I am trying to locate Immigration and Naturalization records for my Irish Relatives. My Great Great Grandfather Andrew Somerville came to this country in May, 1838 and was Naturalized in September. 1872. The only information that the Cuyahoga County Archives had was this information on an index cards. I would like to see if there is any other way to obtain these records. Examples would be ship lists and immigration records. Any help would be appreciated. THANKS

As disappointing as it sounds, the records on those cards ARE the real records-- all there is for naturalizations. There were no extensive records kept at all-- just country they came from (in the case of the Irish, it often appeared as Great Britain, since technically, this was correct), when they arrived, age at arrival, and when they were being naturalized. Sometimes their local address is included or a sponsor's name, but that is not all that common. So it is not really a good resource for background on your family. You also need to remember that someone could be naturalized anywhere--- someone may live in OH for many years, but have been naturalized in the area where they first arrived. which can be ordered through your local library or LDS center-- but again, very sketchy info. The name and age-- often inaccurate-- of the person; their port of origin, which did not reflect their home county but where the ship departed from; sometimes their occupation & sometimes their city or state of destination. There is a series of books called the Famine Immigrants, that covers the early years of Irish immigration. They transcribe passenger list info-- but they stop too early for your Somerville. Sorry not to have better news for you-- Judith in Ohio ----- Original Message ----- From: <Misterhounddog@aol.com> To: <OH-CLEVELAND-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2003 6:05 PM Subject: Cleveland Immigration Records > I am trying to locate Immigration and Naturalization records for my Irish > Relatives. My Great Great Grandfather Andrew Somerville came to this country > in May, 1838 and was Naturalized in September. 1872. The only information > that the Cuyahoga County Archives had was this information on an index cards. > I would like to see if there is any other way to obtain these records. > Examples would be ship lists and immigration records. Any help would be > appreciated. THANKS > > ______________________________

More information.. There are two steps to the naturalization process, the first papers or Declarations of Intent and the final papers or the actual naturalization. In Cuyahoga County these papers are filed in both Common Pleas and Probate Courts (after 1852) and also District Court (under Federal jurisdiction). The Probate Court Records are well indexed and copies of the records are available on microfilm from LDS. The Common Pleas Court Records seem to be less well organized. There seem to be multiple indexes, with a great deal of repetition. However, some of the naturalization records provide the place where first papers were filed, giving the exact county and state. This is helpful in tracing the immigrant's prior place of residence in the U.S. or Canada. The Declarations of Intent often provide the date of arrival in the U.S. As this is based on the memory of the immigrant it may not be entirely accurate, but it is a place to start. The Petitions for Citizenship often provide a location in Ireland. They are often misspelled and have to be researched and corrected using other sources. This is "as good as it gets" in many cases, and one has to work with what is available. The Petitions files frequently contain copies of the original Declarations of Intent which were filed in another state or county and have been presented by the immigrant as evidence of having filed first papers. The names of witnesses in these and other records may provide the names of other relatives, and help to "sort out" those with more common names. In truth, there is more information available than the index cards in many, but not all cases. The 20th century naturalization records, many of which are filed in the National Archives are much more complete, as most of us know. The 19th century records are more challenging. As with any other original sources these need to be combined with other genealogical information to piece together the "puzzle" about our ancestors. Finding the pieces and putting them together is part of the challenge for a family researcher, and also part of the fun. Don't back away from the challenge. Donna M. Wolf Genealogist Author Irish Immigrants in the Naturalization Records of Cuyahoga County, Ohio 1820-1900. See http://www.clossonpress.com for information --- Judith <jrosenbe@neo.rr.com> wrote: > As disappointing as it sounds, the records on those > cards ARE the real > records-- all there is for naturalizations. There > were no extensive > records kept at all-- just country they came from > (in the case of the Irish, > it often appeared as Great Britain, since > technically, this was correct), > when they arrived, age at arrival, and when they > were being naturalized. > Sometimes their local address is included or a > sponsor's name, but that is > not all that common. So it is not really a good > resource for background on > your family. You also need to remember that someone > could be naturalized > anywhere--- someone may live in OH for many years, > but have been naturalized > in the area where they first arrived. > > which can be ordered through your local library or > LDS center-- but again, > very sketchy info. The name and age-- often > inaccurate-- of the person; > their port of origin, which did not reflect their > home county but where the > ship departed from; sometimes their occupation & > sometimes their city or > state of destination. There is a series of books > called the Famine > Immigrants, that covers the early years of Irish > immigration. They > transcribe passenger list info-- but they stop too > early for your > Somerville. > > Sorry not to have better news for you-- > Judith in Ohio > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <Misterhounddog@aol.com> > To: <OH-CLEVELAND-IRISH-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2003 6:05 PM > Subject: Cleveland Immigration Records > > > > I am trying to locate Immigration and > Naturalization records for my Irish > > Relatives. My Great Great Grandfather Andrew > Somerville came to this > country > > in May, 1838 and was Naturalized in September. > 1872. The only information > > that the Cuyahoga County Archives had was this > information on an index > cards. > > I would like to see if there is any other way to > obtain these records. > > Examples would be ship lists and immigration > records. Any help would be > > appreciated. THANKS > > > > ______________________________ >