South Carolina Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); Also at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * 1600-1700 The Original Lists of Persons of Quality: Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700.... e-book
 * 1600-1700 Omitted Chapters from Hotten's Original Lists of Persons of Quality ... and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700''
 * 1763-1773 A Compilation of the Original Lists of Protestant Immigrants to South Carolina 1763-1773 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1772 Scotch-Irish Migration to South Carolina, 1772 Rev. William Martin and His Five Shiploads of Settlers, e-book
 * 1820-1829 Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Charleston, 1820-1829 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1890-1924 Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at ports in South Carolina 1890-1924 at FamilySearch; images only
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * 1904-1942 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1906-1962 South Carolina, Passenger Lists, 1906-1962 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1919-1948 South Carolina, Charleston U.S. Citizens Passenger Lists, 1919-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1944-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
 * British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812 at Ancestry] ($). Identifies many British immigrants living in Charleston during the War of 1812.
 * Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina

Cultural Groups

 * British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812, e-book
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of South Carolina

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1795-1925 - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Index and images, at Ancestry ($)

Offices to Contact
Although many records are included in the online records listed above, there are other records available through these archives and offices. For example, there are many minor ports that have not yet been digitized. There are also records for more recent time periods. For privacy reasons, some records can only be accessed after providing proof that your ancestor is now deceased.

National Archives and Records Administration

 * The National Archives (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival (See Part 5).
 * You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.


 * Some National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.
 * Libraries with large genealogical collections, such as the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Allen County Piblic Library also have selected NARA microfilm publications.
 * Order copies of passenger arrival records with NATF Form 81.

Ports in NARA Records

 * Charleston, South Carolina, 1820-1828 and 1890-1924
 * Port Royal, South Carolina, 1865

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program
The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.

Immigration Records Available

 * A-Files: Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
 * Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s): Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
 * Registry Files:''' Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
 * Files:''' Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Requesting a Record

 * Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
 * Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions

Finding Town of Origin
Records in the countries emigrated from are kept on the local level. You must first identify the name of the town where your ancestors lived to access those records. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
 * U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin

Background

 * About 80 percent of the settlers of colonial South Carolina were of English origin. Many of them came by way of Barbados and other colonies rather than directly from England.
 * A group of Dutch settlers from New York came to South Carolina in 1671.
 * Another smaller group was of French origin, mostly descendants of Huguenots, who came to the area beginning in 1680.
 * More numerous were the Scottish dissenters, who were brought in beginning in 1682, and the Germans, who arrived during the eighteenth century.
 * Blacks constituted a majority of the population from early colonial times until 1930.
 * State-sponsored recruiting efforts brought in a few hundred Germans between 1866 and 1868 and about 2,500 northern Europeans in the early 1900s.

Immigration Records
Immigration refers to people coming into a country. Emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Immigration records usually take the form of ship's passenger lists collected at the port of entry. See Online Resources.

Information in Passenger Lists

 * Before 1820 - Passenger lists before 1820 included name, departure information and arrival details. The names of wives and children were often not included.


 * 1820-1891 - Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin, but not the city or town of origin.


 * 1891-1954 - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
 * name, age, sex,
 * nationality, occupation, marital status,
 * last residence, final destination in the U.S.,
 * whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long),
 * if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship,
 * whether able to read and write,
 * whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage,
 * amount of money the immigrant had in their possession,
 * whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane,
 * whether the passenger was a polygamist,
 * and immigrant's state of health.


 * 1906-- - In 1906, the physical description and place of birth were included, and a year later, the name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin was included.

Information in Passports
Over the years, passports and passport applications contained different amounts of information about the passport applicant. The first passports that are available begin in 1795. These usually contained the individual's name, description of individual, and age. More information was required on later passport applications, such as:


 * Birthplace
 * Birth date
 * Naturalization information
 * Arrival information, if foreign born

In-country Migration
Many settlers from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia migrated down into South Carolina during the colonial period. The Great Valley Road, which passed through the Shenandoah Valley was a popular route.

South Carolina Migration Routes
Savannah River· Augusta and Cherokee Trail· Augusta-Savannah Trail· Augusta-St. Augustine Trail· Camden-Charleston Path· Catawba and Northern Trail· Catawba Trail· Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail· Charleston-Savannah Trail· Cisca and St. Augustine Trail (or Nickajack Trail)· Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath· Fall Line Road (or Southern Road)· Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path· Fort Moore-Charleston Trail· Great Valley Road· King's Highway· Lower Cherokee Traders' Path· Lower Creek Trading Path· Middle Creek Trading Path· Occaneechi Path· Old Cherokee Path· Old South Carolina State Road· Savannah-Jacksonville Trail· Secondary Coast Road· Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail· Unicoi Trail· Upper Road· Ports:  Beaufort· Charleston· Georgetown· Atlantic Coast Ports

For Further Reading
The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog: