This is a response I rec'd from the National Archives regarding a question I had sent to them about obtaining Naturalization Records. I hope someone "out there" finds this helpful(or at least interesting). It *is* quite lengthy, but I found it to be interesting. Regards, Dan in Nebraska >From: "Cliff Macwha" <[email protected]> >To: <[email protected]> >Subject: Re: Naturalization Records >Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 14:08:10 -0500 > >Dear Mr. Conner- >In order to find your ancestors' naturalization records, you first must >know where they naturalized. Naturalization records in the National >Archives are, for the most part, kept at the branch that services the >region where the naturalizations took place. >Because of the time period in which your ancestors came over, you may have >to go to state or county courts to find these records; it wasn't until 1906 >that naturalizations were required to be done through the federal courts. >I am enclosing an article on the naturalization process that should help >direct your search. Good luck. > >Clifford MacWha >Archives I Research Room Services Branch (NWCC1) >National Archives and Records Administration >700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW >Washington, DC 20408-0001 > >Naturalization Records > >The following article should assist you in locating the naturalization >record you are looking for. You can find an updated version at our website >at <http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/natural.html>. > >"The Location of Naturalization Records." >By Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. >Reprinted from The Record, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 21-22 (Nov. 1996). > > We are frequently asked where an ancestor's naturalization records can be >found. This article will provide general guidance that should assist most >researchers in finding these records. > > Naturalization is the process of by which an alien becomes an American >citizen. It is a voluntary act by the alien; naturalization is not >required. Twenty-five percent of foreign-born persons listed on the 1890 >through 1930 censuses had not become naturalized or filed their "first >papers." > >The Courts > > From the first naturalization law passed by Congress in 1790 up through >much of the twentieth century, an alien could become naturalized in any >court of record. Thus, most people went to the court most convenient to >them, usually a county court of some kind. The names and types of courts >vary from state to state. The names and types courts have also varied >during different periods of history--but may include the county supreme, >circuit, district, equity, chancery, probate, or common pleas court. Most >researchers will find that their ancestors became naturalized in one of >these courts. A few State Supreme Courts also naturalized aliens, such as >the Supreme Courts of Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey, and South >Dakota. > > Some persons who lived in large cities become naturalized in a Federal >court, such as a U.S. District Court or U.S. Circuit Court, if one of those >courts were convenient to them. > >General Rule: The Two-Step Process > > Congress passed the first law regulating naturalization in 1790 (1 Stat. >103). As a general rule, naturalization was a two-step process that took a >minimum of five years. After being in the United States a minimum of two >years, an alien could file a "declaration of intent" to become a citizen. >A minimum of three years after that, the alien could then "petition for >naturalization." After the petition was granted, a certificate of >citizenship was issued to the alien. These two steps did not have to take >place in the same court. As a general rule, the "declaration of intent" >will contain more genealogically-useful information than the "petition." >The "declaration" may include the alien's month and year (or possibly the >exact date) of his immigration to the United States. > >Exceptions to the General Rule > > Having stated this "two-step, five-year" general rule, it is necessary to >note several exceptions. The first major exception was that "derivative" >citizenship was granted to wives and minor children of naturalized men. >From 1790 to 1922, wives of naturalized men automatically became citizens. >This also meant that an alien woman who married a U.S. citizen >automatically became a citizen upon marriage. From 1790 to 1940, children >under the age of 21 automatically became naturalized citizens upon the >naturalization of their father. Unfortunately, however, names and >biographical information about wives and children are rarely included in >declarations or petitions before September 1906. > > The second major exception to the general