THEY WENT TO AMERICA |
 The Statue Of Liberty - A Gift From
France, But The Copper Came From Norway!
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| Ellis Island, Passenger Lists & the
Ships of Our Ancestors |
| Maps Of The U.S.
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| Some Other Genealogy Pages In The U.S.:
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| Back to index page
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The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, but the copper came
from Rogaland, Norway!
Ellis Island Immigration Museum Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million
immigrants were processed at Ellis Island. Today more than 40 percent, or over 100 million, of all living Americans can
trace their roots to an ancestor who came through Ellis Island. The University of California, Riverside, also has
a great collection of old photographs from Ellis Island,
and you can also find more links from
Yahoo's collection of
Ellis Island links.
The Tide of Emigration to The United States And to The British Colonies.
Extracts from an article printed in the Illustrated London News on Saturday, July 6th, 1850.
For the people who are not in a hurry: The Danish
Thingvalla Line is a great article by Professor Odd S. Lovoll on one of the passenger lines that transported
emigrants from Scandinavia to the U.S.A.
Tracing Scandinavian Latter-day Saints is one of several web
pages at Bert Nelson's very nice web site about Tracing Mormon
Pioneers. Even if your ancestors were not Mormons you should still visit this web site to read up on some of
the historical background of emigration from Scandinavia.
Emigration from Norway - The Solem and Swiggum ship index is a great
web site with information about the ships that brought Norwegian emigrants to the US. It also includes an excellent
explanation of the Norwegian emigration protocols (click on "Hunting Passenger Lists". On this web site you can also
obtain information about how to subscribe to [email protected] - a mailing list for people
interested in emigration ships.
Researching Ships & Passenger Lists is a web page
maintained by Christine Gaunt. It contains a wealth of information on this topic.
Immigrant and Passenger Arrivals is a
selection of National Archives Microfilm Publications maintained by the National Archives Trust Fund Board in
Washington, D.C.
The American Maritime Education and Research Center
has a large collection of architectural and technical drawings of watercraft and related maritime industry.
Ships, Passenger Lists & Immigration is a collection of links on
this topic maintained by Cyndi Howell.
The map collection at University of
Texas, Austin is a fantastic resource. It includes not only current maps, but also
Historical Maps of the United States.
Xerox.Parc Map viewer is a must visit for maps. The U.S. map &
geographic name server is incredible!
MapQuest is an interactive map. Type in the name of the city that you are
searching for, and MapQuest will locate it for you!
The TIGER
Map Service is a project sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. It provides high-quality, detailed maps of
anywhere in the United States. You can also use the U.S. Census Bureau's searchable
U.S. Gazetteer. Type in the name of the city or place that you
are searching for, and the Gazetteer will locate it for you!
The Geographic Names Information System from the U.S.
Geological Survey is another great resource. Like the U.S. Gazetteer, it is a searchable database.
There are several good web pages that can help you in your search for the descendants of Norwegian immigrants in the U.S. Here are a few of my favorites:
U.S. Census Bureau home page
Finding Treasures in the U.S. Federal Census by Judy Hanna
Green discusses the background of the U.S. Federal Census, and some of the glitches found in the Census records.
Come to Your Census is a summary of what kind of
information you can find in each census.
The Reading Room from LineagesNet.com
has several nice articles on the U.S. census and other historical documents.
Norwegians in the midwest in 1880 - The Digital Arkivet in Norway has made available
portions of the 1880 U.S. census which lists Norwegians living in
Dakota Territory,
Illinois,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Nebraska, and
Wisconsin.
Surname to Soundex Code is a great resource.
Soundex is a phonetic index of the various census records. (Similar sounding surnames are grouped together in an
index called a "Soundex Index"). On this web page you can type in the surname that you are researching, and find out
what the Soundex code is. You can also use the Soundex converter at
this web page and at
this web page
Dennis Piccirillo has written a great article
called "Guide to Requesting Your Ancestor's Naturalization Records."
Research Tips - Naturalization Records
is another great article on this topic. It was written by Antoinette J. Seagraves.
James St. John has nice little web page with information
on census records and naturalization records. He even has pictures of what the documents look like! You can also read
about "immigration records" which refers to ship passenger lists, but I disagree with what he says about passenger
lists -- these lists do not usually give any information on where in Norway your ancestor came from.
Using Homestead Records to Obtain Naturalization Records is a
great idea!
There are many web pages with instructions on how to obtain
Naturalization records for a specific state or area. Keep in mind that the Final Record of Naturalization did not have
to occur in the same county that the Petition and Declaration of Intentions was filed in! Make sure you check each
of the counties that your ancestor lived in as well as the port of entry!
Connecticut Naturalization Records.
Louisiana is "different". Check the New Orleans Public Library as well as the Howard
Tilton Library at Tulane University in New Orleans. In addition, Naturalization Records were often attached to
"succession records", i.e., probate records.
The Michigan County Clerks Genealogy Directory
contains the address and telephone number of each County Clerk's Office in the State of Michigan, as well as the cost
of photocopies, list of available records, etc. You can also explore the
The Michigan Historical Center and
the The State Archives of Michigan at this web site!
Minnesota Naturalization Records is a research outline to help
you find Naturalization Records in the State of Minnesota. It is brought to the web by Park Genealogical Books.
New York State Archives Naturalization Records.
North Dakota Naturalization Records.
Ohio Naturalization Records.
Oregon State Archives Naturalization Records.
Pennsylvania Naturalization Records.
Pennsylvania - Washington County Naturalization Records.
South Dakota Naturalization Records.
Wisconsin Naturalization Records are held by the "Area Research Center" at the
University of Wisconsin campus closest to the county where your ancestor completed his or her Naturalization process.
