Virginia Emigration and Immigration

Introduction
The original European settlers came in the early 17th century from the midland and southern counties of England. They first settled in Virginia's tidewater (coastal plain). Many colonists had connections to Barbados. The earliest Africans to Barbados was in 1619. Starting in 1680, large numbers of Africans were captured and brought as slaves to Barbados. It has been estimated that 75% of white colonists arrived in bondage as indentured servants or transported convicts. Small landholders moved westward to the Piedmont, where they were joined by a new wave of English and Scottish immigrants.

In the early 1700s, French Huguenots arrived, followed by German workers imported between 1714 and 1717 to work iron furnaces in the Piedmont area. During the 1730s and 1740s, a large number of settlers of Ulster Scot and German descent moved southward from Pennsylvania down the Allegheny Ridges into the Shenandoah Valley.

Beginning in the late 18th century, Virginia lost many residents as families moved westward to new states and territories. There was very little foreign immigration to Virginia after 1800.

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 Virginia
 * 1600-1700 The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; e-book
 * 1623-1666 Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666 at Ancestry; images only ($)
 * 1623-1666 Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666 at Ancestry; index only ($)
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia
 * 1902-1948 Gleanings in England, Virginians in English archives
 * 1904-1963 Virginia, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1904-1963 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia
 * 1946-1957 Virginia, Alexandria Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels, 1946-1957 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * American Colonists in English Records
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia
 * Russians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Virginia

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

Library of Virginia
The Virginia Colonial Records Project at the Library of Virginia can help Americans trace their European immigrant origins. Scholars visited United Kingdom and other European archives searching for references to colonial-era Virginians. Their 14,704 records survey reports contain half a million names of persons and ships which are searchable at the Library's web site. They also microfilmed about two-thirds of the records they located. The 963 reels of microfilm are held at the Library of Virginia and are available for interlibrary loan. The Library's About the Virginia Colonial Records Project provides more information. See also: *Riley, Edward M. "The Virginia Colonial Records Project," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 2 (June 1963):81-89. .

Colonial Ports


Ships commonly docked along riverside plantations on the Elizabeth River, James River, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, and York River.

Colonial Records

 * Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666, e-book
 * Some Emigrants to Virginia: Memoranda in Regard to Several Hundred Emigrants to Virginia During the Colonial Period Whose Parentage is Shown or Former Residence Indicated by Authentic Records, e-book
 * Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants'' (1623-1782), e-book

Virginians in English archives
Waters and Withington, like the Virginia Colonial Records Project scholars, sought out references to Virginians in English archives:


 * Waters, Henry F. Genealogical Gleanings in England. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1885-1889. Digital versions at Internet Archive: Vol. 1 (1st Part) | Vol. 1 (2nd Part) | Vol. 1 (3rd Part). 1901 edition; also at Internet Archive: Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 - all free.


 * Withington, Lothrop. Virginia Gleanings in England: Abstracts of 17th and 18th-Century English Wills and Administrations Relating to Virginia and Virginians. 

Withington's work, along with his successors Leo Culleton and Reginald M. Glencross, was originally published as a serial article in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography between 1902 and 1948. Nearly the entire set (through 1922) is available online for free at JSTOR:

Withington also located a list of people arriving in England who had been in Virginia in the years 1655 and 1656. g Company 1969 (lists pre-1616 settlers)

English Immigrants
In lieu of colonial passenger lists regarding early settlers of Virginia, genealogists must rely on evidence gleaned from a variety of sources to successfully trace immigrant origins.

Scholarly articles published in The American Genealogist, the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, and The Virginia Genealogist illustrate strategies that will help Americans trace their colonial Virginia immigrant origins.

The Prerogative Court of Canterbury in London proved the wills of many residents of Virginia. For access, see Virginia Probate Records. Heraldic visitations list some members of prominent English families who crossed the Atlantic. Expert Links: English Family History and Genealogy includes a concise list of visitations available online. Online archive catalogs, such as Access to Archives, can be keyword searched for place names, such as "Virginia" to retrieve manuscripts stored in hundreds of English archives relating to persons and landholdings in this former English colony. These types of records establish links between Virginia residents and England, which can lead researchers back to their specific ancestral English towns, villages, and hamlets.

The multi-volume Calendar of Colonial State Papers Colonial, America, and West Indies (1574-1739), which is available for free online (see discussion in Virginia Public Records), highlights many connections between England and Virginia.

