Minnesota Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources
'''Minnesota has no ports of entry. Most immigrants to Minnesota arrived at a major eastern port such as New York (New York), Boston (Massachusetts), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), or Quebec (Canada).'''
 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota; Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1894-1954 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritge; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota
 * 1910-1923 Minnesota, Baudette, Warroad, and International Falls Passenger Lists, 1910-1923 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1912-1956 - at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1918 Web: Minnesota, Alien Registration Index, 1918 at Ancestry; index only ($).
 * 1919 Iron Range Research Center, Minnesota Discovery Center; index only ($)
 * 1922-1958 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Index of Wagon Train Emigrants From Minnesota to Montana.

Cultural Groups

 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritge; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Minnesota

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

Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society has Alien Registration Records made in February 1918, listing most non-U.S. citizens in Minnesota. The indexes and records are on microfilm but are not at the Family History Library. The registration form gives name, place of birth (sometimes the town), port of entry, date of arrival, names of children, and occupation. Contact the Minnesota Historical Society Library at the address listed in the "Archives and Libraries" article for further information.

Minnesota Alien Registration Index - 1918
Content of the index information:
 * Name
 * City and county of residence
 * Age
 * Roll and frame number

The Minnesota Alien Registration of 1918 registered all foreign born individuals living in Minnesota and who had not yet become citizens. Registration was completed in all 87 Minnesota counties.

A 35-question form was required and much personal information can be found in the original registration.

The repository for these records is the Iron Range Research Center, a library and archive devoted to Minnesota research in Chisholm, Minnesota.

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 residents of Minnesota were primarily American Indians and French and British immigrants.
 * After 1858 settlers in Minnesota generally came from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New York. After 1860 thousands of immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Denmark.
 * According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 5.1% of Minnesota's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican (3.5%), Puerto Rican (0.2%), Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.2%).The ancestry groups claimed by more than five percent of the population were: German (33.8%), Norwegian (15.3%), Irish (10.5%), Swedish (8.1%), and English (5.4%).
 * Minnesota has the country's largest Somali population, with an estimated 57,000 people, the largest concentration outside of the Horn of Africa.

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

Minnesota Alien Registration Index - 1918
Content of the index information:
 * Name
 * City and county of residence
 * Age
 * Roll and frame number