William Park, a Philadelphia resident, was born in Ireland according to U.S. census and other records. The next step is to learn when he arrived in the United States, and the town or county of origin in Ireland. The best place is to begin by examining the U.S. census records, specifically the 1920 census since it asks for both the year of immigration and the year of naturalization. In William's case, the 1920 census gives his year of immigration as 1888 and the year of naturalization as 1895. The 1900 census also lists 1888 as the year he immigrated, although in 1910 he states it was in 1891. Still, that's only three years off, so it's a reasonable time frame in which you can search.

A search for William Park with an arrival year of 1888 and Ireland as the place of origin turns up a New York passenger manifest entry for a William Park of the right age, arriving on the Ethiopia in New York harbor on 24 April 1888. There's little detail on this passenger list to prove it is the correct William Park, although it is a good possibility.

Family papers uncovered a passport for William Park, so the next step was to search the U.S. Passport Application records online at Ancestry.com. A search for william park born 1868 +/− 2 years with a residence of philadelphia quickly turned up his application for a U.S. passport in 1920. The document provides his exact date of birth (although the year varies from that given in other records by as much as five years) and that he was born in Donegal, Ireland. It also states his wife's name (Jane) and date of birth (26 Oct 1870), his father's name (Robert Park), and that he arrived in the United States on a ship sailing from Londonderry on 12 April 1888 (yes, this is the Ethiopia, providing confirmation that the right passenger arrival record was found). The application also gives the address where he was residing in 1920, his occupation (watchman), a physical description, and a photo of William and his wife Jane. What a great bunch of clues!

Because a passport application generally indicates overseas travel, another search for passenger records is in order. A search for William Park in Ancestry.com's passenger arrival records for 1920 turns up a match on the S.S. Haverford that sailed from Liverpool, England, on 13 August 1920, arriving at the port of Philadelphia on August 26. William and Jane Park are listed as passengers on page eighteen, with helpful information on their naturalization status; William Park was naturalized in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, in 1895, and his wife Jane Park is listed as naturalized “by marriage.” Because they are U.S. citizens, little other information is provided outside of their ages and permanent residence.

Because the ship departed from Londonderry, England, it is likely that Ancestors on Board (www.ancestorsonboard.com) will have a copy of the corresponding outbound passenger list for the Haverford, created as the ship departed England. Sure enough, they do — and it includes a very helpful piece of information, listing their address in Ireland as “C/O William Henry, Montober, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, Ireland.” Since William's wife is Jane Henry, this is likely the name and address of a relative they were visiting.

Additional searches of both Ancestry.com and Ancestors on Board for William Park (just to be sure nothing was missed) turned up another visit to Ireland in 1935, with a return on the Caledonia on 25 July 1935. The outbound list is especially helpful, giving the last address in the United Kingdom as “Devlinmore, Carrigart, Co. Donegal.” Since it is known from previous research that William Park came from County Donegal, this provides a clue for further research.

The 1920 census says that William Park was naturalized in 1895 and he was a lifelong Philadelphia resident, so a stop at Footnote is a next good step as the site has digitized naturalization records for Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, no online naturalization record was found for William Park, most likely because he was naturalized in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and Footnote's PA naturalization records are from the U.S. Circuit Court. He does, however, appear as a witness on several other naturalization applications, including one for a Dell Park. Dill Park (the record was misindexed as “Dell”) turns out to be living at the same address as William Park, and William Park is listed as a watchman — which matches the occupation he gave in census records. Looks like this might be a brother, or possibly a cousin, based on the birth year. More clues for you to pursue!