Switchboard.com is a search engine that you can use to find the telephone
number and address of a county court house if your ancestor's Naturalization Record was processed before 1906.
The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Online Search contains
about 50 million names of certain deceased individuals in the U.S. While the SSDI does not include everyone in the
US who has died, it does have a lot of people: namely, people who died after 1937 for whom a lump sum death benefit
was claimed by somebody. Social Security numbers for individuals to whom no payment was claimed are not included in
this database. You can also access the Social Security Death Index at
Ancestry Search. Once you have found a potential relative you
should order a copy of that person's Social Security Application form (Form SS-5), which contains more information than
the SSDI online search result. The cost is US$ 7.00 per copy. Snail-mail to:
The Structure of Social Security Numbers
by Chris Hibbert is a nice short article on the various numbers that make up a Social Security Number and what you can
tell from a person's Social Security Number.
Social Security Administration & Genealogy FAQ by
Yigal Rechtman is a "must visit" web page for information on using Social Security records for genealogy research.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has a home page on the
web. Their Online Exhibit Hall is a great place to visit, and you can get copies of their guidelines on the use
of NARA holdings for genealogical research.
The Library of Congress also has a web page with some great
information, including a Local History and Genealogy Reading Room.
You can also use the Library of Congress Experimental Search Engine .
How to do Genealogical Research using FBI Files by Yigal Rechtman
is another "must visit" web page for information on how to order copies of FBI records.
U.S. Military Records Requests FAQ is also by Yigal
Rechtman.
The National Center for Health Statistics has a web page
with the addresses where you can obtain these important records for every state in the U.S.
Vital Records Information State Index is another web page that gives the
addresses where you can obtain these important records.
LDS Family History Centers is a tutorial from the Treasure Maps on
how to use the enormous genealogy collections of the LDS Church!
Ancestry Search has several searchable databases,
including the Social Security Death Index, American Marriage Records, the Geographic Reference Library, and more.
I would highly recommend a visit to this web page!
The LDS Family History page is helpful to anyone interested in
genealogy. Although designed to meet the needs of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormons), most services on the site are free. Some resources, however, are available only to paying subscribers
and to registered users of the LDS Family History Suite CD-ROM.
The International Genealogical Index is an LDS data base with over
240 million names. It is not on-line, but is available on CD-ROM and on microfiche at LDS Family History Centers.
Family History Centers (LDS) is a preliminary listing of
LDS Family History Centers around the world, indexed by geographical area.
Listservers and newsgroups is an extensive list of various genealogy
related listservers and newsgroups on Vicki's home page.
Mailing Lists is part of the larger web site
maintained by John Fuller and Christine Gaunt.
Roots-L is the largest genealogical mailing list on the
internet!
Minnesota research notes are a great help for those who
are doing genealogy research that involves Minnesota. It is brought to the web by Park Genealogical Books.
The Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State
University has a wealth of genealogy information on-line, including
The Forum Obituaries Index - an
online database that contains over 34,000 names for obituaries published in The Fargo Forum newspaper for the
years 1987 through 1994, including about 2,000 obituaries from earlier years. Most obituaries are for persons
who lived in or were affiliated with Eastern North Dakota or Northwestern Minnesota. This database includes the
name, age, city, date, newspaper edition, and page number, if known, of the deceased, and instructions on how to
obtain photocopies of the obituary. You can also request a search for obituaries of persons who died prior to 1987
if you have the date of death. One of the other resources mentioned on this web page is the
Andrew A. Rowberg Biographical File
- a collection of 1,600 microfiche that contain 125,000 newspaper clippings of Norwegian - American obituaries,
wedding and birth announcements, etc. for the time period 1914 - 1978. Unfortunately this collection is not available
on the internet, but I wanted to let you know that it exists!
The Census for the Dakota Territory 1885 is a
searchable database from North Dakota State University.
The U.S. Gen-Web project has web pages for each state in the United States,
as well as web pages for almost every county in the U.S.
Cyndi Howell in Seattle, Washington, maintains an incredible collection of
genealogy links. Scroll down her web page until you get to "United States Index" and click on the state that you are
researching!
Roots-L also maintains a fantastic collection of genealogy
links for the various states in the USA!
Everton Publishers has a nice web page with information and links
to various sources of genealogical information in the U.S.A.
Genealogy Resources on the Internet is another "must visit"
web page with some extremely useful links. It is maintained by Paula M. Goblirsch at the University of Minnesota.
The Genealogy Home Page is another fantastic web page with lots
of genealogy links. It is very well organized and easy to use, and is maintained by Stephen A. Wood. It includes,
among other things, What's New in WWW Genealogy Pages - a
listing of new WWW pages related to genealogy. The Help page is
very useful, with links to both general genealogy guides and information about research in specific areas.
The RAND Genealogy Club has a great web page with lots of useful
information!
The Journal of Online Genealogy is a free e-zine which focuses on the
use of online resources and techniques in genealogy and family history.
Sherry Koshney Peterson has a great home page,
and her "Genealogy Links Galore!!" is a "must" visit!
Cyndi Howell in Seattle, Washington, has over 27,000 links to
genealogical web pages on the Internet, cross-referenced into more than 60 categories! A great place to launch
your genealogy search from.
Helm's Genealogy Toolbox consists of many links to
genealogical information on the Internet.
Janyce's Root Diggin is another great source for genealogical
information on the Internet.
Genealogy resources on the internet is very well
organized and contains links to lots of genealogy sources on the internet, including web pages, ftp sites, mailing
lists, and more. It is maintained by Chris Gaunt and John Fuller.