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Meeting minutes and handouts prepared by speakers
April 11, 2007 Naturalization Procedures and Records
Presentation by Charlie Hessler
What were the basic 19th century naturalization rules? --5 years of residence and age 21 were required for citizenship, usually only men applied. --To become a citizen, an immigrant generally followed a two-step process: 1st papers (or “Declaration of Intention”) were filed giving some basic information and indicating that the immigrant wanted to become a citizen; they could be filed as soon after arrival in the U.S. as the immigrant chose. 2nd papers (or “final papers”)—wait at least 2 years after filing 1st papers (or after 5 years’ residence in US, if later), then file a petition requesting citizenship, take oath of citizenship; certificate of citizenship would be issued. Many immigrants filed an initial declaration of intention and then never took the next step. Technically, they were not yet citizens. During World War I, some German immigrants whose declaration of intention had been filed decades earlier finally applied for their 2nd papers and became U.S. citizens. The 1900 census was the first to use codes to indicate naturalization status, as follows: “Al” = alien who had filed no naturalization papers; “P” = 1st papers filed; “Na” = naturalized citizen. Military service--Beginning in 1862, aliens who had been honorably discharged from the US military could become citizens upon petition and a minimum of one year’s residence in the U.S. What special exception applied to immigrants who arrived in US before their 18th birthday? --Single filing sufficient if they were resident for three years prior to their 21st birthday and two years after age 21 An immigrant, who was eligible for this one-step procedure, should only have applied after reaching age 23; in practice, this rule was sometimes interpreted loosely. --This rule helps to explain why some declarations may not be treated as 1st papers, but are instead recorded in the same place as a final oath and order granting citizenship. When a man became a citizen (2nd papers/oath), did it affect his wife and/or children? --Until Sept 1922, a woman’s citizenship was derivative from that of her husband; thus, when a married man became a naturalized citizen, his wife also became a citizen. Until women got the right to vote, their citizenship status had little practical effect. --Similarly, when a man obtained 2nd papers (final oath), any of his children under age 21 at that time automatically became citizens; before 1906, however, a declaration of intention seldom listed minor children. Remember that these rules were not always followed precisely --For example, some criminal courts and probate courts (that lacked general common law jurisdiction) took naturalization cases What information is contained in naturalization records? --This can vary widely, but usually includes name and nationality, plus possibly age and/or birth date, departure date and port of departure, arrival date and port of entry. A few naturalization records, especially those filed before preprinted forms were used, may contain other key information, such as the immigrant’s hometown. --No standard application forms were required until 1906 when uniform forms were required under federal law. --Many courts used preprinted forms as early as the 1830s, and by the 1850s or 1860s a bound record book containing preprinted forms was generally used, at least for declarations of intention. Where could an immigrant file for 1st or 2nd papers? --Any state or federal “court of record” (permanent written proceeding, common law jurisdiction, a seal, and a clerk) --The immigrant usually filed in county of residence, but that was not mandatory. Of course, if the immigrant moved to another county (or state) between filing 1st and 2nd papers, those papers will be found in different places Why did immigrants file for naturalization? --Many states limited ownership of land to those who had applied for citizenship; in 1818, Indiana adopted such a law requiring filing a declaration of intention; it was modified in 1843 to allow merely an affidavit that the immigrant intended to file for citizenship; and in 1846, Indiana law changed again to require only that the immigrant be a resident of the state. --Under the 1862 federal Homestead Act, land was only available to citizens (and those who had filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen/1st papers) What has happened to naturalization records in Indiana? --If they still exist, many are still in local courthouses (usually Clerk’s office) (All separate naturalization books supposed to be transferred to Indiana State Archives) Distinguish original documents from copies made by county clerk --Signature on original may be in German script for a German immigrant. Sometimes, the clerk may have tried to imitate the immigrant’s original signature when the naturalization application was copied into the record book --Remember that there was no literacy requirement for citizenship in the 19th century. A number of declarations of intention were signed by a “X” (sometimes called “His mark”); of course, that is also interesting to a genealogist. How accurate are naturalization records likely to be? --the immigrant’s memory may have been faulty or the he provided may have been less than fully accurate information for some other reason --the clerk may have incorrectly recorded the information, or simply been unable to understand exactly what the immigrant was saying --the handwriting (and spelling) in the documents may be difficult to interpret --the condition of the documents (ink blots, faded ink, etc.) may cause problems State Archives (located at 6440 E. 30th St., Indianapolis) An indexing process is under way, with some counties in various stages of completion --21 counties currently can be searched online at http://www.in.gov/serv/icpr_naturalization --However, online data shows first and last names, nationality, date of arrival and book and page where record is located --Additional information compiled (but not online) includes: date of filing; and, if known, age, port of departure, port of arrival, and date of arrival --Database also includes notes by the researcher compiling the data that may include additional info (such as hometown), but these notes are not currently available online but can be obtained at the State Archives. --Spelling and inconsistencies in these records and interpretation of handwriting pose special problems; researchers compiling the index can provide alternative spelling Summary of naturalization records located in select Indiana counties Decatur—some 2nd papers in Order Books [1st ten volumes, plus bound naturalization records, in State Archives; other Orders Books are in courthouse at Greensburg] Ripley—Order Books contain many 2nd papers [stored in County Archives annex in Versailles] Franklin—Order Books contain many 2nd papers [stored in courthouse in Brookville] Dearborn—all declaration and citizenship records still at courthouse in Lawrenceburg WPA Naturalization Project The WPA intended to collect all pre-1907 naturalization records, but due to World War II, the project was only completed for Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, as well as for New York City. These records are available at the National Archives as part of Records Group 85. In Indiana, local workers completed their inventories and sent them to Indiana, where they were typed. [Newman, p. 17] When the WPA was closed in July 1942, these county lists were deposited in the Indiana State Archives. The Family History Section of the Indiana Historical Society created and published an index of about 43,500 entries from these records. [Newman, 17] Tri-County Naturalization Records As a volunteer at the State Archives, I am currently compiling a computer data base of information on Franklin County naturalization records located at the State Archives. Eventually, that information will be available online. Eventually, I expect that the data base will have over 2,500 records, of which over 600 are original documents that are also in the bound volumes. If those original documents were declarations of intention filed in Franklin County, then the data base will have a second copy of the same record (as copied into one of the bound naturalization books of 1st papers. Information extracted from Franklin County naturalization from September 1826 to March 1839 can already be found online at http://www.rootsweb.com/~infrankl/natural.html . This information was originally published in The Hoosier Genealogist in December 1978. There are indexes to some Ripley County and Decatur County naturalization records, which can found in the Indiana State Library and also in some other libraries. In many cases, the same record will have been indexed by the WPA project. Bibliography John J. Newman, American Naturalization Processes and Procedures, 1790-1985 (Indiana Historical Society, 1985; reprinted 1996) [cited as “Newman”] Family History Section, An index to Indiana naturalization records found in various order books of the ninety-two local courts prior to 1906 (Indiana History Society, 1981) [from WPA compilation] Indiana Committee on Public Records, “Naturalization Database Search,” online at http://www.in.gov/serv/icpr_naturalization (last accessed on 29 Jan 2007) [cited as “ICPR Database”] Arnie Lang's Guide to Naturalization Research http://home.att.net/~arnielang/ship08.html
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