A standard work on early Virginia immigrants, which includes some passenger lists, is now also widely available on the Internet:


 * Hotten, John Camden. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality: Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700, with Their Ages, the Localities Where They Formerly Lived in the Mother Country, the Names of the Ships in which They Embarked, and Other Interesting Particulars; from MSS. Preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England. London: the author, 1874. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books and Internet Archive; 1983 reprint:.

Sherwood published additional references not found in Hotten's work:


 * Sherwood, George. American Colonists in English Records. 1932.

Brandow also published an addendum to Hotten's work:


 * Brandow, James C. Omitted Chapters from Hotten's Original Lists of Persons of Quality ... and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Peter Wilson Coldham has published several volumes of English records that identify hundreds of thousands, among other American immigrants, those destined for Virginia. Many English indentured servants completed labor terms in Virginia. Coldham's works are indexed in Filby's Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s (digital version at Ancestry ($)).


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. British Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1788. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2004. . Includes numerous Virginia immigrants. May show British hometown, emigration date, ship, destination, and text of the document abstract.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Bristol Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Chronicle Barbados (Barbados entries only); Virtual Jamestown.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants: 1607-1776. n.p.: Brøderbund, 1996. ; digital version of select portions at Virtual Jamestown.

For English passenger lists, 1773 to 1776, which include emigrants destined for Virginia, see:


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. Emigrants from England to the American Colonies, 1773-1776. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing co., 1988..

For London children apprenticed to Virginia colonists, see:


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. Christ's Hospital.
 * Hume, Robert. Early child immigrants to Virginia, 1618-1642 : copied from the records of Bridewell Royal Hospital. Baltimore, Md.: Magna Carta Book Company, 1986.

English officials kept records of payments made for the transportation of Anglican ministers to America, see:


 * Fothergill, Gerald. A List of Emigrant Ministers to America, 1690-1811. London: E. Stock, 1904. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Google Books; Internet Archive, 1965 reprint:

Runaway advertisements for colonial indentured servants often yield immigration data. The Geography of Slavery in Virginia: Virginia Runaways, Slave Advertisements, Runaway Advertisements indexes these records (for both white indentured servants and black slaves). These records can also be found in the digitized Virginia Gazette 1736-1780, available online through the Colonial Williamsburg website.

Murphy's research guide to tracing the English origins of Colonial Virginia indentured servants is available online: "Origins of Colonial Chesapeake Indentured Servants: American and English Sources," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 93, No. 1 (Mar. 2005):5-24.

Two excellent websites, containing tens of thousands of indentured servants are:


 * 1) Immigrant Servants Database 20,000+ colonial immigrants, primary focus: Chesapeake Bay colonies (Virginia and Maryland)
 * 2) Virtual Jamestown Indentured servant registers from colonial period, which identify English indentured servants shipped to America

The English port of Whitehaven, in northwest England, had extensive trade dealings with Virginia and Maryland during the colonial period. For an excellent study of this trade and the families involved, see:


 * Lawrence-Dow, Elizabeth and Daniel Hay. Whitehaven to Washington. Copeland, England, 1974..

Scottish and Irish Immigrants
Many Scottish merchants established stores where British goods were imported in eighteenth-century Virginia.

Scots-Irish settlement was particularly concentrated in the Shenandoah Valley during the eighteenth-century in places such as Augusta County, Virginia.

David Dobson has dedicated many years to establishing links between Scots and their dispersed Scottish cousins who settled throughout the world. For Virginia connections, see publications by.

A helpful book about Scottish Highlanders in America is:


 * MacLean, J.A.P. An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America Prior to the Peace of 1783 Together with Notices of Highland Regiments and Biographical Sketches. Cleveland, Ohio: The Helman-Taylor Company, 1900. Digital version at Internet Archive.

French Immigrants
Huguenots came in 1700. Their settlement, in King William Parish, near Richmond on the James River, was known as Manakin Town. They and many of their descendants lived in Henrico, Goochland, Cumberland, and Powhatan counties.

German Immigrants
A group of Germans created a settlement called Germanna in early eighteenth-century Virginia. Several books have been published about the history and genealogy of these families, such as:

The Palatine Project, sponsored by AncestryProGenealogists, includes annotated passenger lists for Germans entering Colonial Virginia.

Germanna Foundation maintains a visitor's center with genealogical library. They work to promote historic preservation as well as family history information and research.

