Migrant Ancestors
What is a Migrant Ancestor?
An ancestor that moved about. It might be somebody who moved from one house to another, from one village to another, from a village to a town, or from one town to a city. They might have moved around in a circular movement, or they might have moved in a straight line. They might have done it in one generation. They might have done it over several generations, and that's what makes it so fun tracking them down. Equally, they might have emigrated.
Does everyone have a migrant ancestry?
What are Naturalisation Records?
A Naturalization Record is when somebody who was born abroad wishes to become a citizen of the country, where they've actually become domiciled and it gives them full rights to citizenship. In this country the naturalization papers for aliens wishing to become naturalized citizens are kept in the National Archives, and there is a personal name index to those available online.
What if I need to trace Naturalisation Papers in the USA?
For people who were naturalized in America, we would first of all try the Natural Archives in Washington DC.
How do I follow a migrant paper trail?
You can do it in one of two ways. You can either track them back from the point where you first found them in the country, or you can track them from where they were last known to be in the country of departure. The obvious main source would be the ship's passenger lists, and many of these have now been indexed and made available online with digital images. Also, you could have a look at the census returns since the nineteenth century, immigrant or emigrants, and find out when they first appeared in an early 10 yearly census return, and when they last appear in the place from which they departed. That will pinpoint the dates of departure down to within a decade, at least.
