----- Original Message ----- From: <AnneABF@cs.com> To: <CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, June 19, 2000 1:53 PM Subject: Re: CIVIL-WAR-IRISH-D Digest V00 #74 > William Flinter enlisted in the 37th N.Y.volunteer Infantry ( Irish Rifles) > on 15 Aug. 1862 from NYC when he was 33 years of age. In 1862 a law was > passed that said that any honorably discharged vet over the age of 21 could > apply for citizenship by petition. Does anyone have any info re, this or > where one would search for the info if one were seeking info about an > individual? Jim Flinter > - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- According to the federal naturalization laws, any court of record within the United States had the power to conduct naturalization proceedings. These proceedings usually involved two steps. A man, (or, very rarely, a woman,) visited the court to swear or affirm his intention to renounce his allegiance to his native country and monarch. This was known as the Declaration of Intention. After a waiting period of three years, later reduced to two years, he could enter any court in the country, produce a copy of the declaration, prove that he had resided in the United States for a period of not less than five years, have a person vouch for his character, and present a petition for full citizenship. This paper is known as the Naturalization Petition. If he fulfilled all of these obligations, the court would issue a certificate of citizenship and would retain, as part of its records, the applicant's copy of the declaration and the petition for naturalization. The court would not retain a copy of the actual Certificate of Citizenship. This belonged to the newly enfranchised citizen. Under an Act of 17 July 1862, persons serving in the United States armies (the Union forces during the Civil War), only had to present their honorable discharge and reside in the country for a period of only one year, not five, in order to file for naturalization. This law was intended only for army veterans - navy and marine veterans were not covered under this law, but under a similar law passed on 26 July 1894. However, the Philadelphia courts were apt to wink at this restriction and numerous veterans of the naval, marine and other services used their service discharges to become citizens under the 1862 law. Desoto Joe/The Record Man