English Voyages
British Naval Office Shipping Lists, 1678-1825, have been digitized by British Online Archives (site requires subscription).

Lloyd's Register of Shipping identifies ships leaving England, their masters, ports of departure, and destinations. They survive as early as 1764 and are being put online at Lloyd's Register of Ships Online - free.

Peter Wilson Coldham compiled a list of convict ships travelling between English and Virginia ports during the eighteenth century. See appendix to:


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. British Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1788. CD-ROM. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004..

Many English ships that voyaged to Colonial Virginia are also mentioned in:


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. English Adventurers and Emigrants: Abstracts of Examinations in the High Court of Admiralty with Reference to Colonial America. 3 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1984-.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Bristol Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654-1686. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($); Chronicle Barbados (free; Barbados entries only); Virtual Jamestown (free).

Many ships that sailed from Bristol, England to Virginia 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.

Historic Jamestowne - National Park Service 
 * Genealogical Research for a Jamestown Ancestor

Irish Voyages
A list of Irish ships that made voyages to the English colonies in America is included in:


 * Griffin, Patrick. The People With No Name: Ireland's Ulster Scots, America's Scots Irish, and the Creation of a British Atlantic World, 1689-1764. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001.

Scottish Voyages
Dr. David Dobson has compiled a detailed list of ships voyaging between Scotland and America. Volume 4 includes information gleaned from the Virginia Gazette:


 * Dobson, David. Ships from Scotland to America, 1628-1828. 4 vols. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Publisher's bookstore: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4. FHL has Volumes 1 to 3.

1783 to Present
The Family History Library and the National Archives have many of the post-1820 passenger lists and indexes for Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other major ports. These are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog Locality Search under [STATE], [COUNTY], [CITY] - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION.

The Family History Library and the National Archives also have incomplete passenger lists for the following ports.


 * Alexandria, 1820-1865
 * East River, 1830
 * Hampton, 1820-1821
 * Norfolk and Portsmouth, 1820-1857
 * Petersburg, 1820-1821
 * Richmond, 1820-1844

The above lists are included in Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. . . (in the FamilySearch Catalog Locality Search under UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION; -. These lists are indexed in Supplemental Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports . . . (in the FamilySearch Catalog Locality Search under UNITED STATES - EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION - INDEXES; -

During the War of 1812, American officials reported finding a total of 333 British aliens, many of whom had families, living in Virginia. Most British immigrants were settling in the capital, and in towns, and ports at that time. The numbers show that immigration from Great Britain to Virginia had decreased considerably from the high levels reached during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries:

American Immigration
Many settlers from Maryland and Pennsylvania migrated down into Virginia during the colonial period. The Great Valley Road, which passed through the Shenandoah Valley was a popular route.

Westward Migrants
Free native-born Virginians, alive in 1850, who had left the state, resettled as follows:

Many Virginians moved to Georgia immediately after the American Revolution. Barlow published records identifying some of them:


 * Barlow, Lundie W. "Some Virginia Settlers of Georgia, 1773-1798," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1958):19-27. Digital version at American Ancestors ($).

What was it like to move from Virginia to Kentucky in the early 1800s? Daniel Trabue's journal makes a fascinating read:


 * Young, Chester Raymond. Westward into Kentucky, The Narrative of Daniel Trabue. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 1981..

What was it like to move from Virginia to Alabama in the early 1800s? Owen's journal of his trip is available online at Internet Archive - free.

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

Robertson compiled a list of Virginians in Kansas in 1860:


 * Robertson, Clara Hamlett. Kansas Territorial Settlers of 1860 Who were Born in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina: A Compilation with Historical Annotations and Editorial Comment. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976. ; digital version at World Vital Records ($).

British Mercantile Claims identify migrations made by many Virginians during the period 1775 to 1803. The folks listed owed debts to overseas British merchants at the opening of the Revolutionary War and after the War was over, the merchants came to collect their debts, only to find that many of these people had moved. Dorman published these records in The Virginia Genealogist, beginning with Volume 6. Digital version at American Ancestors ($). .

Dr. Koontz wrote a helpful article about life on "The Virginia Frontier, 1754-1763," Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1925). Digital version at FamilySearch Digital Library.

Websites

 * Immigrant Servants Database 20,000+ colonial immigrants, primary focus: Chesapeake Bay colonies (Virginia and Maryland)
 * Virtual Jamestown Indentured servant registers from colonial period, which identify English indentured servants shipped to America