European Migration Series
© Julie Goucher, August 2022

This post is part of a series about European Migration. You can read the complete series HERE.

Todays post is about Migration Tips:

1. Be open minded, people were more migratory than we think.
2. Whilst many migration journeys were forever, not all were, some migrants returned home, or migrated elsewhere. Others made repeat trips. Some of the movement was planned, others were made as plans changed or events made further movement necessary.
3. Occupations can be a good way of establishing where someone went to, or what region they came from.
4. Migration is the reason why surnames appear in a variety of places, and that is why One-Name Studies have a global focus.
5. Be creative with how the surname of your ancestors might be spelt. Accents and unfamiliarity with names can play a part in how people are documented.
6. Families may have scattered, migrating to more than one country.
7. Migration might not have been direct, arrival may have been to a port in another country, then travelling over land, or arrival in the destination country, but the journey continuing over land.
8. Global migration policies often impacted and influenced where migration took place.
9. Where people did not migrate to, is just as important as where they did.
10. Understanding the context of our ancestors is vital, as it provides a framework from which we can research

© Julie Goucher, 2016