German and American Sources for German Emigration to America

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German and American Sources for German Emigration to America

by
Michael P. Palmer

I. German Records: 18th Century.

1. Types of Records:

Abzugsgeld.
Manumissions.
Church registers.
Notarial records.

2. Individual German States:

Not only is the literature of German emigration to America in the 18th century increasingly extensive, but the bibliography is made more complicated by the fact that many of the pioneering works, in particular the short articles of Fritz Braun and Friedrich Krebs published originally in the 1950's and 1960's, have been reprinted, often in translation and in amalgamated form, many times. The following list therefore represents only the most significant and easily accessible works on the subject. For fuller details and further references, researchers should consult P. William Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900 (2nd ed.; Detroit: Gale Research, c1988), and, for works published after 1988, the annual volumes of P. William Filby, Mary K. Meyer, and Paula K. Woolverton, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (Detroit: Gale Research, 1981ff.).

Alsace.
Annette Kunselman Burgert, Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America, Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, 26 (1992).
Baden.
- Annette Kunselman Burgert, Eighteenth-Century Emigrants from German-Speaking Lands to North America, Vol. 1: The Northern Kraichgau, Publications of the Pennsylvania Dutch Society, 16 (1982).
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus Baden und dem Breisgau (Stuttgart und Aalen: Konrad Theiss Verlag, 1980). 743 pp. 11,544 emigration cases, many of them to America.
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus dem nördlichen Bodensee im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert, Hegau-Bibliothek, 29 (Singen: Verein für Geschichte des Hegaus, 1975). 3,394 emigrants.
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus dem südöstlichen Schwarzwald zwischen Hochrhein, Baar und Kinzig, Buchreihe der südostdeutschen historischen Kommission, 29 (München 1975).
- Werner Hacker, Kurpfälzische Auswanderer vom Unteren Neckar, Sonderveröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Mannheim, 4 (Stuttgart und Aalen: Konrad Theiss Verlag, c1983).
Nassau-Dillenburg.
Adolf Gerber, Die Nassau-Dillenburger Auswanderung nach Amerika im 18. Jahrhundert (Flensburg: Flensburger Nachrichten, 1930). Reprint in Carl Boyer, 3rd, ed., Ship Passenger Lists: Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825) (Newhall, California: Carl Boyer, 1980; reprint Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1992), pp. 17-47.
Palatinate.
- Institut für Pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde
  Benzinoring 6
  D-67657 Kaiserslautern
  Germany
  The Institut (formerly known as the Heimatstelle Pfalz) maintains a card index of all known emigrants from the Palatinate, from the 17th century onwards.
- Peter Brommer, Karl Heinz Debus and Hans-Walter Herrmann, ed., Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Auswanderung 1500-1914 in den staatlichen Archiven von Rheinland-Pfalz und dem Saarland, Veröffentlichungen der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz, 27, Schriften zur Wanderungsgeschichte der Pfälzer, 35 (Koblenz 1976).
- Annette Kunselman Burgert, Eighteenth-Century Emigrants from German-Speaking Lands to North America, Vol. 2: The Western Palatinate, Publications of the Pennsylvania Dutch Society, 19 (1985).
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus dem früheren Hochstift Speyer nach Südosteuropa und Übersee im XVIII. Jahrhundert, Schriften zur Wanderungsgeschichte der Pfälzer, 28 (Kaiserslautern 1969).
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus Rheinpfalz und Saarland im 18. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag, 1987).
Switzerland.
- Albert Bernhardt Faust and Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh, comp., Lists of Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the American Colonies, vols. 1-2 (Washington, DC: National Genealogical Society, 1920-1925; reprinted Baltimore, Maryland: National Genealogical Society, 1968). Reprinted with Leo Schelbert, "Notes on Swiss Emigrants," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 60 (1972).
- Ernst Steinmann, "A List of Eighteenth-Century Emigrants from the Canton of Schaffhausen to the American Colonies 1734-1752," Pennsylvania German Folklore Society Yearbook, 16 (1951), 185-196. Reprinted in Don Yoder, ed., Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786; Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984), pp. 327-338. Originally published in Beiträge zur vaterländischen Geschichte, hrsg. vom Historisch-antiquarischen Verein des Kantons Schaffhausen, Nr. 13 (1936).
Wertheim.
Otto Langguth, "Auswanderer aus der Grafschaft Wertheim," Familiengeschichtliche Blätter, 30 (1932), Sp. 53-60, 109-124, 155-164, 205-208, 263-270, 299-304, 343-352; reprinted in the Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Alt-Wertheim for 1935. Reprinted in translation by Don Yoder in Pennsylvania German Folklore Society Yearbook, 12 (1947), 147-289; Don Yoder, ed., Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786; Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984), pp. 139-287.
Westerwald.
Annette Kunselman Burgert and Henry Z. Jones, Jr., Westerwald to America; Some 18th Century German Immigrants (Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1989).
Württemberg.
- Adolf Gerber, Beiträge zur Auswanderung nach Amerika im 18. Jahrhundert aus Altwürttembergischen Kirchenbüchern (Stuttgart: J. F. Steinkopf [n.d.]).
