Martha, When looking for these papers, it is very important that you request the "first" papers. The more recent the immigration - the more information you will receive. For instance, the file of someone who came in 1880 may only contain the "oath of allegiance" - whereas, if they came in 1920 or so, it would contain an oath, a declaration of intent, plus papers that were signed within weeks of immigration showing the ship that they came on and on what date they came to America... also a physical description of the person, the town that they lived in, the names of their children and ages, the name of their wife and the current address. I'm sure that I am missing some others - but you get the gist. Also, remember that women, typically didn't have these papers - only their husbands. Many a wily paid so called "research genealogist" has culled fee's from unsuspecting newbies by taking their money for a "wife" search, when they knew that there were no papers for wives. Just a heads up on that. If you fail to find what you need at the courthouse, perhaps you can contact Cynthia Richardson at _www.chicgaogenealogy.com_ (http://www.chicgaogenealogy.com) for assistance - her fee's are very reasonable and she is reputable and dependable. It wouldn't cost anything to get a price from her at the very least. Good luck to you. Genealogyangel