Finding Immigrant Origins

This course covers the key historical sources and research methodologies for family historians tracing immigrant origins. We begin by envisioning the immigrant within the context of his family, community, and culture. We examine the historical documents created by the pushes and pulls that motivated his journey abroad. We review methodologies for analyzing and correlating information found in U.S. record sources and immigration records to discover the immigrant’s old-world origins. We illustrate principles and practices for tracing immigrants back to many specific countries. We demonstrate techniques for effective online research of immigrant ancestors. We explore chain migration, ethnic migration paths, surname localization, DNA evidence, cluster genealogy, and other tools to help find your immigrant’s ancestral village.
 
Instructors:
·         David Ouimette, CG
·         Trish Tolley, AG
·         John Colletta, PhD
·         Suzanne Adams, AG
·         Jeff Svare, AG
·         Lynn Turner, AG
 
Classes:
 
·         Identifying the Immigrant within the Family and Community (Ouimette)
·         Chain Migration: Polish Case Study (Ouimette)
·         Waves of Immigration and Settlement Patterns, Part 1 (Colletta)
·         Waves of Immigration and Settlement Patterns, Part 2 (Colletta)
·         Vital Records, Parish Registers, Probate, and Cemeteries (Ouimette)
·         Family and Local Records: Histories, Biographies, and Newspapers (Tolley)
·         Censuses, City Directories, and Name Lists (Tolley)
·         U.S. Naturalization Records (Tolley)
·         British and Irish Immigration (Ouimette)
·         Localizing the Surname: Dictionaries and Heat Maps (Ouimette)
·         U.S. Customs and Immigration Lists, 1820-1957 (Colletta)
·         Online Immigration Research: Computer Lab (Ouimette)
·         Eastern European Immigration (Tolley)
·         Scandinavian Immigration (Svare)
·         German Immigration (Tolley)
·         Italian Immigration (Adams)
·         Hispanic Immigration (Turner)
·         French Canadian Immigration (Ouimette)
·         Interpreting the Place Name: Linguistics, Maps, and Gazetteers (Tolley)
·         DNA Evidence of Ancestral Origins (Ouimette)