What's Happening
Wednesday, September 2 at 10:00 am, in the Ocotillo Room: The "Back Door" into America (1815–1924).
Between 1815 and 1924, hundreds of thousands of immigrants entered the U.S. via Canada rather than Ellis Island. With no passport control until 1895 and spotty enforcement through 1908, many ancestors left no traditional port-of-entry manifest.
Join us to learn the history of "back door" migration from Canada into the U.S.:
Track the Historical Waves of Migration: Between 1815 and 1920, consecutive waves of Canadians and displaced European immigrants bypassed direct U.S. ports to quietly cross the northern border into the United States.
Border Crossings: Since the border was completely unmonitored until 1895, how does this affect genealogists trying to trace ancestors who slipped south from Canada without leaving a federal arrival manifest?
Research Strategy: Build a step-by-step plan to trace ancestors who crossed a border nobody was tracking.
