Fill in the historic background
“So, why did your ancestors
immigrate here?” Ask that question and the answer you’ll get nearly every time
is, “They came to find a better life.” Not much of a story in that answer now
is there?
To make it a story worth telling,
what you need are details. Because that aunt or uncle of yours from Pasadena may not know all those interesting details, it’ll be up to you to fill in the
historic matrix (what was going on in the world or region at the time). Here
are some suggestions for doing just that.
There’s a wealth of information
on immigration and slave experiences, as well as major events, innovations, and
cultural change at your local library and on the internet—some good, some not.
How do you know the source is reliable? Follow my guidelines on evaluating sources to assure it is reliable.Make every effort to assure your information is correct. I’ve also provided some Internet search tips in PDF format to make your internet search
easier and more productive.
Historic matrix sources
Look for text of historians, journals, letters, legal documents, ship passenger lists and legal documents. Historic maps, photographs and art are another good source. Historic moving pictures such as newsreels and music are valuable as well. This website will direct you to where you can find these types of material and show you how to determine whether the source is reliable.
Historic Timelines are a good place to
start historic matrix searches. Construct
or find one that is relevant to your family and the scope of your project. It’s
a useful aid for gathering interviews. Sharing
it with your story-tellers is likely to pop some old memories. Your best source
for detailed timelines is on the internet.
Immigration experience
Family stories include those of
ancestors migrating and establishing homes in a new land. Each person’s
circumstances were unique.
If you don’t know why your particular ancestor
emigrated, speak about the conditions at the time that influenced many of his
or her countrymen to relocate.
Talk about the push factors and
the pull factors. Push factors are the reasons our ancestors found it
intolerable to remain living in their homeland. Pull factors are what drew them
to immigrate to a particular place.
Immigrant destinations included
the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Large numbers of immigrants leaving Europe entered the United States through Ellis Island,
New York, and various other eastern US ports of entry.
The Port of Quebec in Canada received many who either settled in Canada or migrated on to the US. Asian immigrants to the US were processed primarily through Angel Island, San Francisco, California. For a more extensive list of ports of entry and
border crossings, go to Cyndi’s List.
These are good sources for
published journals, ships’ passenger lists, and immigration records. The US Department of Immigration is another good
source.
Slave experience
Some of our ancestors did not
voluntarily choose to migrate to the colonial areas, but we brought as slaves. At PBS.org you can find personal narratives and original documents. The Library of
Congress has a section in the American Memory
Collection on the African
American Odyssey.
Copyright protected material
When borrowing photographs,
illustrations, written material, moving pictures, and music, be sure to read
and obey the copyright information that accompanies it. For the most part, it
is safe to use material for projects that are not intended for commercial use, but be sure to acknowledge the source.
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Copyright September 2009 Family History Coach. All rights reserved. Last update April 27, 2010
