Self Help

Naturalization records yield valuable information on immigrant ancestors. Beginning with the first naturalization act of 1790, aliens were required in most instances to establish residency and file for citizenship. Becoming “naturalized” usually required declaration of intention and, after meeting the residence requirement, a petition to become a citizen. An individual might also have to obtain depositions from friends and neighbors in support of his application. The petition, if successful, resulted in a certificate of naturalization.

Of the various kinds of naturalization records, declarations of intention and certificates of naturalization are the most helpful to genealogists. Before the immigration law of 1906, declarations of intention recorded name, date, signature, and country of birth or allegiance. Some also stated the date and port of arrival in the United States. After 1906, the form was expanded to include each applicant’s age, occupation, personal description, date and place of birth, citizenship, present and last foreign address, ports of embarkation and entry, name of passenger vessel traveled, and date of arrival in the United States.

As is clear from this list, naturalization records are most useful for identifying our immigrant ancestors’ places of origin. Remember, however, that many immigrants lived briefly in other countries (often Canada, the Caribbean basin, or South America) before finally coming to the United States. Thus last foreign address may reveal a migration pattern more complex than previously realized. Note too that the declaration of intention records the vessel and port of embarkation as well as the port and arrival date in the United States. With this information you can readily identify the immigration passenger list that records the arrival of your ancestor in America. Locating an ancestor’s naturalization record can prove frustrating.

Before 1906 an alien could go before any federal, state, or local court and petition to become a naturalized citizen. Records were maintained only by the court to which the petition was made. Checking each jurisdiction in which a forebear might have been naturalized for such data may require many hours. After 1906 all courts were required to forward copies of naturalization proceedings to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, D.C.

A WPA project to abstract information from naturalization papers was, unfortunately, terminated after such work had been completed for New York City, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. These extracts, two pages for each applicant usually include place and date of birth, occupation, vessel, port of entry and date of arrival in the United States, place of residence at the time of application, and the name and address of a witness.