Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
 * 1641-1819 Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1727-1887 Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Philadelphia Arrivals, Vol. 1; index only
 * 1727-1855 Vol. 2
 * 1684-1907 Vol. 3
 * 1727-1911 Vol. 4
 * 1764-1840 Vol. 5
 * 1753-1860 Vol. 6 Philadephia only
 * 1754-1761 Vol. 6 Unspecified Port Pennsylvania


 * 1771-1773 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Indentures, 1771-1773 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1795-1925 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1798-1828 Pennsylvania, Landing Reports of Aliens, 1798-1828 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1800-1882 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1800-1906 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists Index, 1800-1906 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1800-1948 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1948 at FindMyPast; index only ($)
 * 1800-1962 Pennsylvania, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1800-1962 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1883-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at MyHeritage; index & images ($)
 * 1883-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at MyHeritage; index & images ($)
 * 1890-1949 Philadelphia Bank Immigrant Passage Records, 1890-1949 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1893-1909 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1894-1954 at FamilySearch at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * 1952-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)

Specific Cultural Groups

 * 1682-1750 Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia 1682-1750 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1682-1750 Immigration of Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania, 1682-1750 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1727-1776 Index to the names of 30,000 immigrants--German, Swiss, Dutch and French--into Pennsylvania, 1727-1776. : supplementing the I. at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1727-1808 Pennsylvania German Pioneers Passenger Lists, Palatine German Immigrant Ships to Philadelphia 1727-1808
 * 1731-1737 The Genealogical record of the Schwenkfelder families: seekers of religious liberty who fled from Silesia to Saxony and thence to Pennsylvania in the years 1731-1737 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1803-1850 An Alphabetical Index to Ulster Emigration to Philadelphia, 1803-1850 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1850-1897 Germanic Immigration Records: 1850 - 1897 at FindMyPast ($)
 * 1900-1923 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only
 * 1910-1968 Pennsylvania, Order Sons of Italy in America, Enrollment and Death Benefit Records, 1910-1968 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1917-1978 Pennsylvania, Order Sons of Italy in America, Mortuary Fund Claims, 1917-1978 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Pennsylvania
 * Ancestor Search, Palatine German Ship Passenger Lists to PA
 * Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. II: (New Jersey and Pennsylvania Monthly Meetings), ($), index/images
 * Immigrant Servants Database - Details on more than 2,500 European indentured servants who served labor terms in Pennsylvania

Passport Records Online

 * 1795-1925 - at FamilySearch — index and 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.

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
New Sweden. The first permanent European settlers in Pennsylvania were the Swedes and Finns who, starting in 1638, settled between present-day Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia, and small settlements in West New Jersey. For more details see the New Sweden wiki article.

New Netherland. The Dutch built a trade center blockhouse "at the Schuylkill" (now Philadelphia) in 1633 (earlier than the Swedish) but abandoned it in about 1643. From 1648 to 1651 the Dutch built and garrisoned Fort Beversrede ("beaver road") in what is now Philadelphia. In order to intercept Minqua Indian fur traders coming down the Schuylkill River, and stifle competition, the Swedish built a blockhouse between the river and fort and only 12 feet in front of the palisade gates of Beversrede. When the Dutch built another fort in present-day New Castle, Delaware the Swedes captured it without a fight in 1654. But the Dutch returned in 1655 and took possession of all New Sweden. For more details see the New Netherland wiki article.

British Empire. In 1642 Englishmen from New Haven, Connecticut built a blockhouse at Province Island (now Philadelphia Airport) but were promptly driven out by the Dutch and Swedish. In 1664 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War the British forced New Netherland into submission. By 1670 the English, Irish, and Welsh predominated in the area. They settled mostly in Philadelphia and the eastern counties.

Germans began coming to Pennsylvania in large numbers at the end of the 1600s. Pennsylvania was the top destination for German immigrants arriving in Colonial North America. They settled first in the eastern counties and later migrated to western Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Many Pennsylvania Germans also migrated later to North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois.


 * The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsylvania

Scots-Irish started coming in large numbers after 1718. They settled first in the western Chester County area (later Lancaster county) and moved west over the Susquehanna River valley and Cumberland Valley area and later pushed into the western Pennsylvania counties of Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington, Greene, and Allegheny. Many Scotch-Irish eventually moved into southern states such as Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Kentucky. French Huguenot and Swiss families mingled with the Germans. Some Huguenots from New York migrated to Pennsylvania and settled in Berks and Lancaster counties. Swiss Mennonites began to settle in Lancaster county about 1710.