rule was that, from 1824 to >1906, minor aliens who had lived in the U.S. five years before their >twenty-third birthday could file their declarations and petitions at the >same time. > > The third major exception to the general rule was the special >consideration given to veterans. An 1862 law allowed honorably-discharged >army veterans of any war to petition for naturalization without previously >having filed a declaration of intent after only one year's residence in the >United States. An 1894 law extended the same no-previous-declaration >privilege to honorably-discharged five-year veterans of the Navy or the >Marine Corps. Over 192,000 aliens were naturalized between May 9, 1918 >and June 30, 1919, under an act of May 9, 1918, that allowed aliens serving >in the U.S. armed forces during "the present war" to file a petition for >naturalization without making a declaration of intent or proving five >years' residence. Laws enacted in 1919, 1926, 1940, and 1952 continued >various preferential treatment provisions for veterans. > >The Records > > It is impossible to provide hard-and-fast rules about the content or even >the existence of naturalization records. The 1905 Report to the President >of the Commission on Naturalization remarked: > > The methods of making and keeping the naturalization records in both the >Federal and State courts are as various as the procedure in such cases. >Thus the declaration of intention in some courts consists merely of the >bare statement of the intention and the name and allegiance of the alien, >while in other courts it also includes a history of the alien.... In a >majority of courts alien applicants are not required to make the >declaration of intention required by law ... and in other courts he is. >Previous to 1903 a majority of courts did not require petitions or >affidavits; other courts did. Some courts keep a naturalization record >separate from the other records; other courts include the naturalization >record in the regular minutes of the court. Some records contain full >histories of the aliens, but a majority of the records show only the name, >nationality, oath of allegiance, and date of admission. > >In 1903, a Justice Department investigator made even more damning comments: > > I find the naturalization records in many cases in a chaotic condition, >many lost and destroyed, and some sold for old paper. Most the records >consist of merely the name and nativity of the alien with no means of >identifying aliens of the same name.... In numerous cases I find aliens >naturalized under initials instead of Christian names, surnames misspelled >or changed entirely, and names of witnesses inserted in place of the alien >naturalized.... The examination of the records discloses the remarkable >fact that never, since the first enactment of the naturalization laws, has >any record been made in any court of the names of minor children who, under >the operation of the statutes, were made citizens by the naturalization of >their parents. > >The Location of these Records > > For a comprehensive guide to where naturalization records for specific >courts can be found, see Christina K. Schaefer, Guide to Naturalization >Records of the United States (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., >1997), which is available in many public libraries, as well as from >genealogical booksellers and the publisher. > > Naturalization records from county courts may still be at the county >court, or in a county or state archives, or at a regional archives serving >several counties within a state. Some of these records or indexes have >been published, such as the Index of Naturalizations, Ashtabula County, >Ohio, 1875-1906, published by the Ashtabula County Genealogical Society. > > Do not be surprised if county court employees tell you their >naturalization records are at "the National Archives" or that their court >never conducted naturalizations. Most current court employees are probably >not genealogists and may not be familiar with, or interested in, the >court's older records. It is up to the researcher to have persistence in >determining the location of older court records. Some of these records may >have been microfilmed and may be available through "Family History Centers" >run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormon"). Family >History Centers are open to the public. > > If the naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization >indexes, declarations, of intent, and petitions will usually be in the >National Archives' Regional Archives serving the state in which the Federal >court is located (addresses listed at end of message). Some of these >indexes and records have been microfilmed and are available through >"Mormon" Family History Centers