GenMaps (from Rootsweb) has fabulous map resources for the British Isles

Atlas of the German Empire

Historical Maps of European Cities, Towns and Lands

David Rumsey European Map Collection

 

Land in England - the crown owned all lands and granted those lands to the overlords but could also take them away by forfeit.  Land rights were passed down through primogeniture - the oldest son inherits everything from his father or followed rules about choosing the next in line. The widow got her dower portion (1/3) 

Land in Germany - was controlled by the many rulers of the small kingdoms.  Feudalism in its old form was practiced very late.  Land inheritance was divided equally among the children which made ever increasingly small farms.  Dower right for the wife was strictly protected.

Land in Ireland - Ireland had its own ancient laws known built upon Brehon Law.  Sons received equal inheritance and if the son was deceased the grandsons got his portion.   Eldest son got first choice of the division. Women did not inherit land - they received movable property.   The widow got her dower portion (1/3) 

Land in Scotland - Scottish wills detail moveable property as Heritable Property (land) was set under laws of primogeniture and went to the heir. The widow got her dower portion (1/3) 

History Timeline of events that moved immigration along:

1177 King Henry of England makes his son John Lord of Ireland (the same John who signed the Magna Carta and was brother to Richard the Lion Hearted

16th century

1517 the Reformation begins when Martin Luther nails his theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church.  He had many influences like Hus and Calvin be he is credited with the beginning of the great split.

1523 The Anabaptist movement begins in Zurich as a radical wing of Protestant Reformation.  They were hunted down and persecuted; often put to death.  Their primary break with Calvinists was they believed only in full immersion baptism of only those old enough to understand the faith.   It gave birth to later movements known to us as the Amish, Mennonites and Hutterites.  It later influenced the birth of the Baptist church. It widely spread across the Rhineland, the Netherlands and the Swiss Confederacy.

1534 Henry VIII establishes the Church of England
 

1538  England orders parish records to be kept by Church of England clergy - baptisms, marriages & burials were to be recorded on a weekly basis.  Some parish registers begin in Wales (some have survived/some not) most have been extracted in the IGI

1558 Queen Elizabeth I of England takes the throne.  Her father Henry had been worried about "the Irish problem"

1572 St. Bartholomew Day Massacre - in one day it is estimated 200,000 French protestants (Huguenots) were slaughtered.

1586 Elizabeth orders the first lands confiscated in Ireland in the province of Munster. 

1597/98 First poor laws were passed in England

1598 Edict of Nantes revoked the law that granted equality to Protestants causing the French to go after the "troublesome protestants".  They chased the French Protestants (Huguenots) and the Anabaptists around Europe; some went to the British Isles; more went to America.

1598 Bishops Transcripts are now required in England - copies of the parish records in each parish - to be sent to the Bishop

17th century

1601 Poor law legislation grows.  Justice of the Peace were to administer relief at a local level; poverty was defined and some workhouses were set up.  These laws stayed in force till 1834 when they were revised.

1603 James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England uniting Scotland and England

1608 the first lasting settlement in America at Jamestown

1609 King James devises the Ulster Plantation throwing out the local Irish and transplanting them with Scots  (and some English)

Map of Native Tribes at the time of the first settlements

1613 Quakers begin keeping their detailed records

1618 map of religious distribution in Europe & the British Isles
1618 map of religious distribution in Germany

1618-1648 Thirty Years War between Catholics & Protestants

1618 the Virginia headright system is enacted which gives 50 acres of land for every immigrant you bring to the colony.  It is the backbone of Southern land distribution, law, attitude; the beginning of the "plantation"

1619 the first Africans are brought to Jamestown

1620 Pilgrims set sail for America and found the Plymouth Colony.  More New England colonies follow shortly and the land system is begun of township and range that would be used when the American government began to disperse lands.

1625 English colonization of Barbados which already had many Spanish and Portuguese settlers.

1640 over 20,000 Puritans land in the West Indies

1640-1688 the reign of Frederick William who cemented the Prussian state.  Map of Prussia's changing boundaries

1642-1651 Civil War / Cromwell  - the years leading up to the war and through the war caused many parish registers to have entries missing; upheaval in the church and throughout the country.  Irish solders were run out of the country (some to Spain) leaving many widows and daughters on their own.  as many as 100,000 men women and children were sold into slavery in the West Indies/Barbados/Jamaica area.

1645 Parliament passes ordinance demanding parents names and date of birth on baptismal records.  Burial records would now have the death date.  Not everyone complied.

