Finding Ancestors Who Were Immigrants to the US from Russia, Germany, Ireland and Italy

Most of what's in the US National Archives is, well, in the National Archives. It's just sitting in boxes and file drawers, or immortalized on microfilm.

But a few large files from NARA (as they're known) have made it online, and are terrific tools for researching your family history. They include the following immigration files.

• Immigration of Russians to the United States, 1834-1897


• Passengers Who Arrived in New York During the Irish Potato Famine, 1846-1851


• Immigration of Germans to the United States, 1850-1897


• Immigration of Italians to the United States, 1855-1900
  

Note that many immigrants from other countries are included in these files, mostly because they sailed on a ship that left from someplace other than their home country.

All told, there are more than six million records here... a rich resource for anyone searching their family history who may have ancestors who made their way to the US from Europe in the 19th century.

Don't forget to also check for your family history at Ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive.com. Yes, these are subscription databases, but they are also among the most powerful research tools available for looking into family roots.

Guess which country he immigrated from.