or the American Genealogical Lending >Library (a private company that rents microfilmed genealogical records to >the public). > > The Microfilm Reading Room (Room 400) in the National Archives Building in >downtown Washington, D.C., has some microfilmed Federal court >naturalization indexes, declarations, and petitions, but it is by no means >a complete collection of these records. To repeat, most Federal >naturalization records are found in the National Archives Regional Archives >serving the state in which the Federal court is located. > > Although the National Archives does not have naturalization records >created in state or local courts, we do have three microfilmed indexes that >serve as a finding aid to some state and local court naturalizations. >National Archives Microfilm Publication M1285, Soundex Index to >Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, >Northern District of Illinois, and Immigration and Naturalization Service >District 9, 1840-1950 (179 rolls) serves both as an index to naturalization >petitions from the two Federal courts mentioned in its title and as an >index to naturalization petitions filed in county courts in eastern Iowa, >northwestern Indiana, eastern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. > > National Archives Microfilm Publication M1674, Index (Soundex) to >Naturalization Petitions Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New >York, New York, including New York, Kings, Queens, and Richmond Counties, >1792-1906 (294 rolls) serves a similar finding aid function for New York >City naturalization petitions. > > National Archives Microfilm Publication M1299, Index to New England >Naturalization Records, 1791-1906 (117 rolls) serves a similar function for >naturalizations occurring in various courts in the New England states. > > For more detailed information, consult John J. Newman, American >Naturalization Processes and Procedures, 1790-1985 (Indianapolis: Indiana >Historical Society, 1985). > >National Archives Regional Archives Addresses > >NARA--New England Region (Boston), 380 Trapelo Rd., Waltham, MA 02154. >617-647-8100. Email: <[email protected]>. States: CT, ME, MA, >NH, RI, VT. > >NARA--New England Region (Pittsfield), 10 Conte Dr., Pittsfield, MA 01201. >413-445-6885. Email: <[email protected]>. MICROFILM ONLY; no >original records. States: CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT. > >NARA--Northeast Region (New York City), 201 Varick St., New York, NY. >212-337-1300. Email: <[email protected]>. States: NJ, NY, >Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. > >NARA--Mid-Atlantic Region (Philadelphia City Center), 900 Market St., Room >1350, Philadelphia, PA 19107. 215-597-3000. Email: ><[email protected]>. States: DE, MD, PA, VA, WV. > >NARA--Southeast Region (Atlanta), 1557 St. Joseph Ave., East Point, GA >30344. 404-763-7477. Email: <[email protected]>. States: AL, >FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN. > >NARA--Great Lakes Region (Chicago), 7358 South Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL >60629. 312-581-7816. Email: <[email protected]>. States: IL, >IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. > >NARA--Central Plains Region (Kansas City), 2312 East Bannister Rd., Kansas >City, MO 64131. 816-926-6272. Email: <[email protected]>. >States: IA, KS, MO, NE. > >NARA--Southwest Region (Fort Worth), 501 West Felix St., P.O. Box 6216, Ft. >Worth, TX 76115. 817-334-5525. States: AR, LA, NM (most records from >Federal agencies in NM are at NARA-Rocky Mountain Region), OK, TX. > >NARA--Rocky Mountain Region (Denver), Building 48-Denver Federal Center, >Denver, CO 80225-0307. 303-236-0817. Email: <[email protected]>. >States: CO, MT, ND, NM, SD, UT, WY. > >NARA--Pacific Region (Laguna Niguel), 24000 Avila Rd., Laguna Niguel, CA >92656. 714-360-2641. Email: <[email protected]>. States: AZ, >southern CA, and Clark Co., NV. > >NARA--Pacific Region (San Francisco), 1000 Commodore Dr., San Bruno, CA >94066. 415-876-9009. Email: <[email protected]>. Northern CA, >HI, NV (except Clark Co.), Pacific Trust Territories, American Samoa. > >NARA--Pacific-Alaska Region (Seattle), 6125 Sand Point Way, NE, Seattle, >WA, 98115. 206-526-6507. Email: <[email protected]>. > >NARA--Pacific-Alaska Region (Anchorage), 654 West Third Ave., Anchorage, >AK, 99501. 907-271-2441. Email: [email protected]>. State: AK. > > >>> "Dan Conner" <[email protected]> 03/20/01 07:31AM >>> >I am hoping to find Naturalization Records for: >(1) GRAHAM, Isaac: from Belfast, Ireland. Came to America sometime before >1869 and lived in Philadelphia, PA >(2) STROM, Charles: came from Sweden to America sometime in the1880's. > >Thank you, >Dan Conner >Omaha, NE _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com