Switzerland Zürich Emigration and Immigration

Europe Switzerland ZürichEmigration and Immigration

There are several indexes available of emigrants leaving Zürich, particularly to the United States. The following resources may be of help:

Emigration, 1734-1744

 * In 1744, the Zürich Synod requested that all the priests in Canton Zürich send to them a list of all parishioners who left their home parishes within the previous 10 years with the intent to immigrate to the North American colonies, particularly Pennsylvania and "Carolina" [North and South Carolina and Georgia]. This information is available in multiple places.  One book, the "Lists of Swiss emigrants in the eighteenth century to the American colonies" by Albert Bernhardt Faust, is available online via Google Books. Click here to access the online version.  The table of contents for the parishes begins on page 26, while a clickable surname and town index starts on page 103.

Emigration, 1848-1870

 * The cantonal archives of Zürich have published a list of emigrants leaving from Canton Zürich to the Americas and Australia between 1848-1870, who obtained passports before departing. This list can be accessed here .  The list is derived from passport control volumes, held at the archive, and usually contains the name of the emigrant, his town of origin, his occupation, his age, those traveling with him (usually family members), destination, date the passport was checked, and volume reference number.  The original volumes are only accessible at the cantonal archives.