Polish Emigration
Where to Start
PGS-MN member, John Kowles, wrote an article in the Summer 2004 issue of the PGS-MN Newsletter (page 1), which is a great overview of issues involved with Polish Emigration.
Some of the resources below were compiled by Jay Biedny in the Spring 2016 issue (page 4) of the PGS-MN newsletter.
Books
| TItle | Author | Date Published | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| They Came in Ships | John Philip Colletta | Third edition (2002) | |
| Ships of Our Ancestors | Michael J. Anuta | January 1, 1983 | |
Polish Immigration to America – When, Why, How and Where | Steven Szabados | 2017 | |
| Germans to America – Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports | Ira A. Glazier and William P. Filby | 1988-2002 | This is a series of 67 books, each of which are expensive – it is best to check libraries. The series covers the years from 1850-1897 and includes ships that left from German ports. The link here is an online index to the Germans to America series. A link to an article that explains the Germans to America series can be found here. |
PGS-MN Newsletter Articles
| Newsletter Issue | Page | Title/Author |
|---|---|---|
| Winter 2011 | 1 | From Plotzk to Boston by Mary Antin |
| Winter 2012 | 1 | Six Ships to America by Jay Biedny |
| Winter 2012 | 17 | The Emigrant Ship by Francis A Durivage. |
| Fall 2013 | 12 | Extensive Book Review (written by John Rys): Round-Trip to America – The Immigrants Return to Europe (1880-1930) by Mark Wyman, Cornell University Press, 1993 |
Other Articles
Websites
| Website | DEscription |
|---|---|
| Ship index.org | This site is a portal index to ships mentioned in other publications. An excellent tool for that small, odd ship on your list. |
| Red Star Line | In 2013, a non-profit organization renovated the Red Star Lines departure areas in Antwerp into a museum that exhibits the actual immigrant experience. The Line brought some 2 million passengers to America. The site does not contain searchable records of passage. |
| FamilySearch Hamburg Passenger Lists | The Hamburg Passenger Lists (1850-1934), the ones created on the German side before passengers left Europe, still exist and have been loaded into a great data base accessible through Ancestry.com. This site explains the materials and their organization. |
| Ballinstadt Museum | The great emigration exhibition is the core of the BallinStadt or “Port of Dreams”. This multi-building museum in Hamburg, explores the minds and backgrounds of the 4 million emigrants who used the North German Lloyd Line (HAPAG) to come to America. |
| Bremerhaven Museum | This organization has a physical museum and is working on an immigration super data base of all immigration departures from all German ports. Currently the data base is only accessible at the museum. |
| Steve Morse | This site will help you search many different passenger lists in one step. Also great for non-immigration information. |
| Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island passenger lists | Over 50 million passenger records for New York harbor from 1892-1954 searchable by name for free. |
| Castle Garden | Over 10 million passenger records for New York harbor from 1855- 1890 searchable by name for free. |
| Baltimore Port | This site gives a general overview of the Locust Point immigration station in Baltimore, MD. |
| Immigrant Ships.net | Has excellent information on ships manifests back to 1820. Volunteers transcribe and post entire ships manifests. |
| The Ships List | This is a very helpful site with lots of British and European information including ship pictures of the larger lines. |
| Polish Immigrants to Canada | This website provides information about Polish immigrants to Quebec, Canada. Some relatives of these immigrants continued on to Minnesota. Grosse Île was a Quarantine location downstream from Quebec to handle immigrants with infectious diseases. Information about Grosse Île can be found here. |
Arrival in the United States
