Findmypast launched the United States, Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954 database on Friday, and ever since I’ve been trying to figure out the difference between this collection and Ancestry’s U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1956, apart from two missing years.
As I do with all new databases, I searched for Dever. (It’s one of the rarest names on my family tree.)
In the new Findmypast collection, I found a record for my uncle from Montreal who travelled to New York in 1951 via St. Albans, Vermont. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not find the same record in the Ancestry collection that also includes St. Albans crossings.
The same record, however, does appear in the free FamilySearch database, Vermont, St. Albans Canadian Border Crossings, 1895-1954. This database contains more than four million images, but fewer than Findmypast (6 million+) and Ancestry (5 million+).
Bottom line, it’s always a good idea to check more than one resource.
(I sure wish the Findmypast search engine worked with fewer glitches. A simple search revealed 71 results, but try as I might, I could not see the second page of results this weekend where my uncle’s name appeared. The same search had worked the day it was launched with fewer annoying glitches. Findmypast should also change Birth State to Birth State/Province since Quebec is not a state.)
Although named St Albans VT Border Crossings, most crossings physically occurred elsewhere. St Albans District records center was the repository center for a large number of USA immigration records for a large number of “ports of entry”. One has to read the record carefully to determine where the actual crossing location. Many of my Ontario ancestors crossings in this collection occurred at Fort Erie, aboard trains, at Lewiston near Niagara Falls, at Niagara Falls itself, and at Buffalo (automobile crossing from Fort Erie, Ontario. All records are transcribed in a manner that looks like the crossing occurred in Vermont. Many beginner genealogy researchers make this mistake!!
Good background info to know. I had not been aware a border crossing at Fort Erie and elsewhere could, at first glance, look like they took place in Vermont. Thanks!
A proper description of the St Albans records is found via the link below
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Vermont,_St._Albans_Canadian_Border_Crossings_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)