- Adolf Gerber, Neue Beiträge zur Auswanderung nach Amerika im 18. Jahrhundert aus Altwürttembergischen Kirchenbüchern unter Hinzuziehung anderer Quellen. (Stuttgart: J. F. Steinkopf, [1928]).
  Both the above works reprinted in translation by Don Yoder as "Emigrants from Wuerttemberg: The Adolf Gerber Lists," Pennsylvania German Folklore Society Yearbook, 10 (1945), 103-237; Don Yoder, ed., Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786; Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984), pp. 1-137.
- Werner Hacker, "Auswanderer aus dem Territorium der Reichsstadt Ulm, vor allem im ausgehenden 17. und 18. Jahrhundert," Ulm und Oberschwaben, 42/43 (1978), 161-257.
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderer vom Oberen Neckar nach Südosteuropa, Buchreihe der südostdeutschen historischen Kommission, 23 (München 1970).
- Werner Hacker, Auswanderungen aus Oberschwaben (Stuttgart und Aalen: Konrad Theiss Verlag, 1977).
Miscellaneous.
- Annette Kunselman Burgert, Master Index to the Emigrants Documented in the Published Works of Annette K. Burgert, F.A.S.G., F.G.S.P. (Myerstown, Pennsylvania: Annette K. Burgert, 1993).
- Henry Z. Jones, Jr., More Palatine Families; Some Immigrants to the Middle Colonies 1717-1776 and their European Origins, Plus New Discoveries on German Families Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710 (Universal City, California: the author, 1991).
- Henry Z. Jones, The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710 (Universal City, California: Hank Jones Publishing Co., 1985). 2 vols.
Compilations.
- Carl Boyer, 3rd, ed., Ship Passenger Lists: New York and New Jersey (1600-1825) (Newhall, California: Carl Boyer, 1980; reprint Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1992).
- Carl Boyer, 3rd, ed., Ship Passenger Lists: Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825) (Newhall, California: Carl Boyer, 1980; reprint Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1992).
- Michael H. Tepper, ed., Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819; A Consolidation of Ship Passenger Lists from the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography [1877-1934] (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979).
- Don Yoder, ed., Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786; Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984).
- Don Yoder, ed., Rhineland Emigrants; Lists of German Settlers in Colonial America (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). Collection of 24 articles on the European origins of Pennsylvania German families that originally appeared, in English, in Pennsylvania Folklife.
German Mercenary Soldiers in America:
- Anhalt:
  - Virginia Easley DeMarce, Mercenary Troops from Anhalt-Zerbst, Germany, Who Served with the British Forces During the American Revolution, German-American Genealogical Research Monographs, 19 (Arizona: Westland Publications, 1984).
  - Brigitte Heinicke and Georg Jahn, "Ein anhaltinisches Militärkirchenbuch in Jever," Norddeutsche Familienkunde, Bd. 13, Jg. 35 (1986), 457-476, 586-590.
- Ansbach-Bayreuth:
  Erhardt Städtler, Die Ansbach-Bayreuther Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskreit 1777-1783, Freie Schriftenfolge der Gesellschaft für Familienforschung in Franken, 8 (Nürnberg 1956). Abstracted in Clifford N. Smith, Mercenaries from Ansbach and Bayreuth, Germany, Who Remained in America after the Revolution, German-American Genealogical Research Monographs, 2 (rev. ed.; Arizona: Westland Publications, 1979).
- Brunswick:
  Hans Helmuth Rimpau, "'The Brunswickers' in Nordamerika 1776-1783," Archiv für Sippenforschung, Jg. 37 (1971), 204-219, 293-308; Jg. 38 (1972), 346-355. Abstracted in Clifford N. Smith, Brunswick Deserter-Immigrants of the American Revolution, German-American Genealogical Research Monographs, 1 (De Kalb, Illinois: ..., 1973; reprinted Arizona: Westland Publications, 1985ff.).
- Hesse:
  Archivschule Marburg, Institut für Archivwissenschaft, Hessische Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg (HETRINA), ed. Eckhart G. Franz, Inge Auerbach, and Otto Fröhlich, Veröffentlichungen der Archivschule Marburg, Institut für Archivwissenschaft, 10 (vol. 1, 2nd ed.; Marburg 1974-1987). 6 vols. Records of Hessian troops who served as mercenaries for the British in the American Revolution. Vol. 5 contains records of mercenaries from Waldeck; vol. 6 (1987) contains records of regiments from Hanau.
- Miscellaneous:
  - Clifford N. Smith, Muster Rolls and Prisoner-of-War Lists in American Archival Collections Pertaining to the German Mercenary Troops Who Served with the British Forces During the American Revolution, German-American Genealogical Research Monographs, 31 (3 parts; De Kalb, Illinois: ..., 1974-1976; reprinted Arizona: Westland Publications, 1982ff.).
  - Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, 1ff. (1977ff.). The Journal is published by the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, P.O. Box 99, Pennsauken, NJ 08110.
  - Mark A. Schwalm, "The True German Mercenaries," Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association, vol. 3, no. 4 (1988), 19-22.
  - Clifford N. Smith, British and German Deserters, Dischargees, and Prisoners of War Who May have Remained in Canada and the United States, 1774-1783, British-American Genealogical Research Monographs, 9 (2 parts; Arizona: Westland Publications, 1988-1989).
  - Nancy Rice Kiddoo, "'Of Revolutionary Memory': German Mercenaries Who Immigrated to Western Maryland," Der Reggeboge: Journal of the Pennsylvania German Society, 23 (1989), 43-80.

