Louisiana Emigration and Immigration

United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records

Online Resources

 * The first families of Louisiana, Vol. II, e-book
 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana; Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1718-1724 Louisiane passages 1718-1724, e-book
 * 1718-1724 Passage index, Louisiana, 1718-1724, index
 * 1807-1860 Louisiana, New Orleans, Slave Manifests of Coastwise Vessels, 1807-1860 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1807-1860 New Orleans, Louisiana, Slave Manifests, 1807-1860 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1813-1963 at FamilySearch -  - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1813-1963 New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1820-1835 Atlantic Ports, Gulf Coasts, and Great Lakes Passenger Lists, Roll 7:1820-1835 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1820-1870 Atlantic and Gulf Ports, Passenger List Card Index, 1820-1870 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)
 * 1820-1945 at FamilySearch -  - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1820-1875 Louisiana, New Orleans, Quarterly Abstracts of Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, 1820-1875 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1846-1851 United States, Passenger and Crew Lists - New Orleans Passenger Lists 1846-1851 at Findmypast; index only ($)
 * 1851 New Orleans Ship Passenger List Online Index - January to July 1851
 * 1853-1952 at FamilySearch -  - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1867-1871 at FamilySearch -  - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana
 * 1903-1945 Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1903-1945 at Findmypast; index & images ($)
 * 1908-1954 Indexes of vessels arriving at...Lake Charles, Louisiana 1908-1954, index
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)

Cultural Groups

 * British Aliens in the United States During the War of 1812, e-book
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana
 * Zur Geschichte der Deutschen am unteren Mississippi : das Redemptionssystem im Staate Louisiana The Louisiana redemption system from the 17th to early 19th centuries, as it pertained to German immigrants. The redemption system involved the repayment of one's passage by ship to the United States by contracting to perform unpaid labor for three to eight years, while being provided with clothing, room and board.
 * Die Ersten Deutschen am Unteren Mississippi und die Creolen deutscher Abstammung (The first Germans on the lower Mississippi and the Creoles of German descent), e-book
 * 1784-1785 Acadian emigrants to Louisiana 1784-1785, e-book
 * The arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana, e-book
 * 1905-1910 Italian Passengers to Louisiana, 1905-1910 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Louisiana

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 at FamilySearch — index and images  - How to Use this Collection
 * 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.

Louisiana Ports in NARA Records

 * Lake Charles, Louisiana, 1908-1954
 * |New Orleans, Louisiana, 1820-1902 and 1900-1952 and departures, 1867-1871

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

 * Pre-statehood settlers of Louisiana generally came from eastern Canada, France, Germany, the West Indies, Spain, and Africa. During the Revolutionary War many other immigrants arrived from the Atlantic states. When the territory was formed, large numbers of Americans from southern Ohio moved to this new acquisition.
 * Slaves were imported from Africa and the Caribbean.
 * The French brought indentured servants and convicts into Louisiana.
 * Louisiana received many Irish immigrants from early years of settlement and especially throughout much of the 19th century. The influx of Irish escalated during the Irish Great Famine, from 1846-1851 as New Orleans served as a gateway to many who passed through using the Mississippi River to migrate to other states.
 * Large numbers of Germans arrived in two waves, one just after 1810 and the second between 1840 and 1860.
 * Small numbers of Scandinavians came in the 1820s.
 * Some Mexicans settled here in the 1830s.
 * Later immigrant groups included Italians, Hungarians, and Slavs.
 * Records and histories of ethnic groups in Louisiana, including Acadians (“Cajuns”), Blacks, Canary Islanders, Chinese, Creoles, French, Germans, and Yugoslavs, are listed in FamilySearch Catalog under:

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

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