PORTS OF ENTRY
Moderator: MOD_nyhetsgrupper
-
Gjest
PORTS OF ENTRY
In a recent genealogy newsgroup posting, someone wrote that after New
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
of the 400,000 Declarations of Intention that were filed in Chicago's
Circuit and Superior Courts between 1906 and 1929. I am one of the
volunteers that is in the process of computerizing some of the info from
these declarations, so that they can someday be made available on-line.
One day, after my "tour of duty" I took one of the volumes and did a
stroke count of where those 500 people say they entered the US. The
results:
367 = New York
47 = Baltimore
26 = Boston
14 = Philadelphia
39 = Canada (didn't break down the number of Canadian citizens vs those
born elsewhere and transited thru Canada)
1 each, from: New Orleans, Galveston, Portland ME, SanFrancisco, and
Portland OR.
2 voided declarations.
So, the next time you hear someone say that their ancestors HAD to have
come thru New York because "everybody did," tell 'em to check around.
They might be surprised at what they find.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Chi-Bob
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
of the 400,000 Declarations of Intention that were filed in Chicago's
Circuit and Superior Courts between 1906 and 1929. I am one of the
volunteers that is in the process of computerizing some of the info from
these declarations, so that they can someday be made available on-line.
One day, after my "tour of duty" I took one of the volumes and did a
stroke count of where those 500 people say they entered the US. The
results:
367 = New York
47 = Baltimore
26 = Boston
14 = Philadelphia
39 = Canada (didn't break down the number of Canadian citizens vs those
born elsewhere and transited thru Canada)
1 each, from: New Orleans, Galveston, Portland ME, SanFrancisco, and
Portland OR.
2 voided declarations.
So, the next time you hear someone say that their ancestors HAD to have
come thru New York because "everybody did," tell 'em to check around.
They might be surprised at what they find.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Chi-Bob
-
singhals
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
chi_gene@lookup.com wrote:
In certain time periods for certain ethnic groups, NOLA
probably was 2nd most popular (for instance, probably better
than 80% of all French families entered via NOLA prior to
1810; in the mid-1800s, NOLA was a HUGE port of entry for
German immigrants).
IRRC, the statement was made in response to a query about
port-of-entry for Germans who ended up in Chicago in the
late 1800s. Most of those would have filed a Declaration
before 1906 if they intended to file one.
Confirm/refute whether you're indexing only the declarations
after the 1906 requirement that a copy be forwarded to
Washington DC Federal offices?
Cheryl
In a recent genealogy newsgroup posting, someone wrote that after New
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
In certain time periods for certain ethnic groups, NOLA
probably was 2nd most popular (for instance, probably better
than 80% of all French families entered via NOLA prior to
1810; in the mid-1800s, NOLA was a HUGE port of entry for
German immigrants).
IRRC, the statement was made in response to a query about
port-of-entry for Germans who ended up in Chicago in the
late 1800s. Most of those would have filed a Declaration
before 1906 if they intended to file one.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Confirm/refute whether you're indexing only the declarations
after the 1906 requirement that a copy be forwarded to
Washington DC Federal offices?
Cheryl
-
Joe Pessarra
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
<chi_gene@lookup.com> wrote in message news:471C1DBA.F631C08E@lookup.com...
I may be confused, but aren't you just looking at those declarations filed
in Chicago? Declarations were filed all over the country. Aren't you just
looking at those filed by people who stayed or migrated to that area?
You may still be right in your suggestions, however.
Joe in Texas
In a recent genealogy newsgroup posting, someone wrote that after New
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
of the 400,000 Declarations of Intention that were filed in Chicago's
Circuit and Superior Courts between 1906 and 1929. I am one of the
volunteers that is in the process of computerizing some of the info from
these declarations, so that they can someday be made available on-line.
One day, after my "tour of duty" I took one of the volumes and did a
stroke count of where those 500 people say they entered the US. The
results:
367 = New York
47 = Baltimore
26 = Boston
14 = Philadelphia
39 = Canada (didn't break down the number of Canadian citizens vs those
born elsewhere and transited thru Canada)
1 each, from: New Orleans, Galveston, Portland ME, SanFrancisco, and
Portland OR.
2 voided declarations.
So, the next time you hear someone say that their ancestors HAD to have
come thru New York because "everybody did," tell 'em to check around.
They might be surprised at what they find.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Chi-Bob
I may be confused, but aren't you just looking at those declarations filed
in Chicago? Declarations were filed all over the country. Aren't you just
looking at those filed by people who stayed or migrated to that area?
You may still be right in your suggestions, however.
