What Alabama's immigrant population looked like in 1900 - Alabama Now

What Alabama’s immigrant population looked like in 1900

Published 1:39 pm Monday, January 24, 2022

Historical // Getty Images

What Alabama’s immigrant population looked like in 1900

Since the first successful English colony settled in Jamestown in 1607, flows of immigrants have arrived on American shores seeking a new life. From Irish immigrants fleeing famine to Chinese immigrants settling in California during the Gold Rush, more than 86 million people legally immigrated to the United States between 1783 and 2019.

There have been four major waves of immigration to the U.S., beginning with settlers from northern and western Europe seeking land on the frontier from 1820 to 1880. The immigrants counted in the 1900 Census hailed primarily from southern and eastern Europe, drawn by the call of industrialization in America. At the advent of the era of world wars, there was a dearth of immigration, but after 1965, individuals from Asia and Latin America began to move to the U.S. in droves.

Though the national immigrant population today and in 1900 is comparable by percentage, hovering around 14% of the overall U.S. population, the raw population tells a different story. Today, the U.S. is home to 44.7 million immigrants, whereas that number was just shy of 10.5 million at the time of the 1900 Census. Stacker compiled a list of the largest sources of immigrants in Alabama in 1900 by transcribing a previously untranscribed dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau. Countries are ranked by total residents who were born in that country.

Immigration to the U.S. was handled at the state level prior to 1890, with each state government designating its own processes and checkpoints. New York originally used Castle Garden (now Castle Clinton) as its immigration processing hub, but within a few decades realized that a massive influx of immigrants necessitated a larger venue. Ellis Island opened on Jan. 1, 1892, to the first of more than 12 million individuals who entered the U.S. through its doors.

Keep reading to find out more about the historical immigrant community in your home state or explore the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.

Lewis W. Hine // Getty Images

#1. Germany

Alabama
– Number of residents: 3,634
– Percent of foreign born residents: 24.90%
– Percent of total state population: 0.20%
National
– Number of residents: 2,669,164
– Percent of foreign born residents: 25.52%
– #1 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#2. England

Alabama
– Number of residents: 2,347
– Percent of foreign born residents: 16.08%
– Percent of total state population: 0.13%
National
– Number of residents: 843,491
– Percent of foreign born residents: 8.06%
– #4 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#3. Ireland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 1,792
– Percent of foreign born residents: 12.28%
– Percent of total state population: 0.10%
National
– Number of residents: 1,619,409
– Percent of foreign born residents: 15.48%
– #2 most common country of origin

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#4. Scotland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 1,223
– Percent of foreign born residents: 8.38%
– Percent of total state population: 0.07%
National
– Number of residents: 234,699
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.24%
– #11 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#5. Italy

Alabama
– Number of residents: 862
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.91%
– Percent of total state population: 0.05%
National
– Number of residents: 484,703
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.63%
– #6 most common country of origin

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Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#6. Canada

Alabama
– Number of residents: 697
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.78%
– Percent of total state population: 0.04%
National
– Number of residents: 1,183,225
– Percent of foreign born residents: 11.31%
– #3 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#7. France

Alabama
– Number of residents: 539
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.69%
– Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
– Number of residents: 104,534
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
– #18 most common country of origin

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#8. Sweden

Alabama
– Number of residents: 488
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.34%
– Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
– Number of residents: 574,625
– Percent of foreign born residents: 5.49%
– #5 most common country of origin

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#9. Russia

Alabama
– Number of residents: 468
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.21%
– Percent of total state population: 0.03%
National
– Number of residents: 424,372
– Percent of foreign born residents: 4.06%
– #7 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#10. Austria

Alabama
– Number of residents: 341
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.34%
– Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 276,702
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.65%
– #10 most common country of origin

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#11. Hungary

Alabama
– Number of residents: 332
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.28%
– Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 145,815
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.39%
– #14 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#12. Wales

Alabama
– Number of residents: 306
– Percent of foreign born residents: 2.10%
– Percent of total state population: 0.02%
National
– Number of residents: 93,744
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.90%
– #20 most common country of origin

