Immigration Records Genealogy Cheat Sheet

An important genealogy research goal is to link your immigrant ancestor in the United States to your family's ancestral homeland overseas. But discovering this part of your ancestry can be challenging.Our eight-page cheat sheet helps you find the old passenger lists, naturalization documents, passports and other historical records that can tell you when your ancestors first arrived in America, the port where they arrived, and the places they came from. The easy-to-use tips, charts, resource listings and more include

• 9 top tips to research immigrant ancestors
• genealogical records with clues to when your ancestors immigrated and the arrival ports where they entered the country
• immigration research Q&A covering topics such as finding an immigrant's original name in the "old country," Colonial and early-American immigrants, records of immigration overland from Canada and Mexico, and more
• timeline of essential immigration history
• why "our name was changed at Ellis Island" is a myth
• quick-guide chart to using major immigration records and resources, including ships' passenger lists, naturalization papers, departure records, the Passenger & Immigration Lists Index and more
• example passenger lists
• the best websites, books and organizations to help you trace immigrant ancestors

Once you download the Immigration Records Genealogy Cheat Sheet, you'll need a PDF reader, such as the free Adobe Reader software, to open it. Adobe Reader is available for both Macs and Windows computers.