England Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * Immigrant Ancestors Project
 * 1330-1550 England’s Immigrants 1330-1550
 * 1573-1677 Britain, Registers Of Licences To Pass Beyond The Seas 1573-1677 at FindMyPast - index and images ($)
 * 1600s-1900s Immigrant Ships, 1600s-1900s - indexes of passenger lists from all over the world (organized by volume, year, and then ship and date). No searchable index, must search volume by volume.
 * 1614-1775 Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1700s-1900s Immigrant Ancestors, 1700s-1900s - large database of emigrants leaving Europe (lots of different collections from various countries included)
 * 1787-1933 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1787 Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme, 1787 at FindMyPast, index ($); passenger lists of settlers – including many Black Loyalists– setting out from England for the British colony of Sierra Leone
 * 1810-1811, 1826-1869 England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869 at Ancestry, index ($)
 * 1850-1927 UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1851-1903 Index To Register Of Passport Applications 1851-1903 at FindMyPast, index & images ($)
 * 1851-1903 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1858-1870 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1860-1893 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1861-1919 Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1870-1916 UK, Naturalisation Certificates and Declarations, 1870-1916 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1878-1960 UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1890-1960 UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast, index & images ($)
 * 1892-1956 Ellis Island, 1892-1956 at Ellis Island, index & images; New York passenger lists
 * 1918-1957 Aliens’ registration cards 1918-1957 at UK National Archives


 * Emigrant ministers to the Americas at FindMyPast, index & images ($)
 * British & Irish Roots Collection ($) - contains records that identify British or Irish emigrants throughout the world
 * The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. - New York passenger lists
 * Olive Tree - Emigrants to USA, Canada and Ireland
 * National Archives - contains many immigration collections and research guides
 * Souvenir Passenger Lists at Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives - some ship manifests were created into a souvenir list of passengers

Introduction

 * Emigration' records are records of people leaving England. Immigration records are records of people entering England.
 * Passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, records of passports issued, lists of transported prisoners, or registers of assistance to emigrate often contain genealogical information.
 * These records may contain the name, age, occupation, destination, place of origin or birthplace, ship, and date of arrival. Names of fellow passengers may help construct family groups or provide hints on place of origin or destination.

Immigration to England

 * Until after the Second World War, most people immigrating to England came primarily from continental Europe. Specific immigrant groups include refugees from wars (such as the French Revolution) or from religious persecution (such as Huguenots and Jews).
 * No regular series of arrival records exists before 1836. If your ancestor immigrated to England before 1836, search naturalization and citizenship records. (See "Naturalization and Citizenship".
 * Beginning in 1836, certificates exist for aliens. These are arranged by port, and give the individual’s name, nationality, profession, date arrived, country last visited, and signature.
 * Starting in 1878, there are lists of incoming passengers which give the passenger’s name, birthplace, last residence, and sometimes an address of a relative in the country of origin. However, passengers from Europe or the Mediterranean did not have to be listed. All of these immigration records are at the National Archives in London.
 * Movements within the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands) and to England’s colonies required no documents.

Emigration

 * Beginning in 1606, people emigrated from England to countries such as the United States, India, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. *Emigration increased after 1815, when it became a means of poor relief.
 * Emigration also increased during gold rushes in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.
 * Emigration from England peaked in the 1880s.
 * There was no systematic, official method of emigrating from England. The following types of emigrants account for most persons who left England:
 * Free emigrants. Beginning in 1606 emigrants left England to promote trade or set up military outposts and way stations for merchant ships. Later free emigrants sought opportunities in a new land or fled poverty or oppression in England.
 * Assisted emigrants. From 1815 to 1900, qualified emigrants received passage money or land grants in the destination country as an alternative to receiving poor relief.
 * Transported prisoners. From 1611 to 1870, more than 200,000 criminals were conditionally pardoned, exiled, and transported to penal colonies. Before 1775, more than 50,000 prisoners were sent to America—primarily to Virginia and Maryland. From 1788 to 1869, more than 160,000 prisoners were sent to Australia.
 * Military personnel. Upon discharge, soldiers serving overseas were offered land or other inducements to settle in the colony where they were serving. This was common practice in Australia from 1791, Canada from 1815, and New Zealand from 1844.
 * Latter-day Saints. About 1840, converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emigrated to the United States. Most settled in Utah. For further information, see Latter-day Saint Online Genealogy Records.

English Records of Emigration
To search emigration records effectively, you should know the approximate date of emigration, the name of the ship, the type of or reason for emigration, or the emigrant’s previous residence in England. If you know the ship’s name, the following work may provide additional details on the ship, including ports of embarkation and arrival:

Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping. Fiche edition. LaCrosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1981. (FHL fiche 6024581–6025295; does not circulate to Family History Centers.)

Passenger Lists. Port records listing the names of departing or arriving passengers are called passenger lists. Passenger departure lists are rare before 1890. After 1890 they are arranged chronologically by port of departure. These lists usually give the emigrant’s name, age, occupation, address, and sometimes destination and are kept at The National Archives in London. An index to the records, 1890-1960, is now online on findmypast. The search is free, but a small fee is charged to see a transcription or the digital image of the original record.

Passport Applications: Passports were not mandatory for British travelers until 1914, but some passports or certificates were issued before that year. An index to the names of passport applicants for some earlier years is online.

United Kingdom War Brides Passenger Lists, 1946-1947.

Thousands of women married soldiers during World War II. When husbands returned to their own countries, many wives were left behind to wait to join them. An Internet index gives you a surname, first name and destination of war brides:

To Use This Site:


 * 1) Click Search Indexeson the left side of the screen.
 * 2) Click I’m ready to search now.
 * 3) Type the forename (given name) and surname
 * 4) Click Submit

The index is continuously updated, adding more years and names. It's free to search. A fee is charged for a typewritten extract from the passenger list.

Assisted Emigrants Registers. Persons who applied for assistance to emigrate were recorded in "assisted emigrants registers," which often contain name, age, occupation, residence, destination, name of sponsor, address of relative, and size of family. Those available at the Family History Library appear in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

[DESTINATION COUNTRY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

ENGLAND - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION

GREAT BRITAIN - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION ds'''. The Public Record Office has many other records that refer to emigrants. Of particular importance are the "poor law union" papers, which among many other things include some records of poor- relief emigration from 1834 to 1900. These records are at the Public Record Office, class MH 12. For information on other emigration records at the Public Record Office, use the Kew Lists. (See the "Archives and Libraries".

There are other lists of emigrants by authors such as Peter W. Coldham, Michael Tepper, and P. William Filby.