Hi, There are a set of books that show the arrival of various ships and boats into the ports of America -- each are indexed by EACH book (the ships they had indexed then) so you have to go through them all -- if there is a total compilation of these indexes I have not found it yet, but you may find it in the Washington DC library since they probably would have it while a little library like Dayton, OH wouldn't). Anyway, look for the surname and variations of this in the timeframe when he supposedly came into America and the ports he probably came into (like Philadelphia, NY, Norfolk VA, etc but remember the ones up in Canada too since he could have traveled by small boats via rivers and/or foot and wagon/horseback, etc). But if they said by your legends handed down by family that he came in at Norfolk, then start there, but considering he was said to have been "born in Maine" I would concentrate more up that direction since he probably lived there at some time or other, especially since Nova Scoatia is closer to Maine than Norfolk. As for the records -- REMEMBER that the census is usually not 100% correct since they started early and sometimes ended late and would take word of mouth from children, spouses, neighbors and anyone who thought they knew the answer if the person wasn't available to answer. The civil war record was usually filled out by the individual filling it out -- so usually more accurate. Obits and grave stones are also usually not always not always correct. Good example of this is that my first husband thought I was born in Buffalo New York (told persons this including census form) -- next census my second husband said I was born in San Antonio, Texas -- BOTH were wrong since I was born in Battle Creek, Mich!!! Same with obits and cemetery stones -- my sister was telling info for my mother and half of what she was giving was WRONG!!! She hadn't paid attention when mama and daddy had talked and so dates, places, maiden names, etc. were all wrong. I had to correct her and we got into fight right there in the office -- but she finally realized since I had done the research and family tree that I was correct and so it was ONLY because I had the records that the obit and cemetery stone had the correct info -- otherwise they both would have been wrong. So -- just "listening" to your info I would go with the Nova Scotia data since he had this on the Civil War records (have you requested a copy of his entire records -- especially if he drew a pension since they sometimes have his statements, marriage and birth records, statements of family and friends, etc. in them???) and then go from there. Now the court systems were different than they are now -- and if he wanted to be Naturalized, THIS is the way I would go if I personally were hunting for his birth place since most persons were VERY PROUD of their heritage back then -- they may not have completed the naturalization, but they usually at least filed the first papers to get it started. Various counties did this different back then, but most had a travelling judge who would come to the courthouse specific dates of the week/month and they would get these naturalization papers filed (usually 2 sets, but I have found sometimes more -- especially if they moved from one locality to another -- one is saying they want to be naturalized (the intent) and the other is the final naturalization one. On these it usually says when they entered the USA and HOW, what port, the date, etc. and where they were born, etc. Since you are in Washington DC and have access to the Naturalization records -- try checking for these -- I believe you will have more success with them (and faster) than with the immigration ones (unless you are actually talking about the naturalization records when you mentioned immigration -- but usually when I hear word immigration I think of the ports of immigration records, so I may have misunderstood your email). Just curious -- you mentioned one census -- do ALL the census records say MAINE??? Hope something helps - Good luck, Judy Sandage Murphy http://www.imagine2020.com/770391902 earn money online Save up to 35% on health items like coral calcium? > Are there such things as immigration records from the late 1830s? I ask as I > only have obit info on my paternal great-great-grandfather, John James Young > of Norfolk, VA (city). Later census records cite Maine as his birthplace, but > a civil war transcription (with a couple of other mixed up "errors") say he > was born in 1817 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Then when I located his > obit, I suspect he wrote it himself! But it too says Nova Scotia. The > elaborate writeup speaks of him as a seaman who came into port at Norfolk as a Nova > Scotian, later deciding to live there and marry, which he did in 1842. He > commanded a group called Young's Harborguard in the civil war. > > Would anyone have any clues or direction for locating an immigration record? > I live and work in Washington, DC, so if your suggestion is DAR or NARS I can > do that. I've been "hanging" in the DAR Library at lunchtime of late and > found a few records but nothing that would "verify" what is in the obit. > > Katie Holland > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at > http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html > Want to earn money online? Save up to 35% on health items like coral calcium? Then go to our website and find out how: http://www.imagine2020.com/770391902 Thanks Reid & Judy To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html