Joe in Texas
-
Gjest
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
Joe Pessarra wrote:
Cheryl: As I said, many, if not most that came in thru NO stayed in the
vicinity. I would expect that the East coast would most likely be the entry
point, if not thru Canada. There are always exceptions in the Wonderful World
of Genealogy, as I found a German today who entered at New York --- but ---
immigrated from Rio de Janeiro, ARGENTINA (sic).
You also say that those entering in the late 1800's would most likely file
their Declaration before 1900. WRONG!!! There didn't seem to be any rush to do
so, as there were people that came in about 1880 and were just filing in the
1900's. (I've tried to do some digging into old newspapers to see if I could
find what "moved" people to file. Today, a TV program might say that someone is
giving away free-whatevers, and the line would be around the block. What caused
them to do so, back then? And when they did file, they were in little groups of
two or three --- sometimes related, sometimes the same neighborhood, sometimes
the same job. No one seems to know what the motivating factor was. Couldn't be
an election, as they had to wait after filing.) Another think to keep in mind
is that if someone filed after about 1906, and didn't complete the process in 7
years, they had to file a Declaration again. We found one person who filed in
about 1912. Said he arrived on the Titanic/Carpathia. Thru some digging on the
Titanic Survivors website, we found that he refilled in Indianapolis in about
1920, after the original filing had expired, and became a citizen while living
in Indiana. (And someone said that we would NEVER see the Titanic as an arrival
ship!!)
As to your question about filing a copy with Washington after 1906, I don't
know. The form that this info is filled in on (hope my English teacher doesn't
read this) is Federal form 2203 of the Department of Labor. At the top, it says
"triplicate" so I guess one would go to the filer, one to Washington and one
stayed in the bound book. (In each book there are always some Declarations that
have a notation "Duplicate Copy Issued.") While on the subject of 1906, it is
interesting to note that after that time, Declarations were only valid for 7
years. Before that time, they were valid forever, and remained valid after the
7 year rule came in.
Joe: Yes, not only are we indexing ONLY those filed in Chicago, but just those
filed in the Cook County Circuit or Superior Courts. If I'm not mistaken, there
were also FEDERAL locations to file, around the country but we're not doing
them. With 400,000 to do, and only 60,000 done, we've got a long way to go.
Volunteer. Fly to Chicago and stay till the job is done.
Hope that answers all the open questions. If not, will give it another stab.
Chi-Bob
chi_gene@lookup.com> wrote in message news:471C1DBA.F631C08E@lookup.com...
In a recent genealogy newsgroup posting, someone wrote that after New
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
of the 400,000 Declarations of Intention that were filed in Chicago's
Circuit and Superior Courts between 1906 and 1929. I am one of the
volunteers that is in the process of computerizing some of the info from
these declarations, so that they can someday be made available on-line.
One day, after my "tour of duty" I took one of the volumes and did a
stroke count of where those 500 people say they entered the US. The
results:
367 = New York
47 = Baltimore
26 = Boston
14 = Philadelphia
39 = Canada (didn't break down the number of Canadian citizens vs those
born elsewhere and transited thru Canada)
1 each, from: New Orleans, Galveston, Portland ME, SanFrancisco, and
Portland OR.
2 voided declarations.
So, the next time you hear someone say that their ancestors HAD to have
come thru New York because "everybody did," tell 'em to check around.
They might be surprised at what they find.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Chi-Bob
I may be confused, but aren't you just looking at those declarations filed
in Chicago? Declarations were filed all over the country. Aren't you just
looking at those filed by people who stayed or migrated to that area?
You may still be right in your suggestions, however.
Joe in Texas
Cheryl: As I said, many, if not most that came in thru NO stayed in the
vicinity. I would expect that the East coast would most likely be the entry
point, if not thru Canada. There are always exceptions in the Wonderful World
of Genealogy, as I found a German today who entered at New York --- but ---
immigrated from Rio de Janeiro, ARGENTINA (sic).
You also say that those entering in the late 1800's would most likely file
their Declaration before 1900. WRONG!!! There didn't seem to be any rush to do
so, as there were people that came in about 1880 and were just filing in the
1900's. (I've tried to do some digging into old newspapers to see if I could
find what "moved" people to file. Today, a TV program might say that someone is
giving away free-whatevers, and the line would be around the block. What caused
them to do so, back then? And when they did file, they were in little groups of
two or three --- sometimes related, sometimes the same neighborhood, sometimes
the same job. No one seems to know what the motivating factor was. Couldn't be
an election, as they had to wait after filing.) Another think to keep in mind
is that if someone filed after about 1906, and didn't complete the process in 7
years, they had to file a Declaration again. We found one person who filed in
about 1912. Said he arrived on the Titanic/Carpathia. Thru some digging on the
Titanic Survivors website, we found that he refilled in Indianapolis in about
1920, after the original filing had expired, and became a citizen while living
in Indiana. (And someone said that we would NEVER see the Titanic as an arrival
ship!!)
