From 1718 to 1775, British courts banished 50,000 convicts to America–the largest body of immigrants, aside from African slaves, ever sent across the Atlantic–in hopes of restoring social peace at home without posing the threat to traditional freedoms raised by the death penalty or a harsh corrective system. In the past most criminal offences were punished by death or by fine or whipping. By transporting these unwanted people to the colonies, the motherland saved itself from executing them. The prisoner who was sent to the colonies was required to serve a seven to fourteen year sentence doing public works such as building roads or contracted out to private individuals. One third of those sent to the colonies were women who were expected to work as domestics and such. When the American Revolution started, the British stopped sending prisoners to the Colonies. That is when Australia was selected as the place to send criminals. Peter Wilson Coldham wrote a book called THE COMPLETE BOOK OF MIGRANTS IN BONDAGE, 1614-1775. In this book is included an alphabetical list of men and women transported between 1614-1775 as well as where each person was tried. This same gentleman has also written a book titled BONDED PASSENGERS TO AMERICA. Ancestry.com has a database called Middlesex, England, Convict Transportation Contracts, 1682-1787.
Genealogy is the study of our dead ancestors. While researching records we find births, marriages, military records, census records and death records. We can imagine how they lived their lives and why they decided to leave their country or move here and there in this country. Sometimes we wish that we asked questions of our relations before they passed. Some of us still have the opportunity and should take advantage of the time we have with them. A excellent way to preserve information is to visit our older relatives and record these interviews. We can save that information for future research and also give our relatives and family friends an opportunity to feel they are contributing to the preservation of their family history. Older people for the most part are eager to tell us how life was when they were young and the things they did on a daily basis. If we are really lucky a close relationship will form. Family information is out there. Our lives are busy and sometimes we forget those who will enrich our lives. I would like to share a poem that says all.
William Penn toured Germany in 1677 and spread the word of a new kind of religious freedom in the American colonies. At that time during the 17th and 18th centuries many European powers forced their people to follow state religions. The word spread that there was a place to go where anyone can practice their chosen religion free of state mandates.
German immigration to America began on October 6, 1683 when thirteen Mennonite and Quaker families arrived in Philadelphia from Krefeld, Germany. They called their new home “Deutschadt” which was near Philadelphia. This area became part of Philadelphia and was incorporated in 1689 as Germantown. This area is still called Germantown. Germans were one third of the population of the colonies and were second to the English. Immigration continued to grow between 1725 and 1775 with immigrants from Germany arriving as indentured servants. Eight million Germans have emigrated to America since that time and that is more than any other nationality. People with German ancestry who are living in the United States today account for 17% of the population today or about 50 million people.
Many American traditions we have in the United States came here with the Germans who helped settle this country. The Christmas tree tradition was brought here by the Germans. The first kindergarten was established by Germans in the United States. Many food we enjoy today were introduced by Germans as well as beer. Germans have a rich history in this country.
Before tracing family roots in Germany, start with all the records you can find in this country. Each record can give you a new piece of the puzzle as to where in Germany your forefathers came from. When you have exhausted all records from this country there is another barrier to finding records from Germany. There is the language barrier unless of course you can read German. Ancestry.com has many databases for German civil records however they of course are written in German. Genealogical.com has 84 items on German ancestry. If you would like to check them out, click on the banner for Genealogical.com at the top of this page and explore them. I’m sure you will find something of interest there.
The most valuable documents you can use as a family genealogist are Naturalization Records. There is more information on a naturalization document than any other public record. The information contained in these records is rich in biographical detail and gives you a glimpse into the past of the person filing for citizenship. Petitions filed ater September 1906 contain a wealth of information about the person filing the petition for naturalization. These records include the full name of the applicant, current address, occupation, age, birth date, birthplace, sex, complexion, eye color, hair color, height, weight, visible distinctive marks and current and former citizenship. Also listed on the application was the port applicant left from and name of the ship as well as the date immigrant left home and date arrived in United States. If the applicant is married listed is the spouse full name, date of marriage, marriage place, birth date and birth place of spouse as well as date of entrance to the Unite States for the spouse. If the applicant had children all the children are listed as well as their age and where they were born. Of all the immigrants who came to this country only about twenty five percent actually became naturalized citizens. Many filed a petition but not all finished the process. Prior to 1922 wives and children of men who filed and became citizens automatically became United States citizens. Before 1906 there was no mention of marital status on these petitions. You can now see why this is the most important document to study.
