In previous book reviews, I have mentioned that the British National Archives has produced some wonderful books for searching their records. All the books I have covered so far have been on UK military history and relevant documents for genealogical research. Unfortunately, the British Archives is no longer in the publishing business. Once these books are gone, they are likely gone forever. However, while a few are still available I wanted to cover one more great book previously published by the Archives, Immigrants and Aliens: A Guide to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship.
We North Americans often think in terms of immigration to the New World but, this has not always been, nor is, the only destination for immigrants. For centuries people have immigrated from all around the world to the UK. “From the medieval times onwards, Jews, Huguenots and religious minorities escaping from persecution” sought refuge in the British Isles. In this volume, records for each group held in the National Archives are fully vetted, making it easier for researches to find, understand, and evaluate each record. Some of the documents even deal with prisoners of war, spies, internees, and deportees.
Many groups over the years have immigrated to the UK. Some specifically mentioned in the book include, as mentioned Jews and Huguenots, also Africans, Asians, Dutch, Irish, the French, the Poles, the Belgians, the Chinese, the Czechs, Germans, Italians, and Gypsies from many countries. There are others as well. Like the U.S. and Canada, the UK really is a melting pot of cultures and people. Over the years rules and controls on the flow of these immigrants varied, as did the associated documentation. Controls existed between 1793 and 1826. From 1850 to 1905 entry was virtually wide open. The early 1900s saw increasing regulations and controls. The Foreward and Introduction provide some historical reference and the information needed to use this book in finding relevant documents.
If you are from the UK, or had ancestors who lived for a time in the UK before moving on to North America, then this book may serve you will in researching UK immigration and citizenship records.
Get a copy of Immigrants and Aliens: A Guide to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: TNA12, Price: $19.55.
Contents
Foreward
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Legislative Framework
1.1 Denizen or native?
1.2 A chronology of key legislation
1.2.1 A chronology of English and British Law
2 Post-Second World War Immigration and British Citizenship
2.1 European immigration
2.2 Colonial immigration pre-1948
2.3 Colonial immigration, 1948-87
2.3.1 Lists of colonial immigrants
2.3.2 Colonial Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office records
2.3.3 Central government response to colonial immigration
2.4 Colonial immigration: post-1962
2.4.1 Expulsion of UK passport holders from Uganda, 1972
2.5 Registration of British citizenship document 1948-87
3 Aliens, Spies, Refugees, Internees and Deportees in the Twentieth Century
3.1 General sources
3.2 Aliens
3.2.1 Home Office records
3.2.2 Police records
3.2.3 Ministry of Labour records
3.3 Spies
3.4 Refugees
3.4.1 Belgian refugees, 1914-19
3.4.2 Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe
3.4.3 The Czechoslovak Refugee Trust, 1939-75
3.4.4 Polish resettlement after the Second World War
3.4.4.1 Polish Resettlement Corps
3.4.4.2 Assistance Board records
3.4.4.3 Committee for the Education of Poles
3.4.4.4 Welfare Department
3.4.4.5 Home Office
3.4.5 Hungarian refugees, 1957
3.5 Internees
3.5.1 First World War
3.5.2 Second World War: policy
3.5.3 Second World War: personal records
3.5.4 Second World War: camps
3.6 Prisoners of war
3.6.1 First World War
3.6.2 Second World War: policy
3.6.3 Second World War: personal records
3.6.4 Second World War: camps
3.6.5 Former prisoners of war, 1945
3.7 Deportees
3.7.1 General sources
3.7.2 Second World War: deportations
4 Certificates of Arrival and Passenger Lists
4.1 Certificates of arrival
4.1.1 1793-1815
4.1.2 1816-25
4.1.3 1826-1905
4.1.4 Other records
4.2 Board of Trade passenger lists
4.2.1 Arrivals, 1878-1960
4.2.2 Departures, 1890-1960
4.2.3 Registers of passenger lists, 1906-51
4.3 Quarantine records
5 Naturalization and Denization
5.1 The law of nationality
5.1.1 Acts of naturalization
5.1.2 Letters of denizen
5.1.3 Denization and naturalization distinctions
5.2 Sources for citizenship policy records
5.2.1 Before 1940
5.2.2 After 1940
5.3 Sources for individual denization and naturalization records, 1509-1987
5.3.1 Documentary sources
5.3.2 Denization documentary sources
5.3.2.1 Signet Office
5.3.2.2 State Paper Office and Chancery records
5.3.2.3 Home Office
5.3.3 Naturalization documentary sources
5.3.3.1 King’s Bench and Exchequer records
5.3.3.2 Colonial Office and Dominions Office
5.3.3.3 Home Office and court of Chancery
5.3.4 Name indexes to citizenship records
5.4 Tracing memorial records
5.4.1 Memorial records: general characteristics
5.4.2 1509-1800
5.4.3 Denizations, 1801-73
5.4.4 Naturalization by Act of Parliament, 1802-1900
5.4.5 Naturalization granted by the Home Office, 1844-1922
5.4.6 Tracing memorial records after 1922
5.4.7 Tracing unsuccessful applications
5.5 Tracing Acts of Parliment and letters patent
5.5.1 General characteristics
5.5.2 Denizations by letters patent, 1509-1873
5.5.3 Naturalization by Act of Parliament, 1509-1873
5.6 Tracing citizenship certificate records, 1844-1987
5.6.1 Certificate records: general characteristics
5.6.2 Naturalization certificates 1844-70
5.6.3 Naturalization certificates 1870-1987
5.6.4 Registration of British citizenship documents 1948-87
5.6.5 Tracing records after 1987
5.7 Other citizenship records
6 Tracing Immigrant Communities
6.1 Irish migration and settlement
6.1.1 Privy Council and Home Office papers
6.1.2 Census returns
6.1.3 Poor Law records
6.1.4 Soldiers’ documents
6.1.5 Canal and railway companies
6.2 The Jewish community
6.2.1 Resettlement
6.2.2 Jewish immigration
6.2.3 Other sources
6.3 The black community
6.3.1 Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor, 1786
6.3.2 Seamen’s records
6.3.3. Other sources
6.4 German immigrants
6.5 Twentieth-century communities
7 Huguenots and Other Refugee Groups
7.1 The Reformation and religious refugees
7.2 Huguenots
7.2.1 State Papers and Privy Council records
7.2.2 Naturalization of foreign Protestants
7.2.3 Registers of foreign Protestants churches
7.2.4 The French Committee
7.3 Palatinate refugees
7.4 French emigres 1789-1815
7.4.1 Bouillon Papers
7.4.2 Calonne Papers
7.4.3 French Refugees and Relief Committee
7.5 Nineteenth-century refugees
7.5.1 Polish refugees
7.5.2 Spanish refugees
7.5.3 Russian and Polish Jews
8 Immigrants and Aliens Before 1800
8.1 Alien merchants and immigrants in the medieval period
8.1.1 Taxation and customs records
8.1.1.1 Alien subsidies
8.1.1.2 Customs
8.1.1.3 Alien priories
8.2 The midieval Jewish community
8.2.1 Taxation of Jews
8.2.2 The expulsion of the Jews
8.3 Aliens and strangers
8.4 Dutch William and German George
8.4.1 Registers of foreign Chapels Royal
8.4.2 Lord Chamberlain’s records
8.4.3 Other records
8.5 Russians
8.6 Alien estates
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Immigration records held in county record offices, other local authority record offices and police archives in England and Wales
Appendix 2: Listing of certificates and declarations of naturalization and British nationality
Appendix 3: Useful addresses and websites
Bibliography
Index