Immigration Restriction and Genealogy

China Pavilion, Epcot

For the past several years I have pitched a talk to genealogy conferences on "unwanted ancestors" which would provide an introduction to anti-immigration feeling in the United States and how that might have impacted an ancestor's life. As an immigration historian, I know that as a country we have not always been so welcoming to immigrants and the present difficulties are really more of the same. I've always thought such a talk would provide family historians with a greater understanding of the world in which our ancestors lived. This talk has been routinely rejected, although perhaps I'll see a change this year since I have given the talk a new title and a spruced-up outline. 

In the meantime, I am heartened (or disheartened depending upon your viewpoint) by this story from NPR's Code Switch which demonstrates that American anti-immigration laws have had a direct impact on the ability of Chinese-American families to accurately document their family histories. 

Family Trees on the Internet

Do they belong in your family tree?

This NPR story, broadcast in February 2014, highlights a significant problem with using the internet to do genealogy: family trees that are all wrong. Granted badly researched trees and falsified family trees have always existed. The convenience of the web now makes it much easier to find them and connect to them on FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com and similar sites.

So beware of family trees you find online and use them as clues to guide your research. Always ask yourself if the appearance of a particular person in an online tree makes sense geographically, chronologically, and historically.


With thanks to Genealogists.com who posted a link to this story on their Facebook page.

Stories of 21st Century Immigrants

The July 4th episode of NPR's Alt.Latino features a discussion with Achy Obejas, co-editor of Immigrant Voices. 21st Century Stories and readings from several of the stories. I like that Obejas points out that the immigrant experience actually begins in the home county, something we tend to forget about in America. She makes a further point that immigranting in the 21st century is much different than in previous times: much more is known about America now, it is easier to keep in touch with the home country, and it is easier to return.

The stories evoke the experiences of immigrants from a range of countries including Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Iran. Maybe listening to these modern stories will inspire you to learn about one of your immigrant ancestors, how their immigration story began, and how they adjusted (or not) to America.