Naturalization Records The Federal Government has a form for everything. While these forms contain a lot of different information, there is a lot of information that is very valuable to the genealogist. These records were not intended for genealogy purposes, but what a great benefit they are.

Naturalization Records? When a person enters the US they are considered an Alien They must register with the government once a year They can become a citizen by completing the processes of citizenship Prior to the American Revolution, citizenship was not a major issue because most of them were immigrants from England and the country was under British rule

Front of form Back of form Alien Registration Form

Citizenship was handled by the various colonies, records were scant prior to 1790 After 1790 the process of citizenship became more important, and was taken over by the Federal Government Congress established a 3 step process of citizenship which is still in effect today

Step 1 Reside in the US for at least 2 years It was our male ancestors who declared his intent. Women and children were granted derivative citizenship  Women  Minor children First step is known as the: Declaration of Intention

Example of a 1913 duplicate Declaration of Intention to become a US Citizen

Prior to 1906 standardized naturalization process began. People could submit their paper work to any local, county, state or federal court. They had to supply: Oath declaring the intent to become a citizen Pledge support to the Constitution of the United States Sworn statement renouncing any foreign allegiance or claims Name of the applicant Date of application Demographic information: name, address, age, birth and place, port of immigration

After 1906 the form remained similar, but more information was required. The person had to now record: Occupation Color Height Weight Eye and hair color Distinctive marks Date and place of birth Place of departure Last foreign residence Name of vessel and date of arrival Later years spousal and children information and the details of them were required

Step II The alien had to reside in the US for a specified period of time – usually 3 years after the Declaration of Intention was filed After 1906 this time could not exceed 7 years

Step III After satisfying the first 2 steps,then the person could petition a court for admission as a citizen. This process is known as the “second papers” This court did not have to be the same court where the first papers were filed

1915 duplicate copy of a Petition for Naturalization

Papers in order If the applicants papers were all in order then the “third paper” was issued. This paper was the Naturalization Certificate. This was now proof of legal citizenship After 1906 the forms became a two-part form that was serially numbered. One went to the new citizen One went to the Immigration and Naturalization service

1916 Certificate of Naturalization. Beginning in 1929, certificates also included a photograph of the new citizen

Locating Naturalization Records These can be the most difficult to track down, since they could apply in any court You have to know where your ancestors lived when they filled out the “First Papers” in order to better track these records Check with family members, histories Census records

Census Records and columns 1870 – column 19 “male citizens of the US of 21 years of age and older 1900 – column 18 responses in column are AL = Alien, PA = papers filed and NA = naturalized – column – column 14 this also asks for exact year of naturalization in column 15 While the census does not give exact years you will have to use the rule of deductive reasoning to narrow the possibilities.

The best rule of thumb is to start with the court located nearest the immigrant home. Some of the records have been moved to a state historical society or the National Archives Use Cyndi’s list and Ancestry.com to search for records online.

Websites Finding US Naturalization records monster/naturalizationrecords.html monster/naturalizationrecords.html See examples of the von Trapp family immigration and naturalization papers. n-trapp.html n-trapp.html