As to your question about filing a copy with Washington after 1906, I don't
know. The form that this info is filled in on (hope my English teacher doesn't
read this) is Federal form 2203 of the Department of Labor. At the top, it says
"triplicate" so I guess one would go to the filer, one to Washington and one
stayed in the bound book. (In each book there are always some Declarations that
have a notation "Duplicate Copy Issued.") While on the subject of 1906, it is
interesting to note that after that time, Declarations were only valid for 7
years. Before that time, they were valid forever, and remained valid after the
7 year rule came in.
Joe: Yes, not only are we indexing ONLY those filed in Chicago, but just those
filed in the Cook County Circuit or Superior Courts. If I'm not mistaken, there
were also FEDERAL locations to file, around the country but we're not doing
them. With 400,000 to do, and only 60,000 done, we've got a long way to go.
Volunteer. Fly to Chicago and stay till the job is done.
Hope that answers all the open questions. If not, will give it another stab.
Chi-Bob
-
singhals
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
chi_gene@lookup.com wrote:
Well, I suppose, if you consider Kansas City and St Louis to
be in the vicinity of NOLA, you could be right. When I
lived in Louisiana we didn't consider "vicinity" to extend
much further North than Baton Rouge, though. And a VERY
large percentage of Germans entering at NOLA in the 1840-60
period ended up in Texas, Kansas, even Colorado.
An adult man entering in the 1860s (as I believe the OP
mentioned) most likely did NOT wait 40 years to file a
declaration. I've seen them filed too soon, but hardly ever
more than 10 years after arrival. OTOH, I stipulate here
that I don't spend work-weeks of time in these records.
That's not what I asked. In 1906, the US changed the rules
and a copy of the naturalizations had to be filed with them.
These are now at NARA downtown DC. They're indexed.
Because your declarations begin in 1906, the obvious
question arose: are you indexing a unique set of names or
are they going to end up duplicates of what's at NARA?
Dept of Labor? Not DOJ?
I dunno about Joe, but I already volunteer on three
projects; I'd like to finish one of those before I take on
another.
FWIW: The ONLY volunteer indexing program I've ever been on
that finished in a reasonable time period was the Civil War
Soldiers and Sailors Service Project. I'm VERY proud to
have been part of that partly because we did finish it PDQ. (g)
Cheryl
Joe Pessarra wrote:
chi_gene@lookup.com> wrote in message news:471C1DBA.F631C08E@lookup.com...
In a recent genealogy newsgroup posting, someone wrote that after New
York, New Orleans was the second most popular port of entry. From what
I've seen, I would disagree. It well might have been for folks who then
settled in the South, but it doesn't look that way when you look at some
of the 400,000 Declarations of Intention that were filed in Chicago's
Circuit and Superior Courts between 1906 and 1929. I am one of the
volunteers that is in the process of computerizing some of the info from
these declarations, so that they can someday be made available on-line.
One day, after my "tour of duty" I took one of the volumes and did a
stroke count of where those 500 people say they entered the US. The
results:
367 = New York
47 = Baltimore
26 = Boston
14 = Philadelphia
39 = Canada (didn't break down the number of Canadian citizens vs those
born elsewhere and transited thru Canada)
1 each, from: New Orleans, Galveston, Portland ME, SanFrancisco, and
Portland OR.
2 voided declarations.
So, the next time you hear someone say that their ancestors HAD to have
come thru New York because "everybody did," tell 'em to check around.
They might be surprised at what they find.
[COMMERCIAL TIME] If anyone is in the Chicago area, can make it to the
Daley Center downtown, and would like to
volunteer for this Indexing project, please call Phil Costello at
312.603.6601 and ask for an application. While there is no pay,
the payoff will be great for the Genealogical community. Thanks.
Chi-Bob
I may be confused, but aren't you just looking at those declarations filed
in Chicago? Declarations were filed all over the country. Aren't you just
looking at those filed by people who stayed or migrated to that area?
You may still be right in your suggestions, however.
Joe in Texas
Cheryl: As I said, many, if not most that came in thru NO stayed in the
vicinity. I would expect that the East coast would most likely be the entry
Well, I suppose, if you consider Kansas City and St Louis to
be in the vicinity of NOLA, you could be right. When I
lived in Louisiana we didn't consider "vicinity" to extend
much further North than Baton Rouge, though. And a VERY
large percentage of Germans entering at NOLA in the 1840-60
period ended up in Texas, Kansas, even Colorado.
point, if not thru Canada. There are always exceptions in the Wonderful World
of Genealogy, as I found a German today who entered at New York --- but ---
immigrated from Rio de Janeiro, ARGENTINA (sic).