1648 First Quaker registers were kept in the British Isles

1648  Map of Europe

1648 Treaty of Westphalia at the end of the 30 years war recognized 3 religions - Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist.  Holland and the Swiss Confederacy gained independence

The religion of the ruler of your region was to be your religion.  Sects like Anabaptist (Mennonites)  and Moravians were not recognized by anyone.  They were considered radical; most would not take oaths; would not give allegiance to any king; opposed capital punishment and military service. Authorities wanted to exterminate them.

1649- 1650 Cromwell's conquest of Ireland

1654 The Melungeons are discovered in Appalachia - SW Virginia and what is present day Tennessee.  They spoke a broken form of Elizabethan English and there is much controversy about their origins.  New DNA studies show a complex ancestry of  Mediterranean, British Isle, Native American, African, Turkish and other European ancestry.  It is thought that they may first have been more on the coastal areas of Virginia but were pushed back by its new settlers staying in the mountains of Appalachia.

1656 a civil survey of all major landowners in Ireland is ordered by England to help with taxation and control of land. 

1662 the Settlement acts in England - poor rates were set up by each parish.  Some were more generous than others and many poor people were going where they would be better taken care of.  Legislation in 1662 prevented this kind of movement.  This also meant they couldn't move to get better jobs.  If you moved to a new place and someone thought you might become a charge on the new parish they could send you back to the old parish.  You could also be removed for being "sick or impotent"

1664 The Conventicler Acts were passed in England prohibiting groups of more then five persons from assembling for religious worship if they were not from the established church

1664 the English seize New Amsterdam from the Dutch and name it New York

1670s William Penn recruits German immigrants  - mostly from the Rhineland (also called the Palatine Germans or from the Pfalz) Most had dissenting religious beliefs from their Catholic rulers making them willing to leave home to escape being jailed or worse.  Some had been prosperous but most lost their valuables and left with little to go up the Rhine to the Netherlands.  There was a network similar to the underground railroad that helped them leave Germany in the earliest years when it was most dangerous.

1681 the Penn Colony is granted to William Penn which made him the owner of 45 thousand square miles of real estate (Pennsylvania and Delaware) to distribute.  He had to honor any claims made prior to the time this was granted.  If you have early Delaware or Pennsylvania people check the page on migration to the middle colonies

1688 The Glorious Revolution gets rid of James II and causes bloody civil war in Ireland as most of the country stayed Catholic.  The Ulster Scots quickly showed support for William and Mary and their Presbyterian ministers helped them organize the Catholic Irish. 

1690 - 1697  King William sends troops to crush the Catholic Irish.  Lands were confiscated (over a million & 1/2 acres) which opened the way for about 50,000 Scots to make their way over to the new lands.
 

1690 Non-Conformist registers begin - spotty at first.  These were for anyone who was not Church of England (Quaker, Methodist, Baptist etc.)

18th century

1700s Indentured servitude becomes big business for immigrant recruiters.  Germans came as Redemptioners.  This lasts well into the 19th century.
 

1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England - Scottish parliament dissolved and the two became one country

1708 registry of deeds established in Ireland

1708 Church of the Brethren begins in Germany/Switzerland

by 1709 by some estimates more than 30,000 of these German emigrants arrived in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is nearly always their chosen port of entry in the 17th, 18th and much of the 19th century.

1711 huge growth of the linen weaving business in northern Ireland

1717-1718 English landlords raised the rents on Ulster Scots.  Over 4000 left for America.

1722 Workhouse Test Act in England - standards to make workhouse life harsher so that people would avoid them

1727 Catholics are deprived of the right to vote in Ireland.  They will not get it back till 1793.

1727-1740 a depression in Ireland

1729 First Welsh settlement established in Philadelphia

1729 John Wesley founds the Methodist church in England but it will not take hold in America for some time.

1732 the Penn Colony (Pennsylvania) sets out to seriously distribute their land holdings.  Many of the early warrants and patents are now online

1735 the Moravians arrive in Pennsylvania - they came from eastern Europe in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia but they were very German and had picked up members from many other European nations.  They came as a mission movement to convert Native Americans.  They are sometimes linked with the Church of the Brethren because both were Germanic and the Moravians referred to themselves as Brethren.

1740 Famine in northern Ireland - about 400,000 die and up to 200,000 Scotch Irish immigrate to America.  The English worried it would become empty.

1740 list of protestant householders in the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Londonderry & Tyrone

1740 Church of the Brethren (also called Dunkards) begin coming to Germantown PA in large numbers (the migration began about 1719 due to persecution).  They congregated on the border counties of Maryland and Pennsylvania before moving southward to the Virginia & the Carolinas or westward to Ohio.