II. German Records: 19th Century.

1. Types of Records:

Official emigration records.
Newspapers.
- Intentions to emigrate.
- Summons to missing heirs [Edictalladungen].
- Court declarations of death [Todeserklärungen]. Wilhelm van Kempen, "Gerichtliche Todeserklärungen im Landdrosteibezirk Hildesheim zwischen 1849 und 1866," Norddeutsche Familienkunde, Bd. 7, Jg. 16 (1967), 321-340, 372-376.
- Lists of army deserters.
- Lists of young men who disappeared without fulfilling their military obligations.
  The Germanic Emigrants Register (P.O. Box 1720, D-49437 Diepholz, Germany), is a commercial venture to abstract such announcements from the Deutscher Reichs-Anzeiger und Königlich preußischer Staats-Anzeiger, the official gazette of the imperial German government, for the years 1875-1914.
- Church registers.

2. Individual German States:

Baden.
Surviving records of the Auswanderungsamt, including extensive indexes, are deposited in the

Badisches Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe
Nördliche Hildapromenade 2
D-76133 Karlsruhe
Germany

Microfilm copies of the indexes, but not the records themselves, are in the Family History Library (FHL), in Salt Lake City. Some of these indexes have been abstracted in Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler, The Baden Emigration Index (Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1992). In addition, Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser (Herrengasse 8-10, D-89610 Oberdischingen, Germany), a private researcher, has compiled an extensive index of emigrants from Baden, using the records in the Generallandesarchiv in Karlsruhe, as well as other manuscript and published records not located in the Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe.
Bayern: Altbayern.
- Reinhard Mayer (Jägerstrasse 42, D-83308 Trostberg, Germany), a private researcher, has compiled an index of over 140,000 emigrants from Bavaria.
- Regierungsbezirk Schwaben.
  - Wolfgang Knabe, Aufbruch in die Ferne; Deutsche Auswanderungen nach Amerika, Afrika, Asien und Australien zwischen 1803 und 1914 am Beispiel Bayerisch-Schwaben (Augsburg: DMH-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1990).
  - Wolfgang Knabe, Die Neue Heimat nimmt sie auf; Deutsche Einwanderungen in Amerika, Afrika, Asien und Australien im 19. Jahrhundert am Beispiel Bayerisch-Schwaben (Augsburg: DMH-Verlagsgesellschaft, 1991).
  Anhänge to both volumes contain the names of some 8117 Bavarian Swabians who emigrated overseas between 1800 and 1914.
Bayern: Rheinpfalz.
- Peter Brommer, Karl Heinz Debus and Hans-Walter Herrmann, ed., Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Auswanderung 1500-1914 in den staatlichen Archiven von Rheinland-Pfalz und dem Saarland, Veröffentlichungen der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz, 27, Schriften zur Wanderungsgeschichte der Pfälzer, 35 (Koblenz 1976).
- Institut für Pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde
  Benzinoring 6
  D-67657 Kaiserslautern
  Germany
  The Institut (formerly known as the Heimatstelle Pfalz maintains a card index of all known emigrants from the Palatinate, from the 17th century onwards.
Braunschweig.
Fritz Gruhne, Auswandererlisten des ehemaligen Herzogtums Braunschweig, ohne Stadt Braunschweig und Landkreis Holzminden, 1846-1871, Quellen und Forschungen zur Braunschweigischen Geschichte, 20 (Braunschweig 1971).
Bremen.
Peter Marschalck, ed., Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Wanderungen, besonders der Auswanderung, in Bremer Archiven, Veröffentlichungen aus dem Staatsarchiv der Freien Hansestadt Bremen, 53 (Bremen: Staatsarchiv, 1986).
Hannover.
- Renate Vollmer, Auswanderungen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Raum Niedersachsen in der Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts, Niedersächsischer Landesverein für Familienkunde, Sonderveröffentlichung 26 (Hannover 1993).
- Regierungsbezirk Osnabrück. The Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv Osnabrück (Schloßstrasse 29, D-49074 Osnabrück, Germany) maintains an index of known emigrants from the former Regierungsbezirk Osnabrück; I do not, however, know anything about the source(s) from which this index was compiled, or how complete it can be considered.
Hessen-Darmstadt.
- Eckhart G. Franz, et al., Quellen zur Auswanderer-Forschung im hessischen Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, Darmstädter Archivschriften, 7 (Darmstadt: Verlag des Historischen Vereins für Hessen, 1984). Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, Abt. R 21 B (Auswanderer-Kartei), is an alphabetical card catalogue of approximately 40,000 emigrants from Hessen-Darmstadt, primarily to America between 1821 and approximately 1871. Microfilm copy in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
- Peter Brommer, Karl Heinz Debus and Hans-Walter Herrmann, ed., Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Auswanderung 1500-1914 in den staatlichen Archiven von Rheinland-Pfalz und dem Saarland, Veröffentlichungen der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz, 27, Schriften zur Wanderungsgeschichte der Pfälzer, 35 (Koblenz 1976). Includes records for the former province of Rheinhessen, now incorporated into Rheinland-Pfalz.
- Ella Gieg, Auswanderungen aus dem Odenwaldkreis, vols. 1ff. (Lützelbach: Ella Gieg, 1989ff.).
- Peter Assion, hrsg., Über Hamburg nach Amerika; Hessische Auswandernde in den Hamburger Schiffslisten 1855 bis 1866 (Marburg: Institut für Europäische Ethnologie und Kulturforschung, in Kommission bei Jonas Verlag, 1991).
Hessen-Kassel.
- Inge Auerbach, Hessische Auswanderer (HesAus), Index nach Familiennamen, Bd. 2: Auswanderer aus Hessen-Kassel 1840-1850, Veröffentlichungen der Archivschule Marburg, Institut für Archivwissenschaft, 12 (Marburg 1988). Volumes covering the years 1850-1866 have also been prepared, but have not yet been published.
- Grafschaft Schaumburg.
  - Heinrich Rieckenberg, Schaumburger Auswanderer, 1820-1914, Schaumburger Studien, 48 (Rinteln: C. Bösendahl, 1988).
