Category: Immigration and Naturalization Tips

Using the 1930 Census to Push Through Immigration Roadblocks

While building a family tree for a friend, her grandmother, Beatrice Elizabeth Robinson was a dead-end for me. She was born in England in the early 1900s. She was living with her in-laws in Marshalltown, Iowa in the 1930s with her husband (Otto Pull) & children. It was easy to establish facts about her life from 1930 and later, but information about her life in England and subsequent immigration was challenging.

  • Born in England
  • Married At Age 19
  • Father Born in England
  • Mother Born in England
  • Immigration Year 1923
  • Naturalization- Alien
Beatrice E. Robinson (Maiden Name)

I was able to establish her maiden name was Robinson when I found her social security information. I then began looking for a woman named Beatrice Elizabeth Robinson, born around 1907 (from the census) who arrived in the United States in 1923 from England and found this…

This Beatrice Robinson had two brothers, John, and George, and a sister-in-law, Martha Robinson. The next of kin information was an aunt named Mrs. Riding in Liverpool, England. The sister-in-law’s father was Samuel Lee in Gloucester, England. On the far right side, the Robinson children were heading to Davenport, Iowa. The sister-in-law was going to Detroit, Michigan. I proceeded to add these individuals to my tree and began researching each of them. I needed more information to determine if this was the correct family.

If this was Beatrice Robinson and her brothers, why was their aunt listed as their contact in Liverpool? Had their parents died? Did they move to the United States with an older brother and his wife? Why were the children going to Davenport, Iowa, while the sister-in-law was going to Michigan?

I began researching George N. Robinson, born around 1913 in Liverpool, living in Davenport, Iowa around 1930. I found this…

This was them! Their parents must have left the children with an aunt while they settled in the United States. There is a transcription error on this census and the mother should read Elizabeth Robinson, not Engla Penninger.

Never give up. When you hit a brick wall, go back to all of the documents you have and look for clues you may have overlooked. If you have an ancestor who immigrated from another country, check the immigration records. If you find someone who might fit, research them until you prove or disprove them.

Alien Files Valuable Genealogy Records-Easy Access

A few weeks ago I was researching an immigrant who arrived in the United States from Mexico in 1916.  While searching for the name, the following record was suggested:

U.S., Index to Alien Case Files at the National Archives at Kansas City, 1944-2003

The record included Name, Birth Date, Arrival Date, Country of Origin, and Registration Number.

A-Files are an incredible source of information so I began the process of requesting this record.   Only A-Files with numbers less than 8 million can be requested by genealogists.   In order to request higher record numbers, a request has to be submitted via the USCIS Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Program.   If you are not able locate the A-File number, it can be researched and might be in an immigrant’s personal papers or on court naturalization records index card.  A-numbers above 8 million can be researched by submitting an Index Search Request on form G-1041.

To begin the process of requesting the record (if the A-File number is less than 8 million), go to National Archives Catalog Search and type in the name of the person you are searching.  You might have to try different spelling variations of the name to find the person you want.  When you find them, there will be information about the records they have and the location of the records.  The record I was researching gave me the email address to the Kansas facility and the following information:

National Archives Identifier: 0000000 (redacted)
Local Identifier: A0000000/000-00-0000/Box 8 (redacted)
Creator(s): Department of Justice. Immigration and Naturalization Service. 6/14/1940-3/1/2003  (Most Recent)
From: Series: Alien Case Files, 1944 – 2003
Record Group 566: Records of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2003 – 2004

I emailed them at: Afiles.KansasCity@nara.gov and included the name of the person I was researching and the numbers listed above.  The next day I received an email letting me know who the case was assigned to.  Within a week, I received an email indicating the record they had pulled with a few tidbits of information to make sure they had the correct person.  I was instructed to reply to the email if I wanted this record and was told to call the researcher to arrange payment of $40.00.  Approximately two days later, I received a link to 68 pages of detailed information.  All of the information was in PDF format and readily downloadable.  The entire process took less than ten days.