GenealogyBank news archives has extensive newspaper archives for researchers to scour. There is a wealth of information in these old newspapers. There are a number of Irish American titles to research. One of these titles is the Irish American Weekly. Irish dealth records in the Irish American start in 1849. This is fifteen years before the official civil registrations started. the Irish American Weekly was published from 1849 until 1914. This newspaper not only lists births and deaths in Ireland but relates to all things Irish including the mood of the day concerning Irish Immigrants. For all things Irish this newspaper is a good read. GeneologyBank is accessed by subscription but is worth the cost. Following are other Irish newspapers from this site:
There was a man whose name was Antonio Michele Rosati . Michele was born on March 1, 1877 in a little town in Italy called Atina. He came from a family of farmers. Growing up Michele had dreams that wouldn’t be tamped down by any circumstances. As Michele got older he worked as a vendor pushing an ice cream cart around town. Michele dreamed of some day owning an ice cream business. At some point Michele met his future wife, Palma Mancini. When Michele and Palma decided to marry, Palma’s mother did not approve since Palma came from a family who considered themselves educated and obviously Michele did not fit into this mode. Eventually Michele and Palma married on January 19, 1900. Upon their marriage, Michele and Palma moved to Dundee, Scotland where other family members were living . Michele started working on his dream. Michele learned to make ice cream and they opened an ice cream and candy store in Scotland. Five or so years and three children later, Palma took sick and the family returned to Italy. Michele was still dreaming and in 1906 with his wife and children safely living in Italy, Michele decided to continue his dream and set sail for the United States. For two years Michele toiled in a garage in Philadelphia manufacturing ice cream and Italian ice. When he had enough money, Michele sailed back to Italy to arrange passage for his wife and children. In 1909 Michele returned to the United States and continued to work his dream. Michele bought a house with a store attached to the front and started an ice cream business. Eventually he was able to build a factory behind the house and Rosati Ice Cream Company was established. Michele applied for naturalization and registered for the draft and did everything that a proud American would do. He was grateful to this country for the opportunity to carry on with his dream. When asked why he refused to send money back to the old country his answer was “In the old country I was treated as a peasant but in the United States I was treated equal to all men and that what money was earned in the United States stayed in the United States”. Although times were rough and the great depression wiped out all his savings Michele continued on. Palma and Michele eventually had eleven children and most of them worked in the business . Michele died on Oct 12, 1943 and his family continued the business. This story was relayed to me by my mother who was the greatest fan Michele could ever hope for and she referred to him as A Prince among men. Michele was my grandfather.
-Dianne
P.S. By the way, while you are on my site please feel free to check out my shopping page. There are 50 stores from which to buy and window shop from. There are items from books, printing needs to jewelry. It also includes Home Depot for all your shopping needs.
For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to trace ancestors to the Revolutionary War, there are many databases online to trace those ancestors who fought in the war of independence.
Pennsylvania archives has for example several databases. One of these databases is Militia Officers Index Cards from 1775-1800. The index card file has the names of Pennsylvania militia officers serving during the American Revolution, Indian campaigns and quelling the Whiskey rebellion. The cards are alphabetically arranged by surname of officer. Other information on these index cards is county, rank, company served in, dates of service, township and district within township. If you get lucky other information on cards may provide more information such as place of burial, wounds received, names of children and date of discharge. To access these records go to the following URL
Today is the day that the 1940 census was released by the National Archives and Records Administration. For some of us that are passionate about genealogy this is a big deal. For those of us who are less than 70 years old we won’t find our name anywhere on this census. What we will find are our parents and older brothers and sisters as well as aunts and uncles and grandparents. We can also find that various relatives that we found in the 1930 census and not in the 1940 census probably have died in the last ten years. When you compare the census from 1930 to the census from 1940, you can get much information if you study it closely. Between 193o and 1940 people died or got married or moved to another location or more babies were born.
