Oregon 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 Oregon
 * 1882-1903 Portland, Oregon, Chinese Immigrant Case files, 1882-1903 at Ancestry; index & images, ($)
 * 1888-1956 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1888-1963 Oregon, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1888-1963 at Ancestry; index & images, ($)
 * 1895-1954 Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954 at Ancestry; index & images, ($)
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images, ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images, ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon
 * 1949-1955 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Paper Trail Database A Guide to Overland Pioneer Names & Documents

Cultural Groups

 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Oregon

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & 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.

Oregon Ports in NARA Records

 * Astoria, Oregon, 1888-1956
 * Beaver, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Bradwood, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Breland [Bretland?], Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Coos Bay, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Grays Harbor, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Marshfield, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Newport, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon
 * Portland, Oregon, 1888-1956
 * Warrenton, Oregon, 1888-1956, see Astoria, Oregon

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

Oregon Historical Society Library
Oregon Historical Society Davies Family Research Library 1200 SW Park Ave, 4th Floor Portland, OR 97205 Tel. 503-306-5240 Email: libreference@ohs.org
 * Research Library Catalog
 * Biographical Collections List
 * Biography Card File
 * Local, state, and regional histories and published biographical resources in our collection at the time the index was completed;
 * Birth, death, and marriage citations from roughly a dozen and a half western Oregon newspapers covering the latter half of the 19th and the first two decades of the 20th centuries;
 * Our 350+ volume collection of scrapbooks created by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.);
 * Indian War Pension Papers filed by veterans or by heirs of those who fought in the territorial Indian Wars (1847 –1879).
 * Vertical File Index
 * A topical access point to folders of newspaper clipping, magazine articles, flyer, brochures, ad pamphlets related to certain persons or families. :::Genealogy files will often include biographical sketches, obituaries, or family trees.
 * Pioneer Card File
 * Transcribed questionnaires issued to pioneer descendants at annual Oregon Pioneer Association meetings
 * Notes taken by Judge Charles H. Carey, one‐time president of the Historical Society and author of several histories of the state;
 * Materials donated to the Historical Society by the Lane County Pioneer Association.
 * Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) Card File
 * An index, by surname, to a variety of genealogical works transcribed and published by the Oregon chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, including cemetery records, court documents, and pioneer reminiscences.
 * Donation Land Claims
 * An index to the approximately 7,000 land claims filed under the federal government's Donation Land Act (1850 –1855). Entries are listed by surname of claimant or witnesses to the claim, and include brief biographical information taken from the claim form, such as dates and places of births, marriages, and arrival in Oregon, and names of spouses.

Oregon-California Trails Association
Oregon-California Trails Association is an educational organization that promotes the story of the westward migration to Oregon, among other places. Their site includes a personal name index to trail diaries, journals, reminiscences, autobiographies, newspaper articles, guidebooks and letters at A Guide to Overland Pioneer Names and Documents.
 * Search the Paper Trail Database Initial searches are FREE! You can go to the "Search" tab now to begin. These free searches will tell you if a name or document is in the database. It will give you the origin and year of the journey, how the person was mentioned, the name of the party, and the name and author of the document described. Subscriptions give you more complete information including a scan of the original survey. This lists the route taken, ages, and other notes about the document. But most importantly, you will have access to the location of known copies of the original document.

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

 * Early 1800s, traders and trappers came into the area from Canada, Russia, Latin America and the United States.
 * 1830s and 1840s, other settlements were created in the Willamette River valley. These settlers generally came from Midwestern and eastern states, Canada and Russia.
 * 1843, over 900 more Americans arrived, mostly from Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
 * The Oregon Donation Act of 1850 guaranteed free land to those who settled and cultivated the land before 1 December 1855. 7,437 patents were issued before the expiration of the Act.
 * New settlers surged into the Oregon Territory, primarily from the Mississippi River valley, the Midwest and the South.
 * Foreign-born immigrants came mainly from Canada, Germany, Scandinavia, England and Russia.
 * Later immigrants came from China, Japan, the Philippines and Latin America.

African Americans
Nokes, R. Gregory. Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trail in the Oregon Territory. Oregon State University Press. c. 2013 WorldCat

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

 * 1853 Routes to California and Oregon in the Hayward's United States Gazetteer.

Oregon Migration Routes
Oregon Trail· California Trail· Applegate Trail· Meek Cutoff· Whitman Mission Route· Barlow Road· Klamath Trail· Free Emigrant Road· Upper Columbia River Route· Nez Perce Trail· Lewis and Clark Trail· Santiam Wagon Road· Siskiyou Trail· Thomas and Ruckle Road· York Factory Express· Willamette Valley·Blue Mountain Pass·Rogue River Valley· Great Northern Railway (U.S.)·Union Pacific Railroad·Northern Pacific Railway·Oregon Short Line Railroad·Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company·Southern Pacific Railroad·Columbia Southern Railway·Oregon Trunk Railroad

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