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Most family searches stop at the port of arrival. The name of the village is almost always written somewhere: on a naturalization paper, a ship list, a draft card. We show you which record, for your dates, and where to find it.
- In the country of arrivalFind the record that names the hometown.
- In the country of originOpen the birth, marriage and parish registers of that town.
- On the spotWrite to the town hall, then plan the trip.
Research services we recommend
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FamilySearch
Billions of indexed records worldwide, including all U.S. World War I draft cards with birthplace and nearest relative. Searching records requires signing in to a free account.
Search FamilySearchAncestry
Naturalization records, U.S. passenger lists (1820 to 1959), border crossings from Canada, passport applications and draft cards, in one place. Free trial offered on sign-up.
See Ancestry's immigration recordsMyHeritage
Strong and growing European collections (Germany, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and more) and automatic record matching. 14-day free trial of the Complete plan.
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The largest online archive of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish records, with British and Irish newspapers. 7-day free trial on the Irish site.
Try FindmypastSpokeo
Searches U.S. public records to reconnect with living cousins in the United States, once your tree points to them. U.S. residents only.
Search on SpokeoFamilySearch is free and pays us nothing. Links to Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast and Spokeo may be paid links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Spokeo searches public records about people living in the United States only. It is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and must not be used for employment, tenant, credit or insurance screening.