1742 Bonnie Prince Charlie is defeated by the English at Culloden.  The clans lose power and it was the beginning of the breakdown of a society where the laird had parental duties to the inhabitants.

1745 Factory towns begin to grow causing people to migrate to the cities looking for jobs.  This mean they needed to buy food in the cities which meant if farmers who could grow more made a lot of money.  Crop rotation; new methods of agriculture were helping this along.  If they could get rid of the PEOPLE living on their lands they could plant more crops.  Rents are raised; evictions handed out.

1749 census taken in Roscommon, parts of County Sligo and some parishes of County Galway in Ireland

1750  the UK parliament begins passing the Inclosure acts which enclosed open fields.  This had huge impact on the common people who had always been allowed to let their livestock grace in lands that were known as "common lands" as well as pick fruits and nuts etc. on these lands.  This pushed the little farmers out of agriculture; made it harder to feed their families; harder to keep cows and pigs etc.

1750 description of the crossing for immigrants

2 Sep 1752 Britain and the American Colonies adopt the Gregorian Calendar - the many countries that later made up Germany adopt at different times making dates more difficult to understand.

1754 preprinted marriage registers became the standard in England - Quakers and Jews exempt

1754-1763 The Seven Years War / French Indian Wars begin.  England recruits over 12,000 Scottish Highlanders to fight for British forces.  It is estimated that only about 76 of these men went back to Scotland; the rest stayed and most settled in New York.  The war plays a huge role in the settlement of the frontier.

1760s so many Germans had arrived in the New World that many "Americans" were afraid they were taking over.

Germans in Pennsylvania begin to move towards central Pennsylvania and then down the Valley of Virginia leaving German communities in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas - frequently called Pennsylvania Dutch, Maryland Dutch etc. even though they were not Dutch (Deutsch)

1760s the Baptist faith takes hold in a large way in Virginia.  It faces persecution in a colony where the Church of England is the state religion.

1760 landlords in Ireland enclose common land for grazing cattle. 

1766 Irish census detailing householders by parish which showed religion and other facts - the only ones that have survived are for North Cork and counties of Limerick, Londonderry, Louth, Tipperary and Wicklow

1766-1769 Methodist congregations begin to spring up in America.  Their growth will be slow until the end of the Revolution when it will catch on fire.

1767 Scottish Highlanders land in North Carolina when the governor granted land in Cumberland and Mecklenburg Counties - 100 acres per person (man, woman, child which was huge to people who had farmed 10 or 12 acres of rocky soil)  

1771/1772 famine in Saxony and southern Germany

1775 England bans Scots from immigrating to America worried that they would become radicals and fight against British interests.  The migration moves then to Canada

1776 the American Colonies declare independence
the Hessians send 30,000 German mercenaries to help the British in the Revolution.  About half of the defected and joined the American cause

the Scotch Irish were major players in the American Revolution - the Scots were loyalists (generally speaking) and many moved to Canada.

some pockets of English settlers were split and remained loyal to the crown.
 

1780s Industrial Revolution takes off

1783 the end of the American Revolution - which gives the new nation what is currently Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia/West Virginia.

1785 Sheep rule the day and Scottish clearances begin (particularly in the Highlands)  more good resources here  and good history of earlier clearances and these clearances in regards to the Scotch Irish is here

1787 the new nation of America begins the public land survey to disperse of lands on the frontier
 

1789 map of Germany

1792-1815 map of Napoleonic Europe

19th century

1801 Ireland is officially made part of the U.K.

1801-1809 map of Germany  the new target for Germans coming into America in the 1800s was Ohio and the Great Lake states

1803 the Louisiana Purchase adds what is now Arkansas, part of Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, part of Minnesota, part of Montana, part of North Dakota, part of Oklahoma, South Dakota and part of Wyoming.

1812 War between the British & America - some of the largest repercussions are on the frontier where new lands open after the British & allied native tribes are defeated.  England already has its hands full with the rise of Napoleon.

1813 Prussian forces defeat Napoleon and push the French out

1815 defeat of Napoleon

1819 Prussia unifies its territories making travel easier; no customs or toll systems every little bit.

1819 Congress enacts the Steerage Act which requires all Captains to submit passenger lists showing the name of ship, captain, port of embarkation, date and port of arrival, each passenger's name, sex, occupation and nationality.  Soon after printers began selling blank forms and selling these to the shipping companies but they were not uniform in the details.

1825  Erie Canal is completed and New York starts to become the largest port of entry.

1833 Andrew Jackson becomes president; it is a time of social change much like the American 1960s.  Movements like abolitionism and women's rights are born.  It is also the time of the  removal of the "Five Civilized Tribes" [now more commonly referred to as the Five Southern Tribes] in the South - sending most to Indian Territory via the Trail of Tears

1834 establishment of workhouses - all relief cut off to the able bodied.  Old people, sick people, poor children forced to enter workhouses.

