Ten Tips for Translating Names
Sometimes a new life in a new country also meant a new name. Use these 10 tips to help follow that name before — and after — it changed. Read
Search for an immigrant ancestor. Not sure about exact dates and locations? Even a guess can help.
Search All Immigration Records
An epic saga, centuries in the making.
America has always been a country of immigrants, but immigration trends and policies varied through the years. Learn how each change affected your ancestors’ new home in our immigration timeline.
One ship. Very different experiences.
Just because they traveled together didn’t mean immigrants on the same ship had a similar voyage. Where their accommodations were on board — first class, second class or steerage — made all the difference.
Ellis Island wasn’t the end of their hardships.
Immigrants had a final stop on their journey to America, one that could prove more perilous to their quest for freedom than the ship's voyage itself — Ellis Island. But before they could get to the island, they sometimes had to wait hours or even days while their ship waited its turn to let passengers off. Numbered tags were pinned to the immigrant's clothes indicating the ship's passenger list page and line on which their names appeared. They were now ready to be processed.