Daily AncestorLast permanent residence
Last permanent residence on a passenger list is the country and town where the immigrant had been living before the journey, not always the birthplace.
Lists from March 1903 have a column for the alien's last residence, and the form used from February 1907 calls it last permanent residence, with separate spaces for country and city or town. Card manifests at the land borders asked the same question.
The entry is often more useful than the nationality column, which from 1907 records citizenship rather than a place. It can also differ from the place of birth, which lists from 1907 give further along the same line. Someone who had moved to a city or worked elsewhere before leaving may show that place here instead of the home village.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Last permanent residence." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/last-permanent-residence. Last checked 2026-10-12.