  - Heike Matzke, Schaumburger Auswanderer, 1820-1914: Ergänzungen, Schaumburger Studien, 54 (Melle: Ernst Knoth, 1995).
- Peter Assion, hrsg., Über Hamburg nach Amerika; Hessische Auswandernde in den Hamburger Schiffslisten 1855 bis 1866 (Marburg: Institut für Europäische Ethnologie und Kulturforschung, in Kommission bei Jonas Verlag, 1991).
Lippe.
Fritz Verdenhalven, Die Auswanderer aus dem Fürstentum Lippe (bis 1877), Sonderveröffentlichungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen und Historischen Vereins für das Land Lippe, 30 (Detmold: Naturwissenschaftlicher und Historischer Vereins für das Land Lippe, 1980).
Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Staatsarchiv Schwerin
Graf-Schack-Allee 2
D-19053 Schwerin
Germany
The Staatsarchiv contains Auswanderungskonsensakten [permissions to emigrate] for Mecklenburg-Schwerin for the periods 1826-1861 (index only; the originals were destroyed by fire in 1865) and 1862-1914 (originals and indexes).
Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Surviving lists of emigrants from Mecklenburg-Strelitz begin in 1863. Axel Lubinski (Danziger Strasse 31, D-18107 Rostock, Germany), a university researcher, has compiled information on 17,000 emigrants from Mecklenburg-Strelitz for the period 1847-1893.
Nassau.
Wolf-Heino Struck, Die Auswanderung aus dem Herzogtum Nassau (1806-1866), Geschichtliche Landeskunde, 4 (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1966).
Oldenburg.
Renate Vollmer, Auswanderungen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Raum Niedersachsen in der Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts, Niedersächsischer Landesverein für Familienkunde, Sonderveröffentlichung 26 (Hannover 1993).
Preußen: Brandenburg.
Dr. Rainer Mühle (Janstrasse 9, D-18057 Rostock, Germany), a university researcher, has compiled information on 35,000 emigrants from the Uckermark, Prignitz, and Ruppin areas of the province of Brandenburg, and from the Kreise of Randow and Lauenburg in Pomerania, for the period 1815 to 1914. Another university researcher, Uwe Reich (Siemensstrasse 12, D-14482 Potsdam, Germany), has compiled information on 12,000 emigrants from the Kreise of Arnswalde and Cottbus (primarily overseas emigration); and Friedeberg, Landsberg, and Soldin (primarily Continental migration), in the province of Brandenburg, for the period 1816 to 1893.
Preußen: Pommern.
Dr. Rainer Mühle (see above, under "Brandenburg"), a university researcher, has compiled information on 35,000 emigrants from the Kreise of Randow and Lauenburg in Pomerania, and from the Uckermark, Prignitz, and Ruppin areas of the province of Brandenburg, for the period 1815 to 1914.
Preußen: Rheinprovinz.
- Saarland. Josef Mergen, Die Auswanderungen aus den ehemals preußischen Teilen des Saarlandes im 19. Jahrhundert, Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Landeskunde im Saarland, 20 and 28 (Saarbrücken 1973-1987). 2 vols.
- Regierungsbezirk Aachen, Auswanderungsamt, Auswanderungsakten, 1816-1925; original records in the Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Mauerstrasse 55, D-40476 Düsseldorf, Germany), microfilm copies in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Computerized indexes to these records have been separately compiled by the Hauptstaatsarchiv Düsseldorf and by Henning Schröder (Postfach 10 08 22, D-51608 Gummersbach, Germany).
- Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf, Auswanderungsamt, Auswanderungsakten, 1822-1920; original records in the Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (see above), microfilm copies in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Computerized indexes to these records have been separately compiled by the Hauptstaatsarchiv Düsseldorf and by Henning Schröder (Postfach 10 08 22, D-51608 Gummersbach, Germany).
- Regierungsbezirk Köln, Auswanderungsamt, Auswanderungsakten, 1816-1889; original records in the Nordrhein-Westfälisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (see above), microfilm copies in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Computerized indexes to these records have been separately compiled by the Hauptstaatsarchiv Düsseldorf and by Henning Schröder (Postfach 10 08 22, D-51608 Gummersbach, Germany).
- Regierungsbezirk Trier. Staatsarchiv Koblenz, Abt. 701 Nr. 964: Josef Mergen, Die Amerika-Auswanderung aus dem Regierungsbezirk Trier (typescript). 8 vols. Microfilm copy also in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (reels 0232839 through 0232842, 0197859, 0197860, and 0492839 [item 1]).
Preußen: Westfalen.
- Friedrich Müller, Westfälische Auswanderer im 19. Jahrhundert - Auswanderung aus dem Regierungsbezirk Minden, I. Teil, 1816-1900 (Erlaubte Auswanderung), Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung, 38-39 (Münster: Aschendorff, 1980-1981).
- Friedrich Müller, Westfälische Auswanderer im 19. Jahrhundert - Auswanderung aus dem Regierungsbezirk Minden, II. Teil, Heimliche Auswanderung 1814-1900, Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung, 47-48 (Münster: Aschendorff, 1989-1990).
- Friedrich Müller, Westfälische Auswanderer im 19. Jahrhundert - Auswanderung aus dem Regierungsbezirk Münster, I. Teil, 1803-1850, Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung, 11-13 (Münster: Aschendorff, 1964-1966).
Schaumburg-Lippe.
- Heinrich Rieckenberg, Schaumburger Auswanderer, 1820-1914, Schaumburger Studien, 48 (Rinteln: C. Bösendahl, 1988).
- Heike Matzke, Schaumburger Auswanderer, 1820-1914: Ergänzungen, Schaumburger Studien, 54 (Melle: Ernst Knoth, 1995).
Thüringen: Sachsen-Meiningen.
From June 1844 (Article 9 of the Grundgesetz) permissions to emigrate were published in the Herzoglich Sachsen-Meiningisches Regierungs- und Intelligenzblatt. Michael Palmer (P.O. Box 765, Claremont, California 91711-0765, U.S.A.) is preparing a computerized index to these emigrations.
Thüringen: Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Rudolstadt
Schloss Heidecksburg
D-07407 Rudolstadt
Germany

