Genealogical society periodicals are a good place to publish queries for information about immigrant ancestors. There may be a fee for this service, especially for nonmembers. Also check indexes to previous queries and answers.

An excellent list of most English language periodicals is—

Bibliography of Genealogy and Local History Periodicals With Union List of Major U.S. Collections. Fort Wayne, Ind.: Allen County Public Library Foundation, 1990. (FHL book 973 D23b.)

Many periodicals index their own articles. A major index of over 2,000 English language and French Canadian family history periodicals is the—

Periodical Source Index (PERSI). Fort Wayne, Ind.: Allen County Public Library, 1986-. (FHL fiche 6016863-64.)

To find periodicals and available indexes, see the “Periodicals” section of the research outline for the state, province, or country where the individual settled. Also check the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under the topic PERIODICALS. To find periodicals for family and surname organizations, check the Surname section of the catalog. In addition, look for ethnic groups in the Subject section under headings like—

JEWS - PERIODICALSIRISH - AUSTRALIA - PERIODICALSHUGUENOTS - FRANCE - GENEALOGY - PERIODICALS

Probate Records

Probate records are most helpful for finding places of origin during colonial periods than in later times. Probates from colonial eras are often published and indexed. An example is—

Dobson, David. Scottish-American Heirs, 1683-1883. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990. (FHL book 941 D2d.)

Also, colonial immigrants often identified themselves by their hometown, especially in places like Dutch New Amsterdam (now New York). Family members left behind in the old country are mentioned more often in colonial wills. Some well-to-do immigrants held property in their parent countries that could be described in probate documents. Even if they do not directly mention the place of origin, probates may have clues that lead to the place of origin.

See the state and country research outlines and the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog under the topic PROBATE RECORDS for available manuscript and published sources.

Societies

Societies often collect helpful records such as family and local histories, oral histories, church records, newspapers, cemetery record collections, passenger lists, manuscripts, organization membership applications, early settler indexes, military records, directories, and so on. Genealogical and historical societies are organized almost everywhere. Historical societies for most ethnic and religious groups also exist—for example, the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. Also search for pioneer or old settler societies. Contact these societies to learn about their services and hours. They are usually very cooperative and can help you find good local researchers. Your public library normally has guides to help locate these organizations. Two North American guides are—

Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada. 14th ed. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1990. (FHL book 970 H24d.)

Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. The Genealogist's Address Book. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1991. (FHL book 973 D24ben.)

The records of societies an immigrant joined during his or her life are harder to locate. Foreigners often received financial and other assistance from immigrant aid societies. An immigrant may have sent money back to his family or brought relatives from the old country through an immigrant aid society. These societies were usually associated with ethnic, religious, or community organizations. The Perpetual Emigration Fund is an example of a Latter-day Saint immigrant aid society. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society assisted Jewish people. Chinese clans organized immigrant aid societies to help immigrants to America, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Their records are some of the best sources for tracing Chinese emigrants. Ask local and ethnic historical societies about records and addresses of immigrant aid societies that operated in the area.

After the immigrant settled, he or she may have sought the company of people with similar interests and joined an ethnic or fraternal organization like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a German-American Club, a Jewish Landsmanschaft, the Grange, a Masonic lodge, the Sons of Italy, or the National Slovak Society. These societies have a vast amount of personal information in membership records and insurance files. (Ethnic fraternal organizations served as the insurance companies of the nineteenth century.)

Although they may be difficult to locate, ethnic and fraternal society records sometimes provide crucial immigration information. A book that helps locate ethnic associations is—

Encyclopedia of Associations. Annual. Detroit: Gale Research, 25th ed. in 1991. (FHL book 973 E4gr.) See section 10, “Fraternal, Foreign Interest, Nationality, and Ethnic Organizations.”

For a description of ethnic association records, see—

Records of Ethnic Fraternal Benefit Associations in the United States: Essays and Inventories. St. Paul: Minn.: Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, 1981. (FHL book 973 F24r.)

For addresses and descriptions of many ethnic groups, see—

Wynar, Lubomyr R. Encyclopedic Directory of Ethnic Organizations in the United States. Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1975. (FHL book 305.8 W99e.)

Vital Records

Vital records, known as civil registration outside the United States and Canada, are government records of births, marriages, and deaths.

Twentieth-century marriage and death records often include detailed information about a person's birthplace and parents' names. Earlier civil vital records, when they exist, often have limited immigration information. Marriage records and death certificates may merely give country of birth. Even when vital records are unlikely to reveal a specific birthplace, search them for other important information. Civil death and marriage records may suggest other sources to search, such as which church the immigrant attended, which mortuary handled the funeral arrangements, or which cemetery he or she is buried in.

Even if a complete birth date and place is on a death certificate, the information may not be entirely accurate since the person reporting the event may not have known the place of origin. Verify information in civil vital records against information from other sources, such as censuses, ship passenger lists, cemetery records, or church records.

The Family History Library has civil vital records from many places. They are also available from government agencies. Addresses of vital records offices are listed in state, provincial, and country research outlines.

Voting Registers

While many voting registers provide only the voter's name and voting district, others include an address; how long he or she has lived in the precinct, county, state, province, or country; birthplace; and whether naturalized (and sometimes the date and court of naturalization). Even when voting registers do not provide naturalization information, the fact that the immigrant is listed suggests he or she was naturalized. Voting records can help locate an individual in a specific time period and can point to other records of that locality. Voting records can usually be found at the local county courthouse or the state archives.

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