You also say that those entering in the late 1800's would most likely file
their Declaration before 1900. WRONG!!! There didn't seem to be any rush to do
so, as there were people that came in about 1880 and were just filing in the
An adult man entering in the 1860s (as I believe the OP
mentioned) most likely did NOT wait 40 years to file a
declaration. I've seen them filed too soon, but hardly ever
more than 10 years after arrival. OTOH, I stipulate here
that I don't spend work-weeks of time in these records.
1900's. (I've tried to do some digging into old newspapers to see if I could
find what "moved" people to file. Today, a TV program might say that someone is
giving away free-whatevers, and the line would be around the block. What caused
them to do so, back then? And when they did file, they were in little groups of
two or three --- sometimes related, sometimes the same neighborhood, sometimes
the same job. No one seems to know what the motivating factor was. Couldn't be
an election, as they had to wait after filing.) Another think to keep in mind
is that if someone filed after about 1906, and didn't complete the process in 7
years, they had to file a Declaration again. We found one person who filed in
about 1912. Said he arrived on the Titanic/Carpathia. Thru some digging on the
Titanic Survivors website, we found that he refilled in Indianapolis in about
1920, after the original filing had expired, and became a citizen while living
in Indiana. (And someone said that we would NEVER see the Titanic as an arrival
ship!!)
As to your question about filing a copy with Washington after 1906, I don't
That's not what I asked. In 1906, the US changed the rules
and a copy of the naturalizations had to be filed with them.
These are now at NARA downtown DC. They're indexed.
Because your declarations begin in 1906, the obvious
question arose: are you indexing a unique set of names or
are they going to end up duplicates of what's at NARA?
know. The form that this info is filled in on (hope my English teacher doesn't
read this) is Federal form 2203 of the Department of Labor. At the top, it says
"triplicate" so I guess one would go to the filer, one to Washington and one
stayed in the bound book. (In each book there are always some Declarations that
have a notation "Duplicate Copy Issued.") While on the subject of 1906, it is
interesting to note that after that time, Declarations were only valid for 7
years. Before that time, they were valid forever, and remained valid after the
7 year rule came in.
Dept of Labor? Not DOJ?
Joe: Yes, not only are we indexing ONLY those filed in Chicago, but just those
filed in the Cook County Circuit or Superior Courts. If I'm not mistaken, there
were also FEDERAL locations to file, around the country but we're not doing
them. With 400,000 to do, and only 60,000 done, we've got a long way to go.
Volunteer. Fly to Chicago and stay till the job is done.
I dunno about Joe, but I already volunteer on three
projects; I'd like to finish one of those before I take on
another.
FWIW: The ONLY volunteer indexing program I've ever been on
that finished in a reasonable time period was the Civil War
Soldiers and Sailors Service Project. I'm VERY proud to
have been part of that partly because we did finish it PDQ. (g)
Cheryl
-
Gjest
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
----snip ---snip
You also say that those entering in the late 1800's would most likely file
their Declaration before 1900. WRONG!!! There didn't seem to be any rush to do
so, as there were people that came in about 1880 and were just filing in the
An adult man entering in the 1860s (as I believe the OP
mentioned) most likely did NOT wait 40 years to file a
declaration. I've seen them filed too soon, but hardly ever
more than 10 years after arrival. OTOH, I stipulate here
that I don't spend work-weeks of time in these records.
Again I will have to disagree with you. I have seen people who got off the boat on
Monday, filing their Declaration by the end of that week, in Chicago.(Must have
taken the Concord!) Others waited years and years. And from personal experience, I
have a grandfather who immigrated in 1902, but did not file until 1921. I don't see
how you can say what an adult man would or wouldn't do -- except from the experience
of the records that you researched. Some people never filed, some were in no hurry
and some retracted their filing when WWI came along, not wanting to serve.
1900's. (I've tried to do some digging into old newspapers to see if I could
find what "moved" people to file. Today, a TV program might say that someone is
giving away free-whatevers, and the line would be around the block. What caused
them to do so, back then? And when they did file, they were in little groups of
two or three --- sometimes related, sometimes the same neighborhood, sometimes
the same job. No one seems to know what the motivating factor was. Couldn't be
an election, as they had to wait after filing.) Another think to keep in mind
is that if someone filed after about 1906, and didn't complete the process in 7
years, they had to file a Declaration again. We found one person who filed in
about 1912. Said he arrived on the Titanic/Carpathia. Thru some digging on the
Titanic Survivors website, we found that he refilled in Indianapolis in about
1920, after the original filing had expired, and became a citizen while living
in Indiana. (And someone said that we would NEVER see the Titanic as an arrival
ship!!)
