TOP THREE: EMIGRATION SOURCES

The reason you’ve lost an ancestor may be that they were no longer in the country. Follow your forebears who went overseas with special migration records

1

Many families emigrated to the new world in the 19th century. The Ellis Island website ( www. ellisisland.org) is a good place to start for North America research, as new arrivals were required to register upon entering the country. This is a free website, with some useful historical information, as well as a searchable index.

2

There are various websites with indexes of passenger lists. Ancestry.co.uk ( www.ancestry.com. au) has a number of these searchable collections. Findmypast’s ( www.findmypast.co.uk) travel and migration section has good coverage, and you can do a free name search before deciding whether to pay for results.

3

Be aware that not all migration was voluntary. Many of those convicted of crimes in the 19th century were deported overseas. You can buy The Kings Passengers to Maryland and Virginia, which contains the names of 400 ships’ worth of deportees.