealogy is about anyway, isn’t it?