The Staatsarchiv contains an Auswandererkartei, compiled in the 1960's by the archivist Rudolf Ruhe, containing references to approximately 20,000 emigrants from both principalities in the 19th century.
Waldeck.
Karl Thomas, Die waldeckische Auswanderung zwischen 1829 und 1872 (Köln: M. Thomas Verlag, 1983). 2 vols.
Württemberg.
- The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has microfilm copies of the emigration permits and similar records in the State Archives at Ludwigsburg and Sigmaringen. These are being indexed in Trudy Schenk, Ruth Froelke, and Inge Bork, ed., The Württemberg Emigration Index (Salt Lake City: Ancestry), vols. 1ff. (1986ff.).
- Friedrich Wollmershäuser, a private researcher (see above, under "Baden"), has compiled an extensive index of emigrants from Württemberg, using the records in the State Archives at Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart, as well as other manuscript and published records not located in these archives.
Alsace-Lorraine.
- Cornelia Schrader-Muggenthaler, comp., The Alsace emigration book, Vols. 1-2 (Apollo, Pennsylvania: Closson Press, 1989-1992).
- Norman Laybourn, L'émigration des Alsaciens et des Lorrains du XVIIIe au XXe siècle: essai d'histoire démographique (Strasbourg: Association des publications près les universités de Strasbourg, 1986). 2 vols.
- Nicole Fouche, Émigration alsacienne aux États-Unis, 1815-1870, Université de Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne), Série internationale, 42 (Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1992).

