Naturalization Papers I have received several requests about explaining Naturalization Papers. It gets a little convoluted when it comes to old Naturalization Papers. I will try to explain it as I understand it. Just to clarify a point, first, women could become naturalized not only through their husbands, but through almost any male legally part of the family including cousins, stepfathers, uncles, brother, brothers-in law, etc. In the early days, they almost never applied for papers. The men were considered "competent sponsors" and were also held financially responsible for the welfare of the women in most parts of the country. Women who were "unattached" could petition the court for sponsorship by an unrelated male, as long as he was a citizen, and could prove that he could support her adequately if she could not maintain her own support. Women did this if they were working as domenestic servants or nannies, cooks in lumber camps, working in garment factories, etc. Their male employers "sponsored" them. But her actual citizenship depended on him and if he withdrew his sponsorship, she packed and left. Sadly, if a woman was let go from her job in these circumstances, due to illness, injury, or no longer being needed for employment, the male employer just had to send a letter to the court withdrawing his sponsorship, and he was not held responsible for her welfare. She had to quickly find another sponsoring employer, hide, get married to a legal citizen, or leave the country. Shortly after a man came to this country, he was strongly encouraged to sign and submit a petition that requested consideration for citizenship by the US government. The was called a "Letter of Intent". If had a sponsor in this country who was already naturalized, it was considered a good idea to have him (had to be a male) co-sign. Many men never went any further than that, since they had sons born in this country almost immediately (my grandfather was born 6 week from arrival) after the "Letter" was submitted. This son was a natural born citizen (daughters didn't count on this one) and was then his father's sponsor. But the older brothers who were born in another country were not covered by the birth of the baby boy. To many men, however, it was important to become an official citizen in their new homeland. They then went ahead (after proving that they would be productive members of society - usually by having a job and place to live) and applied for formal citizenship, thereby receiving their Naturalization Papers at the local county courthouse upon acceptance. At this time all minor children, both male and female, became naturalized, as if they were born here. If the father did not apply for Naturalization, the foreign born sons must do so when they reached maturity (usually 18 years of age). Hope this helps, Rita