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#13. Switzerland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 200
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.37%
– Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 115,959
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.11%
– #15 most common country of origin

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#14. Norway

Alabama
– Number of residents: 159
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.09%
– Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 338,426
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.24%
– #9 most common country of origin

Minnesota Historical Society // Getty Images

#15. Poland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 133
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.91%
– Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 383,595
– Percent of foreign born residents: 3.67%
– #8 most common country of origin

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#16. Greece

Alabama
– Number of residents: 129
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.88%
– Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 8,655
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
– #31 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#17. Denmark

Alabama
– Number of residents: 96
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.66%
– Percent of total state population: 0.01%
National
– Number of residents: 154,616
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.48%
– #13 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#18. West Indies (except Cuba and Puerto Rico)

Alabama
– Number of residents: 79
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.54%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 14,468
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
– #26 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#19. Africa

Alabama
– Number of residents: 77
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.53%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 2,577
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #40 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#20. Turkey

Alabama
– Number of residents: 66
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.45%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 9,949
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
– #30 most common country of origin

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#21. Spain

Alabama
– Number of residents: 59
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.40%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 7,284
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
– #33 most common country of origin

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#22. Cuba

Alabama
– Number of residents: 55
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.38%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 11,159
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– #28 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#23. China

Alabama
– Number of residents: 54
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.37%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 106,659
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.02%
– #16 most common country of origin

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#24. Asia (except China, Japan, and India)

Alabama
– Number of residents: 52
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 11,928
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– #27 most common country of origin

ullstein bild Dtl. // Getty Images

#25. South America

Alabama
– Number of residents: 51
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.35%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 4,814
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
– #35 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#26. Belgium

Alabama
– Number of residents: 45
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.31%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 29,848
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
– #24 most common country of origin

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#27. Mexico

Alabama
– Number of residents: 43
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 103,445
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.99%
– #19 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#28. Holland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 42
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.29%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 105,098
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.00%
– #17 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#29. Europe (not otherwise specified)

Alabama
– Number of residents: 33
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.23%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 2,272
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #41 most common country of origin

FPG // Getty Images

#30. Bohemia

Alabama
– Number of residents: 31
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.21%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 156,999
– Percent of foreign born residents: 1.50%
– #12 most common country of origin

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#31. Finland

Alabama
– Number of residents: 28
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.19%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 63,440
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.61%
– #22 most common country of origin

Lewis W. Hine // Getty Images

#32. Born at Sea

Alabama
– Number of residents: 26
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.18%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 8,310
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.08%
– #32 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#33. Central America

Alabama
– Number of residents: 23
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.16%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 3,911
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
– #36 most common country of origin

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#34. Roumania

Alabama
– Number of residents: 16
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 15,043
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.14%
– #25 most common country of origin

Universal History Archive // Getty Images

#35. Australia

Alabama
– Number of residents: 16
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.11%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 7,041
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.07%
– #34 most common country of origin

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David RUBINGER // Getty Images

#36. Portugal

Alabama
– Number of residents: 8
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 37,144
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.36%
– #23 most common country of origin

Bettmann // Getty Images

#37. Other Countries

Alabama
– Number of residents: 7
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 2,587
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #39 most common country of origin

Hulton Archive // Getty Images

#38. India

Alabama
– Number of residents: 7
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.05%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 2,069
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.02%
– #42 most common country of origin

ullstein bild Dtl. // Getty Images

#39. Pacific Islands (except Phillipine Islands)

Alabama
– Number of residents: 6
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 2,659
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
– #38 most common country of origin

Smith Collection/Gado // Getty Images

#40. Luxemburg

Alabama
– Number of residents: 6
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 3,049
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.03%
– #37 most common country of origin

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#41. Japan

Alabama
– Number of residents: 6
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.04%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 81,590
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.78%
– #21 most common country of origin

Historical // Getty Images

#42. Atlantic Islands

Alabama
– Number of residents: 1
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.01%
– Percent of total state population: 0.00%
National
– Number of residents: 10,955
– Percent of foreign born residents: 0.10%
– #29 most common country of origin