III. American Records.

1. 18th Century:

Philadelphia ship lists.
- Ralph B. Strassburger, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, 1727-1808, ed. William J. Hinke (3 vols.; Norristown, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934; reprint Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1992).
- I[srael] Daniel Rupp, A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776, ... (2nd ed.; Philadelphia 1876; reprint with the index from the 3rd ed. [Leipzig 1931] Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965, 1985).
South Carolina, Council Journals. Janie Revill, comp., A compilation of the original lists of Protestant immigrants to South Carolina 1763-1773 (Columbia, South Carolina, 1939; reprint Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968).
Church registers.
Newspapers. Edward W. Hocker, ed., Genealogical Data Relating to the German Settlers of Pennsylvania and Adjacent Territory (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981), a compilation of abstracts of articles, advertisements, and paid notices that appeared in the 5 principal German newspapers published in Philadelphia and Germantown from 1743 to 1800.

2. 19th Century.

Naturalization records.
Church registers.
Newspapers.
- Obituaries.
  - David H. Koss, "Some marriage and death notices from Die Christliche Zeitschrift, 1839-1848," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 69 (1981), 9-10.
  - Herbert, Jeffrey G., Index of Death Notices and Marriage Notices Appearing in Cincinnati Volksfreund, 1850-1908 (Cincinnati, Ohio: Hamilton County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society, 1991).
  - See abstracts of obituaries from the religious newspapers Der Christliche Apologete [Methodist Episcopal], Der Christliche Botschafter [Evangelical], Die Deutsche Telescope [United Brethren], and Der Fröhliche Botschafter [United Brethren], and Die Geschäftige Martha [United Brethren], in The Bush-Meeting Dutch, 1ff. (1984ff.).
- Missing relatives. David H. Koss, "Advertisements for missing relatives in Der Christliche Botschafter, 1839-1865," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 66 (1978), 33-41.
- Summons to missing heirs [Edictalladungen].