 * Dunaway, Wayland F. The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1944. Free digital version at PA's Past: Digital Bookshelf at Penn State. Includes chapters on their Ulster background in Ireland, immigration, places of settlement in Pennsylvania, military involvement, economic, social, religious, educational, and cultural contributions.

Irish Quakers came to Pennsylvania as early as the 17th Century. An outstanding historical study with brief biographies and names of extended family members remaining in Ireland, and which provides a summary of Irish Quaker emigration and migration to the state, is: Immigration of Irish Quakers to Pennsylvania, 1682-1750.

Welsh Quakers also came to Pennsylvania as early as the 17th century. Many more came in the nineteenth-century to work in the coal industry. An excellent history identifying many of the original Welsh settlers is:


 * Glenn, Thomas Allen. Welsh Founders of Pennsylvania. Oxford: Fox, Jones and Company, 1911. Digital version of Vol. 1 at FamilySearch Digital Library.

There are many online resources for finding Irish emigrant ancestry to the United States and Pennsylvania in particular. Visit a significant website containing several Irish immigration website links for Pennsylvania.

It was estimated that 3000 to 4000 Irish immigrants arrived at the port of Philadelphia in the decades before and after the Revolution.

French settlers were minorities in Colonial Pennsylvania. Ship masters paid duties for importing African slaves into the colony.

Many people came to Pennsylvania and the other colonies as indentured servants. For an excellent discussion of "unfree labor," see Sharon V. Salinger, To Serve Well and Faithfully: Labor and Indentured Servants in Pennsylvania, 1682-1800 (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1987; Family History Library book . It includes the names of some individuals who were indentured servants. The sources Salinger used can provide examples of the kind of records to search to find out information about these individuals.

Various immigrant aid societies assisted poor Europeans (usually focusing on a single nationality) who wished to settle in Pennsylvania, including (with year organized and nationality):


 * The Society of Ancient Bretons (org. 1729 - Welsh), known as The Welsh Society from 1802 forward
 * The St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia (1749 - Scots)
 * Hibernian Club of Philadelphia (1759 - Irish)
 * Die Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Philadelphia (1764 - Germans)
 * Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (1771 - Irish)
 * The Society of the Sons of St. George (1772 - English)
 * The Hibernian Society for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland (1790 - Irish)
 * La Société Française de Bienfaisance de Philadelphie, pour conseiller et secourir les Français (1791 - French)
 * The German Lutheran Aid Society (1790 - German)
 * The Philadelphia Society for the Information and Assistance of Emigrants and Persons Emigrating from Foreign Countries (1793)

In the 1870s Pennsylvania attracted large numbers of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. These included Slavs, Poles, Italians, Jews, Russians, and Greeks. During the 19th and especially the 20th centuries, blacks from the southern states also moved to Pennsylvania in large numbers.

For an account of some of these groups see:


 * Bodnar, John E. The Ethnic Experience in Pennsylvania. (Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1973)..

Records
Philadelphia has been a major port of entry for European immigrants since the seventeenth century. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of passenger arrival records from the National Archives, including:


 * Indexes,1800-1882, 1883-1948, 1906-1926
 * Lists, 1800-1906, 1883-1921 Pennsylvania passenger lists for 1 July 1948 to 30 November 1954 were destroyed before they were microfilmed.
 * Bentley, Elizabeth P., and Michael H. Tepper.Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1819. Baltimore, Maryland.: Genealogical Publishing, 1986.

An interesting collection of records compiled during the Revolutionary War period that may provide helpful information on families is Pennsylvania, Supreme Executive Council, Application for Passes, 1775-1790 (Family History Library film . See Guide to the Microfilm of the Records of Pennsylvania Revolutionary Governments, 1775-1790 in the "Archives and Libraries" article on this site for a list of names in these records.


 * The Israel Daniel Rupp Collection of 30,000 Pennsylvania immigrants from 1727-1776 is online at FamilySearch Digital Library. For the period 1792-1794, there is A Health Officer's Register of Passenger's Names at the State Archives (but not at the Family History Library) that lists the names of ship passengers.  In Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2 vol. 17, pp. 521-667, is Names of Foreigners Arriving in Pennsylvania, 1786-1808, which appears to be the same records covering a longer span of time. Some entries include place of birth. They are also included in Strassburger and Hinke, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, which is listed below.