1834 first tithe maps were drawn up

1 Jul 1837 Civil registration of births, marriages & deaths in England and Wales

1840s the potato famine hits Germany as well.  The custom in Germany of dividing land equally among living children meant farms were getting smaller and smaller.  The potato worked well for small farms.  When the famine hit it caused real suffering.  Food prices went sky high.  Beggars appeared everywhere.  Starving youth formed gangs and looted and stole food. There was talk of revolution.   Many people migrated as a result.

the crossing was so bad at this time that Congress enacted reforms to shipping immigrants.

1845-1850 Potato Famine followed by cholera outbreak.  Added to the famine in 1846 was the worst winter in decades.  Disease broke out; typhus; dysentery etc.  Cork reported 5,000 beggars in its streets.  Women accosted travelers begging them to feed their babies.  All the animals were gone.  The people were walking skeletons.  Theft became rampant to survive.  Map showing the hardest hit areas

1846-1848  Mexican American War - the U.S. gets what is now California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming>

1849 The U.S. claims Oregon Territory which contained what is now Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana and part of Wyoming

The English raised taxes on the landlords to pay for "Irish Relief" and poorhouses.  Landlords looked for ways to avoid the expense.  They tore down cottages families had lived in for generations and bought them tickets to the new world.  Landlords could then consolidate and have more lucrative farms.

The crossing during famine years could take from 40 days to 2 or 3 months.  Ships often went off course or ran out of provisions.  They might have one stove for 300 passengers causing fighting and feuding.

1850s over 3 million Germans come to America - most headed towards the Mississippi River Valley.  Many came through the ports of New Orleans or Galveston.

By 1851 somewhere close to 2 million people had died and another 2 million immigrated to North America and Australia.  Many of the famine immigrants embarked from Liverpool (about 1/3).  Sometimes they moved first to England for a spell before coming to the states.

Other major ports were Plymouth and London.  Canada had raised an immigration tax in the 1840s so many Irish chose the U.S.  Main early ports of entry for the Famine Immigrants: Ogdensburg, Buffalo and New York City.

1853 Immigrant's Guide

1854-1894 the largest of the German migrations saw over 5 million of them immigrate to the U.S.

1851 First British census

1 Jan 1855 Civil registration of births, marriages & deaths in Scotland

1860 South Caroline is the first state to secede from the Union - the others follow

1861 Jefferson Davis is sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America.  Lincoln declares a state of insurrection.

1862 the Homestead Act was passed and promoted.

1865 the Confederate States surrender at Appomattox ending the Civil War

1871 map of Germany

1871 Wilhelm I crowned the first Kaiser of the German Empire

1871 Germany unifies for the first time as a nation causing fear among other European nations.  The Russian government issues a decree repealing the special privileges Catherine the Great had extended to the Germans in Russia causing a huge migration to the western states in America

1875 Congress passes law against bringing in women for "lewd purposes" which causes the Federal Government to get involved with immigration.  For a while it is still a joint endeavor with the port city/state

1890 U.S. Government takes complete control of immigration.

1893 passengers lists are required to ask the immigrant where they are going

20th century

1906 U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service is created. Passports began in the late 1800s but became a constant in the 20th century (see Ancestry)

1919-1921  War for Irish Independence (which destroyed many of the early records).  Ireland is partitioned.
 




WHERE DO I START?

The IGI at FamilySearch remains one of the best places to begin  - even if you don't find your ancestor there it is helpful for things like name distribution.  It indexes births and marriages not deaths.

check out the new Research Portal Wikis at FamilySearch

Google searching

Germans Wisconsin
Germans Nebraska
German immigration Maryland
German settlements Virginia
Germans "Dan River" "North Carolina"
German Genealogy Saxony
History Gottisbunden Germany

Passenger Lists links - the best first source is Ancestry

main ports of entry in the U.S.
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Francisco, CA

minor ports
Portland ME, Gloucester MA., New Haven CT,  Wilminton DE, Norfolk VA, Savannah GA, Charleston SC, Key West FL, Mobile AL, Galveston TX, and Seattle WA

don't get discouraged; immigrants might leave records from the time they decide to immigrate in their home town that indicated the move, they might be on lists at the port where they embark and ship's manifests and port cities where they get off.

http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/

Genuki

British History Online - you can get lost here forever!

German Resources

English Resources

Irish Resources

Scottish Resources

Welsh Resources