7 Replies Latest reply on May 3, 2020 4:18 PM by Rebecca Collier

Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent

Jeanette Lawlor Apr 24, 2020 10:07 AM

How would I find the official immigration records for a now deceased parent who entered the country illegally from Canada (abt July 1929)? He was then caught leaving the country thru Port Huron, Michigan (abt 20 Nov, 1932) as a married man under a false name with his unwitting wife. He managed to escape immigration custody and enter Canada. He remarried his wife in Canada (12 Dec, 1932) under his true name. Then he travelled to Ireland with his wife, and then re-entered at Boston, Massachusetts ( 10 June 1933) as an alien who last resided in Canada. Complicated to explain, but on 6 July, 1933, immigration officers from Port Huron questioned his wife’s parents about his whereabouts and then continued to investigate him. Eventually. they met up and an agreement was reached. He was not prosecuted for his past transgressions. I’d like to read the official record. He was naturalized in 1946. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent

Alice Lane Apr 24, 2020 3:17 PM (in response to Jeanette Lawlor)

Hi Jeanette Lawlor,
Would you care to share his/her names.
Alice
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- Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent
  
  Jeanette Lawlor Apr 25, 2020 3:38 PM (in response to Alice Lane)
  
  Hi Alice, His name is Peter Patrick Lawlor, born 17 March 1904 in Dublin Ireland. He married my mother (Edith June Bird b. 19 June 1909) in or near chicago around feb 1931 under the name of Perry Cavanaugh and again 12 Dec 1932 in Toronto Canada. They are both deceased. I have found the second marriage record, but not the first, also found his naturalization record, but what I’d really like to see is the agreement he made with INS. Thanks for any help you can give me! Jeanette
  
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  - Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent
    
    Alice Lane Apr 26, 2020 1:27 PM (in response to Jeanette Lawlor)
    
    Hi again,
    I found that a Peter Patrick Lawlor was married in Dublin in 1924. Is this the same person. This was a hint left by family search. Alice
    
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    - Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent
      
      Jeanette Lawlor Apr 26, 2020 5:45 PM (in response to Alice Lane)
      
      Hi Alice, No, this is not my father. I found that marriage record on Irishgenealogy.ie The Peter Patrick in this records father’s name was James and from that I found his birth record in Dublin to verify he’s not Dad. Although, I did find a marriage record for my Dad in County Mayo, 1924, and he did marry a Margaret, but her last name was Walsh. Guess he was a “Marrying” kinda guy!
      
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Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent

Alice Lane Apr 25, 2020 11:39 PM (in response to Jeanette Lawlor)

Hi Jeanette,
So far I have found Peter Lawlor entering Canada in 1929.
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists-border-entry-1925-1935/Pages/item…
There is an Edith Lawlor but she is listed as 39 years old born in England
Are you familiar with the website? Lots of Canada information. you might find what you are looking for there.
Good luck in your search.
Alice
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- Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent
  
  Jeanette Lawlor Apr 26, 2020 5:57 PM (in response to Alice Lane)
  
  Hi Alice,
  Yes this Peter Lawlor entering Canada in 1929 is definitely Dad. He entered Canada as a tourist, and then pulled a sneaky trick to get into the U.S. He only succeeded in fooling immigration for a few years and I’m thinking his “trick” was his negotiating tool to get immigration to let him stay if he told them how he kept sneaking in.
  Since immigration spent a lot of time looking for him and then negotiated with him I’m thinking there should be some sort of record for all that activity. That’s the record I’m looking for.
  Well, also the record of his marriage to my mother under the false name of Perry Cavanaugh in about Feb of 1931.
  Thanks so much for looking for me, and if you find more info I would be delighted to see it, Jeanette
  
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Re: Seeking immigration & naturalization records of deceased parent

Rebecca Collier May 3, 2020 4:18 PM (in response to Jeanette Lawlor)

Dear Ms. Lawlor,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

According to the Library and Archives of Canada, the Border Entry Lists for 1925-1935 are arranged by border port and date of entry. If you do not know all of those details, please consult the Immigration Indexes and Research Aids page for nominal indexes. Once you have the complete reference, the Border Entry Lists may be consulted in Digitized Microforms (Archived). The border entry lists that include surnames starting with the letter C have been indexed in the Passenger Lists, 1925-1935 - Nominal Indexes. Please keep in mind that not all immigrants crossing the border were registered. Some crossed when the ports were closed or where no port existed. Many families were not registered because one or both parents had been born in Canada or previously resided here, and they were considered Returning Canadians rather than immigrants. And the Government of Canada did not keep records of people leaving the country. For more information about immigration and marriages, please contact the Library and Archives of Canada, 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4, Canada.

We searched the U.S. National Archives Catalog and located the series Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891 - 1943 [T843. 454 rolls. ] and Book Indexes to Boston Passenger Lists, 1899--1940 [T790. 107 rolls. ] in the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Record Group 85) that include ship passenger forms provided to the INS. We also located the Administrative Files Relating to Naturalization, 1906 - 1944 in Record Group 85 that may include the investigation from Port Huron. For access to T843, T790, and the administrative files, please contact the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at archives1reference@nara.gov.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

T843 has been digitized and is available on Ancestry and FamilySearch. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Archives has partnered with Ancestry to make the vast majority of their NARA-digitized holdings freely available to the public. Anyone with Internet access may create an account, access NARA records, and use other Ancestry resources, such as their educational offerings and family tree-maker application. For more information see Ancestry’s announcement -- “Free At-Home Education Resources From Ancestry® and Access to Nearly 500M National Archives Records”.

For his NIS investigation, we suggest submitting a request through the USCIS Genealogy Program.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!

[Some information provided by Elizabeth Burnes, Subject Matter Expert]

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