Research by Subject: Genealogy
Immigration & Migration Resources
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The migration pages are "under construction"
due to a change in software they are being rebuilt
Immigration: Departure
Immigration: Arrival
Migration: State Resources
Timeline of important events for American Migration
| 1500-1800 | UK: the population in the British Isles triples in spite of the huge migrations to the New World. This caused huge changes in the work force and agriculture and enclosure of farm lands pushing those who did not have land anywhere they could go. |
| 1517 | GER: Martin Luther begins the Reformation |
| 1555 | GER: Peace of Augsburg settlement allowed the princes of any province in the Germanic nations to determine the religion of their territories. |
| 1601 | UK: The Poor Laws become firmly established in Great Britain (they had first begun under Queen Elizabeth in 1563) - overseers of the poor are appointed - soon each parish would be responsible for the poor in their care and they were to keep records on all of them. Each town was required to have a prison for the poor to punish beggars and vagabonds |
| 1607 | US: First American settlement at Jamestown |
| 1642 | UK: Civil War breaks out in England between the King & Parliament |
| 1649 | UK: King of England loses and is beheaded |
| 1653 | UK: Oliver Cromwell named Lord Protector of England - he will have profound impact on Ireland as he invades and sells thousands of Catholic Irish into slavery in the Caribbean |
| 1660 | UK: British monarchy is restored under Charles II |
| 1665 | UK: Bubonic Plague in England - particularly London |
| 1683 | US:The first Germans Mennonites arrive in Pennsylvania |
| 1709 | US:The great migration from the Palatine (Germany) arrives in Pennsylvania |
| 1722 | UK: England passes legislating that enabled parishes to set up poor houses encouraging them to make them as unpleasant as possible as a "deterrent" to being poor |
| 1782 | UK: England passes more legislation allowing you to put the sick and elderly and orphans in the workhouse. |
| 1790 | US: Naturalization Act of 1790 - you had to have two year residency to apply |
| 1795 | UK: England passes the Speenhamland system which would pay the poor a minimum wage at the expense of the parish who then tried more ways to punish or get rid of them |
| 1798 | US: Alien and Sedition acts make 14 year residency for naturalization |
| 1802 | US: Naturalization act of 1802 - you had to have residency of 5 years |
| 1806 | GER: Napoleon consolidates the principalities of the Rhineland; Prussia and France go to war - Napolean wins |
| 1814 | GER: Napoleonic wars end with the Congress of Vienna - outcome for Germany is the German Confederation which consists at that time of 39 independent German states |
| 1840s-1860s | US: Potato famine which caused Irish holocaust and great migration but also sent many from Germany, Luxembourg and other European nations |
| 1848 | US:Mexican War ends opening up the Southwest |
| 1808 | US:Slave trade officially banned |
| 1819 | US:Legislation is past demanding the reporting of immigration at all U.S. ports |
| 1819 | UK: Britain passes the Passenger Acts making it only cost 15 shillings to go to Canada rather several pounds needed for fare to New York increasing the flow of Scots and English to Canada |
| 1834 | UK: Amendment to Britain's poor laws cut off all relief money to anyone who was not able-bodied it made the aged, sick and poor children do terrible work in work-houses and pushed thousands to immigrate to keep family members from starving or children taken to these houses. |
| 1854 | US:The Know-Nothing party does its best to stop migrations (particularly Catholic migrations) They were not successful but made things harder on your Irish ancestors |
| 1861 | US:Civil War Begins |
| 1862 | GER: Otto von Bismark is named prime minister of Prussia |
| 1862 | US:Homestead Act |
| 1869 | US:Transcontinental Railraod is finished |
| 1870 | GER-FRA: Franco Prussian War |
| 1871 | GER: Kaiser Wilhelm I crowned in Germany |