As to your question about filing a copy with Washington after 1906, I don't
That's not what I asked. In 1906, the US changed the rules
and a copy of the naturalizations had to be filed with them.
These are now at NARA downtown DC. They're indexed.
Because your declarations begin in 1906, the obvious
question arose: are you indexing a unique set of names or
are they going to end up duplicates of what's at NARA?
It IS what you originally asked:
"Confirm/refute whether you're indexing only the declarations after the 1906
requirement that a copy be forwarded to Washington DC Federal offices?"
That doesn't say anything about Naturalization records. This (above) is the first
time you talk about Naturalization records having to be filed after 1906.
Declarations are not indexed by NARA. If they were, I don't think that NARA would
have funded the project we are working on. What are indexed are Naturalization
records. Since the OP spoke of immigration, not naturalization records, I thought it
might be helpful to show him what port some people in Chicago entered the US thru, as
he said they settled in Chicago.
know. The form that this info is filled in on (hope my English teacher doesn't
read this) is Federal form 2203 of the Department of Labor. At the top, it says
"triplicate" so I guess one would go to the filer, one to Washington and one
stayed in the bound book. (In each book there are always some Declarations that
have a notation "Duplicate Copy Issued.") While on the subject of 1906, it is
interesting to note that after that time, Declarations were only valid for 7
years. Before that time, they were valid forever, and remained valid after the
7 year rule came in.
Dept of Labor? Not DOJ?
Yes, Department of Labor. Wadda want? Department of Homeland Security??
Joe: Yes, not only are we indexing ONLY those filed in Chicago, but just those
filed in the Cook County Circuit or Superior Courts. If I'm not mistaken, there
were also FEDERAL locations to file, around the country but we're not doing
them. With 400,000 to do, and only 60,000 done, we've got a long way to go.
Volunteer. Fly to Chicago and stay till the job is done.
I dunno about Joe, but I already volunteer on three
projects; I'd like to finish one of those before I take on
another.
FWIW: The ONLY volunteer indexing program I've ever been on
that finished in a reasonable time period was the Civil War
Soldiers and Sailors Service Project. I'm VERY proud to
have been part of that partly because we did finish it PDQ. (g)
Congratulations on being a part of that Civil War project. Maybe you can tell us how
enough people were rounded up to complete it fast, as we have quite a ways to go in
doing 400,000 records, and many idle terminals.
chi-bob
-
singhals
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
chi_gene@lookup.com wrote:
ditto ditto
It was mostly the blind luck of being the first LARGE
project. One of the projects I'm still working on pre-dates
it by about a year, but our PR wasn't nearly as good,
apparently.
The deal was you signed on for one batch of 200 names.
That's _ALL_ you committed to. And you did it at home, in
your bunny slippers and flannel jammies. You can do amazing
things if you let people do it from home. (g)
Cheryl
----snip ---snip
ditto ditto
Congratulations on being a part of that Civil War project. Maybe you can tell us how
enough people were rounded up to complete it fast, as we have quite a ways to go in
doing 400,000 records, and many idle terminals.
It was mostly the blind luck of being the first LARGE
project. One of the projects I'm still working on pre-dates
it by about a year, but our PR wasn't nearly as good,
apparently.
The deal was you signed on for one batch of 200 names.
That's _ALL_ you committed to. And you did it at home, in
your bunny slippers and flannel jammies. You can do amazing
things if you let people do it from home. (g)
Cheryl
-
clifto
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
singhals wrote:
Some people wouldn't want to get all dressed up like that. Further deponent
sayeth not.
--
I wouldn't mind the bunny slippers if I had a pair
The deal was you signed on for one batch of 200 names.
That's _ALL_ you committed to. And you did it at home, in
your bunny slippers and flannel jammies.
Some people wouldn't want to get all dressed up like that. Further deponent
sayeth not.
--
I wouldn't mind the bunny slippers if I had a pair
-
singhals
Re: PORTS OF ENTRY
clifto wrote:
An' a right finnnnnnne thing, deponent's reticence. (g)
singhals wrote:
The deal was you signed on for one batch of 200 names.
That's _ALL_ you committed to. And you did it at home, in
your bunny slippers and flannel jammies.
Some people wouldn't want to get all dressed up like that. Further deponent
sayeth not.
An' a right finnnnnnne thing, deponent's reticence. (g)