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Early 20th Century GenealogyAbrams Collection Genealogy Highlights New millenniums tend to worry people. Yet the truth be told, no one year can be that radically different than the year before. So what was so special about the dawn of the 20th century? Not that much, except perhaps the mindset of the people who experienced it. Civil War veterans were aging, many passing away, but plenty lived to experience the first decades of the 20th century. Technology was advancing, like it had since man first used tools; steam engines had been used in the United States since 1804. Day-by-day changes were gradual, but the public's ability to witness them increased. Fast and safe transportation allowed people to travel longer distances more often, allowing people to see the advancements in technology. More people could travel to the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, the Palace of Machinery and Electricity at the World's Fair in 1904 and The Century of Progress exhibit in 1933-1934. These expositions were "Progress Made Visible" prior to television, and the American population could take them in through travel or popular weekly journals. Americans themselves changed as well over the decades. While the rate of immigration remained fairly constant, the makeup of the immigrants changed. In 1890, 1,871,509 immigrants identified themselves as Irish. By 1930, this number had dropped to 744,810. German immigrants numbered 2,784,894 in 1890 and only 1,608,814 in 1930. The larger groups, which resettled in the United States in the early 20th century, hailed in a good part from Eastern and Southern Europe. 6,185 Spanish immigrants arrived in 1890, while 59,362 came to stay in 1930. In 1890, 182,644 folks traveled from Russia; in 1930 that number had increased to 1,153,628. Other significant increases came from Italy, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Africa and Mexico. Where Americans lived also changed. In the first two centuries of the American experience, families could simply move west to acquire more land for less money. By the turn of the 20th century, most of that inexpensive land had been taken up with a few exceptions. While the immigration rate stayed steady, the population did not, nor did the economic base of the country. In 1890, well after the launch of the Industrial Revolution, 64 percent of Americans lived in rural areas. By 1930 only 43.8 percent lived in the countryside. The majority of Americans now lived in cities and no longer farmed. This new face of America resulted in political, social, religious and labor changes, which poses some challenges for genealogical researchers as well as some new resources yet to be fully utilized. Clicking on the links in the list of resources below will take you directly to the ANSWER catalog record for that item. General ReadingCaplow, Theodore. First Measured Century: An Illustrated Guide to Trends in America, 1900-2000. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2001. Diner, Steven. Very Different Age: Americans of the Progressive Era. New York: Hill and Wang, 1998. Gregory, Ross and Richard Balkin, eds. Modern America, 1914 to 1945. New York: Facts On File, 1995.
Goldberg, David Joseph. Discontented America: The United States in the 1920s. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. Hoff-Wilson, Joan. Twenties: The Critical Issues. Boston: Little Brown, 1972. Kyvig, David E. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939: Decades of Promise and Pain. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 2002. Public History Resource Center Ward, David. Poverty, Ethnicity and the American City, 1840-1925: Changing Conceptions of the Slum and the Ghetto. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Williams, Whiting. What's On the Worker's Mind, by One Who Put On Overalls to Find Out, Whiting Williams. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1920. Weinberg, Lila and Arthur Weinberg, eds. Muckrakers: The Era In Journalism that Moved America to Reform, the Most Significant Magazine Articles of 1902-1912. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961. AdoptionAskin, Jayne. Search: A Handbook For Adoptees and Birthparents, 3rd Edition. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1998. Carangelo, Lori. The Ultimate Search Book: Worldwide Adoption, Genealogy & Other Search Secrets. 2000 ed. Palm Desert, CA: Access Press, 2000. Flango, Victor E. and Carol R. Flango. Flow of Adoption Information from the States. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts. 1994. Klunder, Virgil L. Lifeline: The Action Guide to Adoption Search. Cape Coral, FL: Caradium Publishing, 1991. Michigan Adoption Resources Exchange Michigan Central Adoption Registry State of Michigan, Department of Human Services Wegar, Katarina. Adoption, Identity and Kinship: The Debate Over Sealed Birth Records. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. MilitaryFirst World War.Com: The War to End All Wars www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/ veterans_service_records.html Newman, John J. Uncle, We Are Ready! Registering America's Men 1917-1918: A Guide to Researching World War I Draft Registration Cards. North Salt Lake, UT: Heritage Quest, 2001. Library of Michigan. World War I Draft Registration Cards Michigan. Lansing: Library of Michigan, 2004. Veteran's History Project Oral HistoryGreene, Bob. To Our Children's Children: Preserving Family Histories For Generations to Come. New York: Doubleday, 1993. Zimmerman, William. How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies: Capture Your Family's Living History for Future Generations. Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1999. Michigan Oral History Association ImmigrationAbraham, Sameer Y. and Nabeel Abraham, eds. Arabs in the New World: Studies on Arab-American Communities. Detroit: Wayne State University, 1983. Baba, Marietta Lynn and Malvina Hauk Abonyi. Mexicans of Detroit. Detroit: Wayne State University Center for Urban Studies. 1979. Davis, Marilyn P. Mexican Voices/American Dreams: An Oral History of Mexican Immigration to the United States. New York: H. Holt, 1990. Gutiérrez, David Gregory. Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995. Inbound Passenger Manifests, Crew Lists, Together With Related Forms I-489, and Customs Forms 7507 and 7509, arranged in Chronological Order and Alphabetically by Name of Vessel Or Airline, at Detroit Michigan on or After December 1, 1954: Immigration Records, 1954-1957. Bountiful, UT: Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1954-1957. Namias, June, ed. First Generation: In the Words of Twentieth-century American Immigrants. Boston: Beacon Press, 1978. Obee, Dave. Destination Canada: A Guide to 20th Century Immigration Records. Victoria, BC: D. Obee, 2001. Øverland, Orm. Immigrant Minds, American Identities: Making the United States Home, 1870-1930. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Passenger Manifests Inbound-Alien Crew Lists, With Related Forms I-489, Customs Forms 7507 and 7509, Forms I-489 at the Port of Detroit, Michigan. Dated Prior to December 1, 1954, and Arranged in Chronological Order: Immigration Records, 1946-1954. Bountiful, UT: Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1946-1954. Petrykevich, Jaroslava Maria. Study of the Development of Ukrainian Organizations in Metropolitan Detroit. Detroit: J. Petrykevich, 1971. Wyman, David S. Paper Walls: America and the Refugee Crisis, 1938-1941. New York: Pantheon Books, 1985. Zaleski, Jan Steven. Guide to Records of Border Crossings Between the United States & Canada, 1895-1954. Detroit: J.S. Zaleski, 1993. Updated 08/02/2011 |
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