Hello, all, I copied this in hopes it might help some of you in searching for records on your ancestors. It is from another list so you may have already seen it. The entire message prints out to about four pages. I deleted some extra spaces to make it shorter. Faith Hutchings faith@verdenet.com > According to the LDS pamphlet "Research Outline United States" > Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship to foreign born > individuals. > Oath of Allegiance/Denization > Prior to the Revolutionary War, immigrants from other countries (i.e. > Non- British) were required to appear before a local authority and give > an oath of allegiance or to request citizenship (denization). > Report and Registry/Alien's Register > Following the Revolutionary War 1798 to 1828, a new arrival to the > United States was required to appear before a local court and register > his arrival in the country. This was recorded in court minutes. > Sometimes an immigrant would be given a document called either a "report > and registry" or "alien's register," which he could show later when he > applied for citizenship. > Declaration of Intent/ First Papers > Citizenship was often required before a person could buy land, so most > immigrants became citizens. Even many of those who did not often filed > the "Declaration of Intent" (first papers) which normally constituted > the first step towards obtaining citizenship and was often considered > sufficient to enable him or her to purchase property. > A person could file a Declaration of Intent at any time after arriving > in the country. Federal and local laws varied over time, but a person > desiring citizenship had to have filed the Declaration of Intent at > least two to five years before being allowed to file a petition for > citizenship. > After 1906, the declaration had to be filed from three to seven years > before the petition for citizenship could be filed. If the petition was > not filed within that time frame the individual had to file a new > declaration of intention. Generally speaking, declarations of intentions > were discontinued after 1952. > > The declaration was made orally and was recorded in court minutes. The > immigrant usually also filled out a form which the county clerk kept in > official records. This allowed the immigrant to apply for homestead > land, enlist in the military or use as proof of residency if he > completed his naturalization process in another court. > > What does the declaration contain? > Each court required different information, but it usually contains the > immigrant's name, country of allegiance, port and date of arrival, > physical description, place of birth, date of birth, local address and > husband or wife's name. Declarations filed after 1906 also required > information about the immigrant's spouse and children. > > The Petition/Second/Final naturalization papers > After the immigrant had lived in the United States five years, he or she > appeared before a court (usually a local court) and made a formal > request for citizenship. This was recorded in the court's minutes and in > most cases, the applicant filled out a form which was kept by the county > clerk. > Later a hearing was held to determine whether the applicant had > fulfilled all the requirements of becoming a citizen. The hearing might > include affidavits or depositions from witnesses, which were kept in the > file with the final papers. > > Certificate of Arrival > After 1906 a person petitioning for citizenship had to file papers that > proved the length of his/her residency in this country. The certificate > of arrival lists the date and place of arrival, as well as the way the > person came to this country (for example, by ship). > > Oath of Allegiance > The oath of allegiance is also often found with the petition for > citizenship. It usually contains the immigrant's name, the date and > country of origin. > > Court Order > This is the statement by the court that a person's petition for > citizenship had been granted and the oath of allegiance had been > administered. This is usually recorded in the court minutes or order > book, and may be the only official naturalization record that can be > located. > > Final Certificate > This is the certificate given to the new citizen for his or her personal > use. > > Naturalization Records > In some courts all records pertaining to a person's naturalization are > kept together in one file under the heading "Naturalization Records." > > Where to find Naturalization Records > The first place to look for naturalization records prior to 1929 is the > county, superior, or common pleas court in the county or city where your > immigrant ancestor lived. The second place is the state, U.S. circuit or > district courts. Third is the municipal, police, criminal and probate > courts which sometimes handled naturalization cases. These materials may > be kept at the courthouse or in county archives. The county clerk should > be able to tell you which court handled natualizations and where those > records are kept, and in many cases may still have the original records. > Since 1929, naturalization has been handled only by the Federal > Courts.These records may be kept at by the Federal Court that handled > the naturalization, at branches of the National Archives or at the > Washington, D.C. National Archives. > Several sources index this maze of paperwork. P. William Filby's > Passenger and Immigration Lists Index deals with colonial lists of > denizations and oaths of allegiance. Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor by > James C. and Lila Lee lists an inventory of naturalization records at a > number of county and federal courts. > Federal records were kept of naturalizations after September 1906. For > copies of naturalization of records 1906 to 1956 contact the Immigration > and Naturalization Services (INS) 425 EYE Street, NW, Washington, D.C. > 20536. Records after 1956 are kept at regional offices. You can request > copies of these records through the nearest INS office. > > To sum up, naturalization records are kept at several levels, depending > on the place and date of the naturalization. It seems the best place to > start looking for family naturalization records is the local court > house, where the county clerk can most likely tell you where they are > kept if they are not maintained in his or her offices. > > According to the LDS pamphlet "Research Outline United States" > Naturalization is the process of granting citizenship to foreign born > individuals. > > Oath of Allegiance/Denization > Prior to the Revolutionary War, immigrants from other countries (i.e. > Non- British) were required to appear before a local authority and give > an oath of allegiance or to request citizenship (denization). > > Report and Registry/Alien's Register > Following the Revolutionary War 1798 to 1828, a new arrival to the > United States was required to appear before a local court and register > his arrival in the country. This was recorded in court minutes. > Sometimes an immigrant would be given a document called either a "report > and registry" or "alien's register," which he could show later when he > applied for citizenship. > Declaration of Intent/ First Papers > Citizenship was often required before a person could buy land, so most > immigrants became citizens. Even many of those who did not often filed > the "Declaration of Intent" (first papers) which normally constituted > the first step towards obtaining citizenship and was often considered > sufficient to enable him or her to purchase property. > > A person could file a Declaration of Intent at any time after arriving > in the country. Federal and local laws varied over time, but a person > desiring citizenship had to have filed the Declaration of Intent at > least two to five years before being allowed to file a petition for > citizenship. > > After 1906, the declaration had to be filed from three to seven years > before the petition for citizenship could be filed. If the petition was > not filed within that time frame the individual had to file a new > declaration of intention. Generally speaking, declarations of intentions > were discontinued after 1952. > > The declaration was made orally and was recorded in court minutes. The > immigrant usually also filled out a form which the county clerk kept in > official records. This allowed the immigrant to apply for homestead > land, enlist in the military or use as proof of residency if he > completed his naturalization process in another court. > > What does the declaration contain? > Each court required different information, but it usually contains the > immigrant's name, country of allegiance, port and date of arrival, > physical description, place of birth, date of birth, local address and > husband or wife's name. Declarations filed after 1906 also required > information about the immigrant's spouse and children. > > The Petition/Second/Final naturalization papers > After the immigrant had lived in the United States five years, he or she > appeared before a court (usually a local court) and made a formal > request for citizenship. This was recorded in the court's minutes and in > most cases, the applicant filled out a form which was kept by the county > clerk. > > Later a hearing was held to determine whether the applicant had > fulfilled all the requirements of becoming a citizen. The hearing might > include affidavits or depositions from witnesses, which were kept in the > file with the final papers. > > Certificate of Arrival > After 1906 a person petitioning for citizenship had to file papers that > proved the length of his/her residency in this country. The certificate > of arrival lists the date and place of arrival, as well as the way the > person came to this country (for example, by ship). > > Oath of Allegiance > The oath of allegiance is also often found with the petition for > citizenship. It usually contains the immigrant's name, the date and > country of origin. > > Court Order > This is the statement by the court that a person's petition for > citizenship had been granted and the oath of allegiance had been > administered. This is usually recorded in the court minutes or order > book, and may be the only official naturalization record that can be > located. > > Final Certificate > This is the certificate given to the new citizen for his or her personal > use. > > Naturalization Records > In some courts all records pertaining to a person's naturalization are > kept together in one file under the heading "Naturalization Records." > > Where to find Naturalization Records > The first place to look for naturalization records prior to 1929 is the > county, superior, or common pleas court in the county or city where your > immigrant ancestor lived. The second place is the state, U.S. circuit or > district courts. Third is the municipal, police, criminal and probate > courts which sometimes handled naturalization cases. These materials may > be kept at the courthouse or in county archives. The county clerk should > be able to tell you which court handled natualizations and where those > records are kept, and in many cases may still have the original records. > Since 1929, naturalization has been handled only by the Federal > Courts.These records may be kept at by the Federal Court that handled > the naturalization, at branches of the National Archives or at the > Washington, D.C. National Archives. > > Several sources index this maze of paperwork. P. William Filby's > Passenger and Immigration Lists Index deals with colonial lists of > denizations and oaths of allegiance. Locating Your Immigrant Ancestor by > James C. and Lila Lee lists an inventory of naturalization records at a > number of county and federal courts. > Federal records were kept of naturalizations after September 1906. For > copies of naturalization of records 1906 to 1956 contact the Immigration > and Naturalization Services (INS) 425 EYE Street, NW, Washington, D.C. > 20536. Records after 1956 are kept at regional offices. You can request > copies of these records through the nearest INS office. > > To sum up, naturalization records are kept at several levels, depending > on the place and date of the naturalization. It seems the best place to > start looking for family naturalization records is the local court > house, where the county clerk can most likely tell you where they are > kept if they are not maintained in his or her offices. >