When the Volga Germans came to Ellis County in the 1870s, were they required to apply for citizenship? Where would they have applied - in their county of residence, at a regional location, or at a state location like Topeka or Wichita, etc.? And what about the Volga Germans who were shanghaid to Argentina & then crossed the border into Texas & traveled to Kansas? -- Have a great day :-) Sharon McGinness smcginness1@cox.net

Declarations of intent to become a citizen were collected at the Ellis County Courthouse in Hays, Kansas, Rush County, Shawnee County and other counties of the State. Ellis County was particularly interesting in that a local priest and historian collected most of the Volga German declarations for the 100th anniversary in of the migration to Ellis County. As to the registration of aliens during the WW I era, these county registries were ordered destroyed but one judge in either Shawnee or Wyandotte County (Kansas City, Kansas) never got around to doing so, so this particular registry still exists. ----- Original Message ----- From: <smcginness1@cox.net> To: <GER-VOLGA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 10:47 PM Subject: [GV] Citizenship > When the Volga Germans came to Ellis County in the 1870s, were they > required to apply for citizenship? Where would they have applied - in > their county of residence, at a regional location, or at a state location > like Topeka or Wichita, etc.? And what about the Volga Germans who were > shanghaid to Argentina & then crossed the border into Texas & traveled to > Kansas? > -- > Have a great day :-) > > Sharon McGinness > smcginness1@cox.net > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GER-VOLGA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >