here zona... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lorine McGinnis Schulze <otg@csolve.net> Date: May 24, 2005 6:56 AM Subject: [ROOTS-L] Re: THE "LEGALESE" IN PETITIONS, ETC. To: ROOTS-M@rootsweb.com On 24 May 2005 at 1:03, ROOTS-L-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > Last night after I was double-checking one of two sets sent > to my by NARA of my GF's paper to see which one may be my > GF's something in one caught my eye (briefly the heading): > District Court of the US/Southern District/NY wherein they > were referring to the matter of the application to be > admitted a citizen of the USA. First time I had seen this. > > The paragraph that caught my eye: > > "The above-named applicant, being over twenty-one years of > age, hereby petitions to be admitted to become a Citizen of > the United States of America, and avers that he arrived in > the United States before he became eighteen years of age, > and has ever since resided therein." > > How interesting that a separate government paper would be > for over 21 when petitioning and require under 18 when > arriving. > > Does anyone know why this particular requirement for over 21 > and under 18 and how long it was a requirement? One was > dated 1899 and the other 1900. It's explained on the website NaturalizationRecords.com "Aliens: From 1824 to 1906, minor aliens who had arrived in the United States as a minor at least 3 years before their 18th birthday could petition for naturalization at the age of 21. " http://naturalizationrecords.com/usa/ There's lots more there - explanations of various changes in rules and circumstances, plus links to online naturalization records. Lorine -- Lorine McGinnis Schulze * Olive Tree Genealogy (Ships Passenger Lists) http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ * Naturalization Records http://naturalizationrecords.com/ * Images of Ships Lists http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/ships/ otg@csolve.net or olivetreegenealogy@gmail.com