Basic Genealogy Part 17: Crossing the Pond - Tracing Ancestors Immigration and Naturalization Records

Bill Eddleman, coordinator of the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research Center, continues the popular geneology series with insight into immigration records. Most family historians in the U. S. have ancestors who migrated from other continents. Depending on the time period of immigration and port of arrival, it can be difficult to find these ancestors and tell their immigration story. This session will summarize surviving immigration records from different time periods and where to find them. It will also include a summary of naturalization records, where to locate them, and information they might contain. 

An accompanying print handout to this program can be downloaded here.

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About the Presenter

Bill Eddleman is the coordinator of the Cape Girardeau Research Center and an eighth-generation Missourian. Before joining the State Historical Society of Missouri, he was a professor of biology at Southeast Missouri State University for 22 years and also served as provost before his retirement in 2016. Long interested in local and regional history, Eddleman was the president of the Cape County Genealogical Society for 14 years and edited the society's quarterly publication for 20 years. He is also the past president of the Missouri State Genealogical Association and a sought-after speaker on topics on genealogy and the history of the Southeast Missouri region.