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Naturalization Records
By Walter Hickey
For Americans with immigrant ancestry, the usual object in a
genealogical search is to determine the ancestor’s place of birth. For purposes
of this discussion, an immigrant is one who arrived in the United States after
1789. Colonial immigration is not the subject at hand. There are two federal
government-related documents which may provide a place of birth. These are
Immigration records and Naturalization records, otherwise known respectively as
passenger arrival records and citizenship records. This article will deal mainly
with the latter. Much has been written about Naturalization records, where they
are, what information they contain, and unfortunately, not all that has been
written is correct. You may have read that "...the declaration of intention has
more information than the Petition" or words to that effect. That is not
necessarily true. In some cases, that might apply, but not always. In discussing
the content of naturalization records, it is necessary to outline two very
different time periods.
"Old Law" - 1790 to
September 27, 1906
During this period, there are two general rules
regarding the information in naturalization records. #1...There was no rule; and
#2...You cannot change Rule #1. Put simply, every court asked what questions it
thought necessary and proper. Every court used its own forms and filing systems.
Some naturalization papers provide some information about the man's date/place
of birth as well as the date/port of arrival. Sometimes this information is only
on the Declaration of Intention; sometimes only on the Petition for
Naturalization, and sometimes on both. Other courts never asked for any of this
information on any papers.
You should always obtain whatever you can for naturalization
papers on the chance they might contain useful information, but you
should always be prepared for the possibility that you will learn nothing at
all.
Let me give a couple of examples:
In Massachusetts, all courts seemingly
always asked for the following information: name, occupation, residence, date of
birth, place of birth, date of arrival, port of arrival, as well as the names of
the two witnesses. Prior to 1907, these questions would constitute a very
informative record. In Connecticut, most courts apparently never asked for this
information. A “typical” record would provide the man's name, town of residence,
perhaps his age. There is almost never any personal information of the type
sought by a genealogist. Both of the above types of records must be
considered as “perfect”--for what they were intended to do. They served to make
that man an American citizen . . . and that is all they were supposed to do.
This may come as a surprise, but, believe it or not, when your great-grandfather
became an American citizen, no court clerk or judge ever sat down and said,
"Let's see . . . in 150 years or so, this man's great-grandchild will want to
know where he was born, so let's ask for that information." Sorry folks, it did
not happen. These papers served only one function, and that was to admit a man
to citizenship and document that. How that documentation was done, and how it
was recorded, was left to the individual courts. The result today is that some
records are wonderfully informative, while others are not so wonderfully
disappointing.
"Who was naturalized?" Prior to 22 September 1922, the
records are predominantly male. Wives and children under the age of 21
automatically became American citizens when their husbands and fathers were
naturalized. There is no paper trail and their names appear on no document. It
seems that no court prior to 1907 ever recorded the names of the wife and
children, even though the naturalization of the husband/father affected them
all.
To sum up the pre-1907 naturalization records....
1. There was no uniformity of forms or questions. Each
court “did its own thing.”
2. The records are almost exclusively male. The names of
the wife and children were not recorded.
What records might there be?
1. Declaration of Intention or “First paper”. This was
required if a man arrived in the US prior to his eighteenth birthday (see
below).
2. Petition for Naturalization, or “Final Papers”. After
filing a declaration, and having been in the US a minimum of five years, the
man could appear in court, and file a Petition asking to be made a citizen.
3. Certificate of Citizenship...this was the paper given
to the new citizen as his proof of citizenship.
Note: The Declaration of Intention was not required
in two circumstances. First, the applicant arrived in the United States
before his eighteenth birthday. He could be naturalized when he was
twenty-one if he had resided here for five years. Second, beginning with the
Civil War, a man who honorably served in the military was entitled to
citizenship upon discharge. The five-year residency was reduced to one year,
and no declaration was required. Citizenship was not automatic. He
still had to make application for it in a court, so there will be a paper
trail, i.e., a petition.
Where are the records? Therein lies the rub. Before 1907, the
only record of naturalization was in the court where it took place. No copy
was forwarded to Washington. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has
copies of naturalization records after 1906 only, not before. You must
determine the court in which naturalization took place. The general rule is that
it took place in the nearest, most convenient court to his residence, usually
the county court, but, in some locales, like New England, it also could have
taken place in a city court, police court, district court, or in any Federal
court (U.S. Circuit or District). More on this later.