Before we see all this information on the internet it will take quite a few people and a lot of hard work on the part of people donating their time to create census indexes of all this information. The census was stored on microfilm by the National Archives and Records Adminstration. The first task is using imaging equipment so that we can see the record on the internet. The next task to be done is gathering all the volunteers to work on indexing all these records. Without the indexing we could never plug in a name and come up with the image to investigate. I personally have done a little indexing and this is not an easy job reading handwritten documents and coming up with the right spelling unless of course the census taker had perfect handwriting which usually is not the case. Let us all say thank you to all these people who make it possible for us to have online records to study.
The Order Sons Of Italy In America was founded on June 22, 1905 and was created in New York City by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro.. It was originally called Figli d Italia. Sellaro along with five other Italian immigrants started this organization with the purpose of providing support to other Italian immigrants and assist them in gaining their U.S. citizenship. They also provided aid to the community by their assistance in obtaining health and dental benefits and educational opportunities as well as life insurance and mortuary benefits for other Italian Americans. OSIA has also been involved in promoting immigration legislation, assisting in the assimilation process, supporting cooperation, trade, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Italy encouraging educational achievement through scholarships and raising funds for local charities, and providing low-cost group financial investments
OSIA is a fraternal organization of men and women. Nationally, it’s one-half million family membership represent a very broad cross-section of the Italian American population. A large organization with an excellent community system, it strongly respects God, country and family values. Its activities show a deep respect and regard for Italian heritage and culture, while concentrating on the richness of life in America. By 1921, 125,000 members met in 887 lodges country-wide. In over a century, the Sons of Italy has grown into a national organization promoting study, understanding and appreciation of Italian-American heritage.
The web site for The Order Sons of Italy in America is:
Ancestry.com has the database containing a number of different document types related to OSIA mortuary benefits and individual deaths benefits lists, cancellations, and member data cards. Records typically include names and death dates. I personally found two death certificates relating to my family tree in this collection. For menbers of OSIA you can access these records at ancestry.com through OSIA website.
Genealogy workshops are offered by the National Archives and Records Administration throughout the country. Included in the topics are introduction to genealogy into records such as census, military service, pension records and passenger lists. See the list below for the various cities that these workshops are to be held. At the bottom of this article are the cities listed. Click on the city and it will take you to their website.
Separate genealogy programs are held in Washington, DC, and in the regional facilities. For details on any given program, please contact that facility directly:
From 1718 to 1775, British courts banished 50,000 convicts to America–the largest body of immigrants, aside from African slaves, ever sent across the Atlantic–in hopes of restoring social peace at home without posing the threat to traditional freedoms raised by the death penalty or a harsh corrective system. In the past most criminal offences were punished by death or by fine or whipping. By transporting these unwanted people to the colonies, the motherland saved itself from executing them. The prisoner who was sent to the colonies was required to serve a seven to fourteen year sentence doing public works such as building roads or contracted out to private individuals. One third of those sent to the colonies were women who were expected to work as domestics and such. When the American 
Revolution started, the British stopped sending prisoners to the Colonies. That is when Australia was selected as the place to send criminals. Peter Wilson Coldham wrote a book called THE COMPLETE BOOK OF MIGRANTS IN BONDAGE, 1614-1775. In this book is included an alphabetical list of men and women transported between 1614-1775 as well as where each person was tried. This same gentleman has also written a book titled BONDED PASSENGERS TO AMERICA. Ancestry.com has a database called Middlesex, England, Convict Transportation Contracts, 1682-1787.
