Another vague message!!!!

[A Lee]

Is it easy to find out if someone ever emigrated? I have no idea when the person I'm looking for was born, just a possible surname!!!!!!! I know they were in London at some point in about 1920 after that I've no idea.

[Geoffers]

Is it easy to find out if someone ever emigrated? I have no idea when the person I'm looking for was born, just a possible surname!!!!!!! I know they were in London at some point in about 1920 after that I've no idea.

I would think you've got a long search. If the name is Smith, Jones, Wright, etc, and you have nowt else - it is to all intents and purposes impossible. If the name is something like Cholmondley-Farqhuar you may stand more chance.

Possibly one place to begin might be the list of passports issued, held at The National Archives (TNA) in London in document class FO610. You might then hope that they emigrated sometime soon afterwards and if you can guess which port they may have used, then try BT32 (lists of ships leaving port) and BT27 (outward passenger lists) at TNA.

If they landed in the USA, there's the Ellis Island web-site.

As you can see, it's a long shot. I hope someone can think of something simpler.

Good luck
Geoffers

[Lenore]

Is it easy to find out if someone ever emigrated? I have no idea when the person I'm looking for was born, just a possible surname!!!!!!! I know they were in London at some point in about 1920 after that I've no idea.

My favorite method of locating missing persons such as you mention is to look in the death notices of relations, especially parents and grandparents, but also aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers.

So if a parent died after 1920, you check the death notices, and it might say something like:
"Fred Nerk, dearly beloved father of Nellie (Mrs White, Tottenham), George (dec), Percy (New Zealand) and Mary (Mrs Cholmondelay, India) ."

Sometimes these things can be very detailed.

Anyway, that's my best idea. Or check the wills of any parents or grandparents, cousins, sisters and aunts, etc, etc. Rather than rushing about in the dark, check all the records you can closest to family events. Did this person ever witness a marriage, become a godparent, send a telegram to a bridal couple (do people still keep these things?) I seem to remember my mother still having cards and keepsakes from her marriage in 1949 - haven't spied them lately, of course, but they could still be in a shoebox somewhere.

Best wishes,

Lenore