IV. Ship Passenger Lists.

1. German.

Hamburg (1850-1914, with the exception of January-June 1853).
The original lists are deposited in the Hamburg State Archive [Staatsarchiv Hamburg]. Their age and condition prevent their use by the public. However, microfilm copies of the lists and of a variety of contemporary manuscript indexes are deposited in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Transcripts of the lists for 1850 and 1851 have been published as follows:
- Clifford Neal Smith, Reconstructed Passenger Lists for 1850: Hamburg to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States, German and Central European Research Monograph No. 1 (4 parts; Arizona: Westland Publications, 1980-1981). 60 passenger lists.
- Clifford Neal Smith, Reconstructed Passenger Lists for 1851 Via Hamburg: Emigrants from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, and Switzerland to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the United States, and Venezuela, German and Central European Research Monograph No. 2 (5 parts in 6; Arizona: Westland Publications, 1986-1987). 85 passenger lists.
Bremen.
The majority of emigrants from Germany sailed not from Hamburg but from Bremen. Bremen began keeping passenger lists in 1832. These lists no longer exist: in 1875, because of a shortage of space, the government authorized the destruction of the lists for 1832 to 1872, and instituted a policy, in effect until 1909, of preserving only the lists for the current and two most recent years. In 1931 the surviving lists, from 1907 onwards, were deposited with the Statistisches Landesamt Bremen, where they were destroyed during a bombing raid on the city on 6 October 1944. The archives of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce [Handelskammer] contain what appears to be a complete set of duplicate passenger lists for the years 1922-1939.
"Reconstructions" of Bremen lists from advertisements by shipping agents (signatures of passengers), or reports of disasters at sea or of mistreatment of passengers on board emigration ships, all published in the emigration newspaper, Allgemeine Auswanderungszeitung [AA]; Ein Bote zwischen der alten und neuen Welt (Jg. 1-25; Rudolstadt 1846/47-1871), have been published as follows:
- Clifford N. Smith, From Bremen to America in 1850: Fourteen Rare Emigrant Ship Lists, German-American Genealogical Research Monograph, 22 (Arizona, 1987).
- Clifford N. Smith, Passenger Lists (and Fragments Thereof) from Hamburg and Bremen to Australia and the United States, 1846-1849, German-American Genealogical Research Monograph, 23 (Arizona, 1988). Extracted from AA, Jg. 1-3; includes 3 additional "notes of appreciation" from Jg. 4 (1850) which pertain to ship voyages made in 1849.
- Clifford N. Smith, Gold! German Transcontinental Travelers to California 1849-1851, German-American Genealogical Research Monograph, 24 (Arizona, 1988). 300-odd partial ship lists extracted from AA, Jg. 3-5 (1849-1851).
Stettin.
Printed and handwritten ship passenger lists compiled by the various shipping companies that transported emigrants to America survive among the record groups Pommersches Polizeipräsidium and Schifffahrtsdirektion Stettin in the
The lists cover the years 1869-1892, and contain about 500-800 passengers per year. Friedrich Wollmershäuser, a private researcher (see above), has obtained copies of these passenger lists, and intends to publish them.
Emden.
Relatively few emigrants are known to have left through Emden. Wilhelm Weitz, "Beiträge zur Auswanderung ostfriesland im 19. Jahrhundert," Friesisches Jahrbuch, 32 (1958), 110-135: Antje Brons, Emden to New York, 1855 and 1857; Johannes, Emden to Charleston, 1857.
Harburg.
Hans-Georg Mercker, Alphabetisches Register der von und über Harburg ausgewanderten Personen von 1841 bis 1884 (typescript 1964), in the library of the Genealogische Gesellschaft, Sitz Hamburg, lists emigrants (including returning emigrants) from and through Harburg, 1841 and 1851-1854.

2. Other European Ports.

Amsterdam.
The archives of the Waterschout [Port Administration] contain no passenger lists, and there is no indication that any were ever kept.
Rotterdam.
The archives of the Waterschout, including any passenger lists they may have contained, were destroyed during World War II. The archives of the Holland-Amerika Lijn, which contain registers of passengers from 1900 onwards, are deposited in the

Gemeentearchief Rotterdam
Robert Fruinstraat 52
NL-3021 XE Rotterdam
The Netherlands

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has microfiche copies of these lists for 3 May 1900-26 April 1940 (6109126-6109166, fiche 1-781; 6109167-6109217, fiche 1-272).
Antwerp.
Only the lists for 1855 (approximately 5,100 individuals) survive: all others were apparently destroyed by flooding in 1914. Published by Charles M. Hall, The Antwerp Emigration Index (Salt Lake City: Heritage International, n.d.).
Le Havre.
Surviving passenger lists for Le Havre are deposited at the Archives Départementales de la Seine Maritime, cours Clemenceau, F-76101 Rouen CEDEX, Fonds 6 P 6/1-600 (Affaires maritimes, Le Havre: Rôles des bâtiments de commerce); the Family History Library in Salt Lake City has microfilm copies of the lists for 1750-1898 (reels 1460824-829, 1460838-845, 1460853-871, 1460916-941, 1460969-991, 1497080-123, 1497168-187, 1497212-233, 1497265-276, 1497289-300, 1497307-309, 1497326-331, 1497338-361, and 1529630-631). The lists contain relatively few names of emigrants to America, as only captains of French ships were required to surrender their passenger manifests, and all but a handful of the ships that sailed between Le Havre and United States ports were of American registry. A card index of passengers, containing approximately 40,000 entries, was discovered several years ago. The Cercle Généalogique et Heraldique de Normandie, in Rouen, is preparing to publish this index in a series of volumes.
Liverpool and London.
The first British law to mandate the keeping of passenger lists was the Act for regulating the Vessels carrying Passengers from the United Kingdom to his Majesty's Plantations and Settlements abroad, or to Foreign Ports, with respect to the Number of such Passengers, dated 24 June 1803 (43 Geo. III, c.56). Henceforth, passengers could embark only at a port staffed by a customs officer; before clearing from port a muster roll was to be delivered to the customs officer, who was then, in company with a justice of the peace, to make a personal check of passengers and crew.
Passenger lists for vessels arriving in or departing from British ports, including Liverpool and London, are preserved among the records of the Statistical Department of the Board of Trade, in the Public Record Office at Kew. The records are divided into 2 series:
- BT 26: Passenger lists inwards, 1878-1888 and 1890-1960 (very few lists survive for 1878-1888; the continuous series begins in 1890); and
- BT 27: Passenger lists outwards, 1890-1960.
These lists give the names of all passengers entering the United Kingdom on voyages originating in a port outside Europe or the Mediterranean (BT 26), or departing from the United Kingdom for ports outside Europe or the Mediterranean (BT 27). The lists are not indexed, but are arranged monthly by port of arrival or departure: to access them it is necessary to know at least the approximate date and port of arrival or departure. Lists and Indexes, Supplementary Series, No. XI: Board of Trade Records to 1913 (1964), lists the ports and months for which passenger lists survive through 1913 (BT 27)/1914 (BT 26). Debbie Beavis (DataMarine, 61 Nursery Road, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey GU21 2NW, Great Britain, marine@netcomuk.co.uk, http://www.beavis.co.uk) is preparing an index to the vessels for which passenger lists survive in Passenger lists outwards (BT 27), containing the name of each vessel, the date and port of departure, destination, and master's name.
A computerized database of passengers from Liverpool to New York in the year 1851, extracted from copies of 13 New York passenger arrival lists (National Archives Microfilm Publication, Series M237) and containing details of place of origin, is maintained by the