See Also:


 * Over 200,000 names of immigrants and naturalized aliens in Pennsylvania are indexed in the following source: *Filby, P. William. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1981-.  The first three volumes are a combined alphabetical index published in 1981. Supplemental volumes have been issued annually. There are also cumulative 1982 to 1985, 1986 to 1900, and 1991 to 1997 supplements. These volumes index names of colonial immigrants listed in published sources.
 * A large alphabetically-arranged 54 volume manuscript collection at the Chester County Historical Society is Albert C. Meyers, comp., Notes on Immigrants to Pennsylvania, 1681-1737 (on 14 Family History Library films beginning with.
 * Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819: A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Baltimore, Maryland.: Genealogical Publishing, 1975..


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1776 and Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775. [Novato, California]: Brøderbund Software, 1996. (Family History Library compact disc no. 9 pt. 350). Not available at Family History Centers. A comprehensive list of about 140,000 immigrants to America from Britain. Includes Pennsylvania immigrants. It may show British hometown, emigration date, ship, destination, and text of the document abstract.


 * Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, and William John Hinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Norristown, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934.(Pennsylvania-German Society Proceedings and Addresses; v. 42-44.) ; ;

Jordan's article includes passenger lists for many Moravians entering the colony:


 * Jordan, John W. "Moravian Immigration to Pennsylvania, 1734-1765," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 33 (1909):228-256. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Quakers kept records of members who moved from the British Isles to America. Records from some of the English monthly meetings of departures for America (Pennsylvania in particular) have been published:


 * 1666-1729 - Cope, Gilbert. "Notes from Friends' Records in England," Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Jun. 1908):226-236. For free online access, see WeRelate; the Family History Library also has this series in its collection:.


 * Records of major ethnic groups are listed in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under PENNSYLVANIA - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION, and under PENNSYLVANIA - MINORITIES. See also Pennsylvania Minorities. Published studies include those for the Schwenkfelder, Quaker, Welsh, Scotch-Irish, Amish, and Huguenot groups. Many passenger lists are now available on the internet. Use a search engine with "Pennsylvania Passenger Lists" terms to identify currently available lists.

Ships
A list of colonial ships for the Port of Philadelphia has been compiled. Though the names of passengers are not identified, it is possible to identify the ships' movements, owners, places built, and tonnage, see:


 * "Ship Registers for the Port of Philadelphia, 1726-1775," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1726-1730: Vol. 23 (1899):254-264; 1730-1736: Vol. 23 (1899):370-385; 1736/7-1739: Vol. 23 (1899):498-515; 1740-1742: Vol. 24 (1900):108-115; 1742-1745: Vol. 24 (1900):212-223; 1745-1747: Vol. 24 (1900):348-366; 1748-1750: Vol. 24 (1900):500-519; 1750-1751: Vol. 25 (1901):118-131; 1751-1752: Vol. 25 (1901):266-281; 1752-1754: Vol. 25 (1901):400-416; 1755-1756: Vol. 25 (1901):560-574; 1757-1758: Vol. 26 (1902):126-143; 1759: Vol. 26 (1902):280-284; 1759: Vol. 26 (1902):390-400; 1759-1760: Vol. 26 (1902):470-475; 1760-1761: Vol. 27 (1903):94-107; 1761: Vol. 27 (1903):238-245; 1761-1765: Vol. 27 (1903):346-370; 1765-1767: Vol. 27 (1903):482-498; 1767-1768: Vol. 28 (1904):84-100; 1769-1770: Vol. 28 (1904):218-235; 1770-1772: Vol. 28 (1904):346-374; 1773-1775: Vol. 28 (1904):470-507. For free online access, see WeRelate.

Pennsylvania Ships Registers 1762-1776 available online - free.

Many ships that sailed from Bristol, England to Pennsylvania are described in: Bristol, Africa and the Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade to America 1698-1807 (4 vols.). All four volumes are available for free online at the Bristol Record Society website.

Dr. Marianne S. Wokeck created a detailed list of "German Immigrant Voyages, 1683-1775" to Colonial America. Philadelphia was the most popular destination. She published the list in an Appendix to:


 * Wokeck, Marianne S. Trade in Strangers: The Beginnings of Mass Migration to North America. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999..

Pennsylvania Crew Lists

 * 1952-1957 at FamilySearch — index

Migration Out of Pennsylvania
During the colonial period, many immigrants lived temporarily in Pennsylvania before resettling elsewhere in the colonies - particularly those of German and Scotch-Irish background. Many went to the backcountry regions of Virginia and North Carolina.

Dorothy Williams Potter in Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823 identifies some migrants from Pennsylvania into territories that are now Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri.