Michigan Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s - Michigan, USA at Ancestry; index only ($); Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1894-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 to Michigan at MyHeritge; index & images ($)
 * 1900-1965 Michigan, Detroit Passenger Lists, 1900-1965 at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1903-1965 Michigan Passenger and Crew Lists, 1903-1965 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1905-1963 Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1963 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1906-1954 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images ($)
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 to Michigan at MyHeritge; index only ($)
 * 1929-1966 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Immigrant ships of the Dutch Colonists of the 19th century to West Michigan and Iowa
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($)

The "United States Emigration and Immigration" Wiki article lists several important sources for finding information about immigrants. These nationwide sources include many references to people who settled in Michigan. Tracing Immigrant Origins introduces the principles, search strategies, and additional record types you can use to identify an immigrant ancestor's hometown.


 * Pre-statehood settlers of Michigan generally came from New York, Ohio, the New England states, and Ontario. Many immigrants from Germany and the Netherlands arrived by 1850. Later arrivals were Scandinavian, Irish, Cornish, Italian, and Polish. A helpful source on Michigan immigrants is:


 * Vander Hill, C. Warren. Settling the Great Lakes Frontier: Immigration to Michigan, 1837–1924. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Historical Commission, 1970. .)


 * Major ports of entry to Michigan have been New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Quebec. The Family History Library, the National Archives and Ancestry.com have passenger lists for American ports for the years 1820 to 1924 and indexes for 1820 to 1943. The library has lists for Quebec for 1865 to 1900 and are also found online at Library and Archives Canada. More detailed information on these sources is in United States Emigration and Immigration.


 * The United States made records of the individuals who came into Michigan from Canada. The library has a film copy of these records in:


 * United States Immigration and Naturalization Services. Detroit District Manifest Records of Aliens Arriving from Foreign Contiguous Territory: Arrivals at Detroit, Michigan, 1906–1954 (Washington, D.C.: Immigration and Naturalization Services, [195?]) images only–Free.
 * A Wiki article describing this online resource is Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Individuals Entering Through the Port of Detroit - FamilySearch Historical Records


 * There are also Passenger and Alien Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at the Port of Detroit, MI, 1946–1957, available at the National Archives (National Archives on 23 rolls; series M1479).


 * Records of ethnic groups are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under MICHIGAN - MINORITIES. A few sources for the Chippewa, Potawatomi, and Ottawa Indians in Michigan are listed under MICHIGAN - NATIVE RACES.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: 

Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Individuals Entering Through the Port of Detroit - FamilySearch Historical Records

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