LibGuides: AMST/ENGL 3559 : Moving On: Migration in/to US: Home

Research Using Library Databases

The UVA Library subscribes to hundreds of databases that contain scholarly resources not available on the free web. Access to most of these databases is restricted to current members of the UVA community. If you will be accessing materials from off Grounds, you will be prompted to sign in with NetBadge when using these resources. For some resources, you may need to use the VPN - see tab on left side menu for more information.

The best way to connect to the library's databases is through the research portal. This page provides a list of recommended databases, ebooks, and freely available online resources. There are many more resources available that might be useful.

If you would like research help, Sherri is available for meetings virtually using Zoom. You can schedule an appointment with me by clicking the button in my information box to the left, by selecting a day/time on my Make an Appointment page, or by
contacting me directly at sherri.brown@virginia.edu. When you make an appointment, I will send you a Zoom link for us to meet. If Zoom will not work for you, please email me and we will find another option for meeting. Need help right away? Please contact a librarian using one of our Ask a Librarian options.

UVA Library Genealogy Resources

See Jean Cooper's Powerpoint slides (below) for a full list of recommended sites and resources for genealogical research. Also, remember to use Dr. Goff's Ancestry account when you actually need to make your family tree (for research you can use the library edition). Email Jean if you have questions about your genealogy research.

Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Ancestry Library Edition is an academic version of ancestry.com. There are images of original documents and includes narratives, oral histories, indexes and abstracts to other resources. Over 30,000 Ancestry.com record collections and 11 billion records available to search. Record collections span the 1500s–2000s.

FamilySearch.org
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides FamilySearch free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation. FamilySearch resources help millions of people around the world discover their heritage and connect with family members."
FindaGrave.com
"At Find a Grave you’ll find details about cemeteries and individual memorials for many people buried in those cemeteries. Memorials generally include birth, death and burial information and may include pictures, biographies, family information and more."
DPLA CIty Directories
Search in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) for City Directories from across the country.

Census - Genealogy (Name Rolls)
by Trillian Hosticka Last Updated Sep 19, 2024 108 views this year
Genealogy
by Reference Team Last Updated Sep 24, 2024 11867 views this year

Getting Started with Genealogy Research
Jean Cooper's Powerpoint slides from September 22 class session.

UVA Access to Digitized/Digital Newspapers

The following are some of the ways to access newspapers through the UVA Library - there are more! If you cannot find a newspaper you're looking for, get in touch and we'll help see if we might have access to what you need.

New York Times This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1851 - current
Online access to the New York Times includes full entry to the archives from 1851 to present day. Features include Spanish and Chinese editions plus hundreds of articles published in other languages and access to The New York Times Magazine. There is a 5 PDF download limit per day.
Users must be On-Grounds or have their VPN turned on and then will have to create an account with NYTimes. Access does not include Cooking, Games/Crosswords, or The Athletic.
API available, more information here: APIs for Scholarly Research
Chronicling America This link opens in a new window
Chronicling America allows you to search and view millions of American historic newspapers, published 1836-1922 as well as discover more about newspapers published in the U.S., 1690-present.
API available, more information here: APIs for Scholarly Research
Virginia Chronicle This link opens in a new window
Virginia Chronicle is the Library of Virginia's online newspaper database and repository, and contains over 46,000 individual issues totaling nearly 300,000 pages.
Access World News This link opens in a new window
This comprehensive news collection is ideal for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national and international level. Its diverse source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos. It currently contains over 9,600 sources from 160 countries.

Databases for Finding Articles for Context

America: History & Life (1964-present) This link opens in a new window
Covers the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to present with records from 2,000 English-language journals published worldwide. Includes book reviews.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Find articles about the history of the world from 1450 to the present, published in over 2,000 journals from many countries. Includes book reviews. Does not include articles about the US or Canada. For these see America: History & Life.

Primary Source Collections

Search Virgo and the finding aids on the Special Collections Library site for primary source materials held at UVA in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Email Krystal with questions about UVA Special Collections materials that might be relevant to your research.
Below are some digital resources - both UVA-licensed and free - that might help provide context for your family histories and connections to migrations. For resources more specific to your topic of interest, contact Sherri for research help.

Migration to New Worlds This link opens in a new window
Migration to New Worlds explores the movement of peoples from Great Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe and Asia to the New World and Australasia. Split across two modules, and including collections from 26 archives, libraries and museums, Migration to New Worlds brings together the movement and memories of millions across two centuries of mass migration.
Gateway to North America: The People, Places, and Organizations of 19th-Century New York This link opens in a new window
This unique collection features over 1500 residential and business directories, organization records, urban guidebooks, and other sources rich in names and places that present a history of the people of New York City from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth century. New York was long the country’s focal point of industry, trade, commerce and immigration, and this collection features materials that track the city's inhabitants over time and place, where they lived, where they worked, and what they did. It also includes residential, trade, and occupational directories, membership lists for churches, professional groups, philanthropic and governmental institutions, ethnic organizations, and leisure clubs.

DPLA - Immigration since 1840
Collections in the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) that discuss immigration to the United States since the mid-nineteenth century.
Immigration History Research Center (University of Minnesota)
Access immigrant oral histories and digital collections of migration-related materials.
Immigration History - List of Archival Databases and other Historical Sources
This page, a project of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society and University of Texas Austin lists a number of links to sites that may be of interest, depending on your topic/focus.

Finding items using Virgo

Virgo, the UVA Library’s primary search tool, contains catalog records for books, print journals, DVDs, maps, and digitized materials, as well as links to online articles from our rich array of subscription journals. You can also search for items in Special Collections through Virgo.

Example subject terms/keyword searches:

Emigration and immigration
Forced Migration
Immigrants - interviews
Immigrants - social conditions
Immigration enforcement
Migration, Internal
Refugees
Undocumented immigrants

Example Books on Migration Topics

Below are just a few of many examples of books available that discuss migration in some way. You can search for a particular title or author if you know it, or use the subject term recommendations above to get started searching in Virgo for relevant materials. Limit your format to Online and/or EBook to find books available for online reading. Many ebooks have a search feature and/or index that will help you find sections relevant to your research topic.