New Historical Records Added in June 2018

We are delighted to announce the addition of 25 million new historical records that were added in June 2018.

These record additions include updates to two of our most exciting collections — The Ellis Island & Other Passenger List collection and The Sweden Household Examination Books collection. We’ve added 16.7 million new records to our Ellis Island & Other Passenger List collection for a whopping total of 113,439,616 records. Our Sweden Household Examination Books now totals 87,401,340 records with this month’s addition of 3.6 million new records.

We have also added two completely new collections, the West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964 and the 1835 Denmark Census collection from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

Collection	Description	Number of Records	Exclusive to MyHeritage	Link to Search
Ellis Island & Other Passenger Lists 1820-1957 Update	List of individuals who arrived at the port of New York from 1820-1957. This update includes crew lists, lists of detained alien passengers, U.S. citizen lists, and lists of aliens held for special inquiry.	16,755,003 records for a total of 113,439,616 records	Not Exclusive	Search collection now
West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964	A death index and death certificates filed in West Virginia from 1853-1964. The index includes the name, gender, date of death, age of death, and often other important information.	5,113,473 records	Not Exclusive	Search collection now
Sweden Household Examination Books, 1860-1930 Update	Records contain information about birth dates, marriages, deaths, and changes in residence, etc.	3,662,252 new records for a total of 87,401,340 records in the collection	Not Exclusive	Search collection now
Denmark Census Records 1835	The 1835 census of Denmark encompasses just the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.	291,798 records	Not Exclusive	Search collection now

Ellis Island & Other New York Passengers Lists Update

We have added 16.7 million additional records to our existing Ellis Island & Other New York Passengers list so that it now contains 113,439,616 records. The collection charts the millions of immigrants who arrived in New York between 1820–1957.

Ellis Island was in operation from 1892-1957 and oversaw more than 12 million immigrants entering the United States during this period.

The collection includes immigration lists from the 72 years that predate the opening of Ellis Island, Ellis Island, Castle Garden from 1855–1890, and The Barge Office, which was in operation from April 19, 1890 – December 31, 1891, and then again from June 15, 1897 – December 18, 1900. These lists serve as an essential resource for those researching their own family’s personal immigration history as well as those eager to gain a broader understanding of immigration to the U.S. during this 138-year time span.

The records include the name, age, gender, occupation, dates, destination, physical descriptions, and information regarding place of origin, e.g., native country, citizenship status, race, nationality, birthplace, or addresses of family members and friends. Depending on the year, additional information may be included. All of the names are searchable, and the rows, pages, and images have been scanned and tagged, thereby providing additional information. Records in this collection come from National Archives (NARA) microfilm collections. This 16.7 million historical record update in June marks the final addition to our Ellis Island & Other New York Passenger List collection and contains primarily crew lists, detained aliens, U.S. citizen lists and lists of aliens held for special inquiry.

Interestingly, many detainees at Ellis Island were women who were traveling alone without a male relative. Women at the time were not admitted to the country until they were accounted for by a husband or male relative. If the male relative didn’t “claim” the woman in person, a telegram was sent to the prospective relative. Only once a response was sent back, were women free to leave for their final destination. The “Cause of Detention” in these cases usually reads “to husb[and],” or to father, mother, sister, brother, brother-in-law (b-i-l), uncle, etc.

“The New York detention-room, Ellis Island” The New York Public Library Digital Collections, 1898-1902.

Below is the Ellis Island record of Irving Berlin, famous songwriter and composer of “God Bless America” and “White Christmas”. Berlin emigrated from Russia with his family at 5 years old and arrived at Ellis Island under the name Israel Beilin on September 14, 1893. Berlin went on to compose 1,500 songs, 19 Broadway shows, and 18 Hollywood movies. He died in New York at the age of 101.

Ellis Island Record of Irving Berlin (Israel Beilin)

Our own Mike Mansfield, Director of Content Operations at MyHeritage gave an insightful webinar detailing the history of Ellis Island and the family history discoveries he made through this collection.

You can watch the webinar here.

To learn more on our exclusive Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger List records and see some additional sample records, please see our original blog post here.

Search the Ellis Island and Other Passenger records collection here.

West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964

The West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964, is a compendium of 5,113,473 records. This collection is unique in that it offers high-quality images and scans of death certificates that include not only the name and date of death but many additional details regarding the person such as cause of death, marital status, birth date, burial date, cemetery, and details about the decedent’s occupation, spouse, father, and mother. Some of this information is indexed, and some can only be found by examining the image of the death certificate itself. The index and images of the West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964, are provided by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

From this collection is the death certificate of famed country singer-songwriter, Hank Williams, who passed away in Fayette, West Virginia Jan 1, 1953.

Hank Williams

Hank produced many famous country music singles, 35 of which reached the Billboard Top 10 status. This certificate provides a detailed account of his death, including cause, hospital, and doctor’s name, etc.

Death certificate of Hank Williams

There are upcoming plans to publish both the birth and marriage indexes for West Virginia in the upcoming months.

Search the West Virginia Death Index & Certificates, 1853-1964 collection here.

Sweden Household Examination Books 1860-1930 Update

This 3,662,252 million historical record collection update to the Swedish Household Examination Books marks the final installment of this collection which now totals 87,401,340 records.

The Swedish Household Examination Books serves as the primary source for researching the lives of individuals and families throughout the parishes of Sweden, from the late 1600’s until modern times. The books were arranged by the Swedish Lutheran Church who maintained the official records of the Swedish population until 1991. Each year until 1894, the parish priest would visit each home, first testing each individual’s knowledge of the catechism, and then collecting information about birth dates, marriages, deaths, changes in residence, etc. After 1894, the parish priests continued their visits but tended to be less focused on the doctrinal exams and more focused on collecting population information. These post-1894 records came to be known as the Församlingsbok.

This June installment is comprised of the records of those who were away from home at the time of the original collection.

Found in this collection, is the record of Swedish writer, Johan August Strindberg.

Johan August Strindberg

Johan August Strindberg, born on Jan 22, 1849, was a prolific Swedish playwright and novelist, often termed the “father” of modern Swedish literature. In addition to writing over sixty plays and more than thirty works of fiction, Strindberg was also a renowned expressionist painter.

The record contains information on Strindberg’s birthplace and residence. It also includes his marriage to Sigrid Sofia Mathilda Von Essen on December 30, 1877, and the names of their three children— Carin, Greta, and Hans.

Johan August Strindberg’s birthdate, residence, wife, and children

Search the Sweden Household Examination Books 1860-1930 collection here.

1835 Denmark Census (Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein)

The 291,798 records in this census encompass records collected from those living in the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Information recorded in the census includes name, residence, age, marital status, and either position in family or occupation. Although these Duchies were part of Denmark in 1835, the records themselves were collected in German — a testament to the complicated history of this region.

Henry John Temple Palmerston, a British statesman who specialized in British foreign policy in the mid-19th century, was quoted as saying, “The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third, and I have forgotten all about it.”

Henry John Temple Palmerston

The conflict between the Danes and the Germans over this region played out until the end of The Second Schleswig War on October 30, 1864, marked by the signing of the Treaty of Vienna. The Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were then annexed by Prussia and Austria and ultimately Germany.

Search the 1835 Denmark Census (Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein) collection here.

Summary

All of these exciting collections are now accessible through MyHeritage SuperSearch™. Searching these collections is completely free. A MyHeritage Data subscription is required to view records from these collections and to save them to your family tree or to confirm Record Matches. Enjoy searching through these collections and do let us know what you uncover in the comments below!