"New Law" - after
27 September 1906
On this date, there occurred a major change in naturalization
papers. For the genealogist, the uncertainty of earlier records is now replaced
with a uniform set of questions. All courts, for the first time, now asked the
same questions on the same forms, and, a copy of all naturalizations was
forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington.
Naturalization now generally occurred in a Federal Court or a county court. Many
of the smaller police, city, and district courts lost their authority to
naturalize.
All Naturalization petitions will now provide the following
information: Name, residence, date and place of birth, date and port of
departure; name of the vessel; date/port of arrival in the U.S.; if married, the
name, place and date of birth of the wife, and children if any, in addition to
the two witnesses.
Whereas under the "Old Law", no court ever recorded the names
of the wife and children, now they were recorded on all petitions. There is now
a paper trail documenting their naturalization. The papers are filed under the
name of the husband/father, but at least they are listed and documented.
Where are the
records?
1790-1906
As stated earlier there is no central registry, no nationwide
index. You must determine the court. For the six New England states, there is an
index located in the National Archives-Northeast Region in Pittsfield, MA. The
index is divided into three parts, Connecticut; Rhode Island; and Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont inter-filed. It is arranged on the
Soundex system. The WPA created the index between 1938 and 1941 as part of an
attempt to document those naturalizations that took place prior to 1907.
Intended as a nationwide project, only New England, New York City, and the
Chicago area were completed. Pittsfield has the records for the New England
states. For five of these states, not including Connecticut, the National
Archives has a copy, a negative reduced photostat called a dexigraph which was
made in the 1930’s from the original record. If the naturalization took place in
a non-Federal court, then the regional archives in Waltham has that copy. The
original record remained in the court. Today, many of these originals have been
removed to State Archives. If the naturalization took place in a Federal court,
then Waltham also has the original records.
For the state of Connecticut and only for that state,
the National Archives has all the naturalization records of all
the courts since 1790.
After 1906
After 1906, the National Archives in Waltham has the
naturalization records only of the Federal courts in five of the New
England States. In each of these states, the Federal courts were the United
States Circuit Court (until 1911), and the United States District Court. These
courts were usually located in the capital city of the state, and any
resident of that state could choose to become naturalized in the Federal
court. The other court in which one could become an American citizen was the
County Superior Court. A fairly safe, general rule is that the person was
naturalized in the nearest most convenient court, usually the County, so check
that court first. One exception to this was in Suffolk County, MA. That county
Superior court has not naturalized anyone since 1885. Residents of Suffolk
County, which is primarily Boston, had to go to the Federal court to become a
citizen after 1906.
Connecticut
Connecticut gets this small special section all to itself. Of
the six New England states, it is the only state for which all the
naturalization records are in the National Archives. This means all the
records of all the courts, 1790 to date. There are no dexigraphs from
that 1930’s WPA project for the Connecticut records. Waltham has all of the
original records. Unfortunately for the genealogist, prior to 1907, very
few of these contain any helpful genealogical information.
Connecticut courts are a prime example of a jurisdiction in which courts did not
ask Date/Place of Birth or Date/Port of Arrival.
Women
Until 22 September 1922, a wife automatically became
naturalized upon the naturalization of her husband or upon marriage to an
American citizen. After that date, she did not become a citizen unless she filed
her own petition for naturalization.
Securing a Copy of
a Record
The records at Waltham, both original and copies, are
available during regular hours of operation as well as by mail. If ordering
copies by mail, you should provide the person’s name, town of residence, and
approximate date of birth. If the naturalization took place after 1906, the name
of the spouse should be included. The fee for mail copies is ten dollars for up
to six records at one time. It is not $10.00 per record. Your check
should be made payable to the National Archives Trust Fund. You may use the
indexes in Pittsfield and then apply for copies of the records in Waltham or in
the court of record.
Suggested Reading
American Naturalization Processes and Procedures, 1790-1985
by John J. Newman, Indiana Historical Society, 1985.
Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States
by Christina K.
Schaefer. The author wrote of the book that she had “ . . . focused on the film
holdings of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City which has microfilms
that circulate to Family History Centers worldwide, making it possible for
researchers to search naturalization records without engaging in the expense of
travel.”
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/natural.html for an article on
the naturalization process, naturalization records and the location of the
records.
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/summer_1998_women_and_naturalization_1.html,
"Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940" by Marian L. Smith.
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