Merseyside Maritime Museum
Albert Dock
Liverpool L3 4AA
England

3. American.

For the authoritative account of American passenger arrival lists, see Michael Tepper, American Passenger Arrival Records (2nd ed.; Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1993).

Customs lists.
- Original lists.
- Copies.
- Quarterly abstracts.
- State Department Transcripts.
Local lists:
- Baltimore "City Lists," 1833-1866.
- Boston "State Lists," 1848-1891.
- Philadelphia, 1839-1843, 1859-1867.
Published Lists (by Port of Entry):
- All Ports.
  - Passenger Arrivals 1819-1820; A transcript of the list of passengers who arrived in the United States from the 1st October, 1819, to the 30th September, 1820; with an added index, originally published as Letter from the Secretary of State, with A transcript of the list of passengers who arrived in the United States from the 1st October, 1819, to the 30th September, 1820 (Washington: Gales & Seaton, 1821; reprinted Baltimore, Maryland: Clearfield Co., 1991).
  - [Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia] Ira A. Glazier and P. William Filby, ed., Germans to America; Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, vols. 1ff. (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1988ff.). A critical review, Michael P. Palmer, "Published Passenger Lists: A Review of German Immigrants and Germans to America," German Genealogical Society of America Bulletin, vol. 4, no. 3/4 (May/August 1990), 69-90, is available on this server).
- Baltimore.
  Michael H. Tepper, ed., Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Baltimore, 1820-1834; From Customs Passenger Lists (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982).
- Galveston, Texas.
  Galveston County Genealogical Society, Ships Passenger Lists, Port of Galveston, Texas, 1846-1871 (Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1984).
- New York.
  - Bradley W. Steuart, ed., Passenger Ships Arriving in New York Harbor, Vol. 1 (1820-1850) (Bountiful, Utah: Precision Indexing, 1991).
  - Gary J. Zimmerman and Marion Wolfert, ed., German Immigrants; Lists of Passengers Bound from Bremen to New York, ...; With Places of Origin (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.): (1) 1847-1854 (1985); (2) 1855-1862 (1986); (3) 1863-1867 (1988); (4) 1868-1871 (1992).
- Philadelphia.
  Michael H. Tepper, ed., Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Philadelphia, 1800-1819; The Philadelphia "Baggage Lists" (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986).

4. General Bibliography.

P. William Filby, Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900 (2nd ed.; Detroit: Gale Research, c1988).
P. William Filby, Mary K. Meyer, and Paula K. Woolverton, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (Detroit: Gale Research, 1981ff.).

[To Top of Document]

Last update (provisional): 19-Dec-1997 (mp)
For comments or corrections, please contact the author at mpalmer@netcom.com

German and American Sources for German Emigration to America

by Michael P. Palmer

I. German Records: 18th Century.

1. Types of Records:

2. Individual German States:

II. German Records: 19th Century.

1. Types of Records:

2. Individual German States:

III. American Records.

1. 18th Century:

2. 19th Century.

IV. Ship Passenger Lists.

1. German.

2. Other European Ports.

3. American.

4. General Bibliography.

by
Michael P. Palmer