10.2 Immigration vs Emigration
Many people use the words immigration and emigration interchangeably, but they technically have different definitions. Travel into a country for the purpose of permanent residence there. is defined as “travel into a country for the purpose of permanent residence there;”1 while Departure from a place of abode, natural home, or country for life or residence elsewhere. is “departure from a place of abode, natural home, or country for life or residence elsewhere.”2 When people immigrate, they come into the new place where they plan to permanently reside. When they emigrate, they are leaving their place of residency. Immigration and emigration both may play a role in research subjects’ journeys, but each act can produce different documents or records that can be useful in genealogy.
CHICAGO STYLE:
Begin with the collection in quotation marks, person’s name with event and standardized date, describe the database, add the italicized website, then accessed date in spelled out month, numerical day, year format, end with the text of the url.3
“Board Of Trade: Commercial And Statistical Department And Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists,” Annie Craig passenger 1929, database with images, FindmyPast, February 5, 2025, https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=TNA%2FBT27%2F1260000012%2F00029&tab=this.
EVIDENCE EXPLAINED:
The first item listed will be the collection name in quotations, next describe the database, list the website in italics, in parenthesis paste the url : standardized access date, follow with “entry for” and details about the document like item, film, page, or certificate numbers.4
“Board Of Trade: Commercial And Statistical Department And Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists,” database with images, FindmyPast (https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=TNA%2FBT27%2F1260000012%2F00029&tab=this : accessed 5 February 2025), entry for Annie Craig, departed Southampton, England, 13 September 1929, arrived in Suva, Fiji, aboard the Ruapehu, page 2.
SENSIBLE CITATION:
Begin with the collection name in quotations, follow with the name of the person of record and description of the event or fact on standardized date in standardized place, describe the database, add identifying details like film, image, certificate numbers, italicized website, end with the standardized access date.
“Board Of Trade: Commercial And Statistical Department And Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists,” Annie Craig passenger on the Ruapehu in 1929 destination Suva, Fiji, database with images, page 2, FindmyPast, accessed 5 February 2025.
Consider a young girl who emigrates with her parents and siblings from Denmark. They may have needed permits or visas or other types of documents to gain clearance to leave. Unless they were walking or driving a personal conveyance, emigration would not be possible without tickets for a mode of transportation like a train or ship. They may have needed to dispose of property or possessions before making a permanent departure. They may have parted with a church congregation and needed a recommendation that showed they were in good standing to present at the end of their journey. Each of these needs and actions may have produced a record. Researchers should think about any types of documents, even journals and personal records, that may have been generated during the decision-making process and leading up to departure.
Perhaps the girl and her family traveled through several borders before making their way to Hamburg where they boarded a ship to South Africa. Each of those ports or countries may have records. The passenger list for the ship may show the make-up of the group was not the same as when they left Denmark. Maybe someone died. Maybe the group chose their path because they were hoping family members would join them; since they visited loved ones along the way, the group grew in number.
As the girl gets to her final destination, she starts the immigration process. What records would have been generated when she came into South Africa? Would her information have been documented under her father’s name? What was the process? Did she become a citizen? Establishing a new home may mean property transactions, new employment, and other events that could lead to documents. Try to think beyond the legal requirements. Did she join a church? Those are important questions that could be explored, but there are many more opportunities for discoveries during a time of change. Maybe the girl met someone on the ship and there was a wedding on board or shortly after arrival. Perhaps more siblings were born along the way. Asking questions like these will help a researcher examine possibilities and avoid something important being overlooked.