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Basics of Genealogy

This guide was created to help people who are new to genealogy.

Intro to Immigration & Naturalization Info

You may be interested in a particular location if your family lived there for a long time and especially if you lived there too!

Immigration & Naturalization

Information can be found in passenger lists, naturalization records, and border crossings. Ship pictures are also available.

Immigration & Travel at MyHeritage
Some naturalization and immigration information can be found in the Immigration & Travel section of MyHeritage.

MyHeritage Library Edition (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
The Immigration & Travel collection includes passenger arrival records, naturalization records, border crossings, emigration records, passports, convict transportation record

History of Immigration Laws

Early Immigration Policies
(U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services)
How Immigration Rules Have Changed Through History
(Pew Research Center)

Interactive Immigration Explorer

If your family immigrated from a particular country or are members of a particular ethnicity, you may find this website interesting and useful.

Interactive Immigration Explorer
from the New York Times

Other Readings About Immigration & Ethnicity

Yes Your Ancestors Probably Did Come Here Legally - Because "illegal" Immigration is Less Than a Century Old
"There were no federal laws concerning immigration until well into the history of the United States."
Genetic Ancestry Testing and the Meaning of Race [Video]
Genetic ancestry tests do not promote a single interpretation of race, but serve as a genetic Rorschach test, allowing users to project onto them a variety of meanings based on historical norms of racial classification.
Why Do So Many Americans Think They Have Cherokee Blood?
The history of a myth.
To Be a Citizen [Podcast episode]
"...What does citizenship actually mean? The way Americans have defined citizenship has changed over time and many have found their citizenship challenged, undermined, resisted and even revoked."

Last Updated: Jan 30, 2025 2:58 PM
URL: https://ferris.libguides.com/research/basics_of_genealogy
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Subjects: Genealogy

Tags: fall, ferris state university, genealogy, spring, summer