Did an ancestor of yours become a citizen after 1906? If so, you're in luck. That's the year the United States establish an immigration and naturalization bureau and the citizenship process was standardized.
Now called U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, this federal agency keeps copies of all citizenship records from 1906 to now. This includes the records of those who gained citizenship through their father's naturalization or because they were born abroad to American parents.
Records of soldiers who took the fast track to naturalization while serving overseas during World War II are on file, too. (See uscis.gov).
These records can be wonderfully replete with data. Take the file of Anna Karnock, for example. Her height, weight and photo appear on her citizenship Declaration of Intention. So do the names of her late husband and her children. The file shows she was born in Czechoslovakia, previously lived in Poland and emigrated from Italy. She gave her race as Russian and her nationality as Polish. (Okay, so you can't have everything).
The year was 1940.
Tracking down the citizenship papers of ancestors who were naturalized before 1906 is a headache. The records could be anywhere. They might not exist. And even when found, they may not turn out to have been worth the effort.
James Murray is a prime example. He filed a Declaration of Intention for citizenship in the District Court of Houghton County, Mich., in 1866. He signed an Oath of Allegiance and filed a Petition for Naturalization in the Court of Common Pleas in Fayette County, Pa., in 1872, even though he lived in Michigan.
Who knows why.
Also, Murray's file states that he was born in Ireland and arrived in the United States in 1863. There is no mention of where in Ireland he was born and what ship brought him here.
I found Murray's file at the Fayette County Courthouse. That courthouse, like many in Pennsylvania, has a random selection of citizenship files from before and after 1906. The files are even indexed.
In the end, James Murray turned out not to be an ancestor of mine. On the other hand, I have my great-grandfather's Citizenship Certificate, which includes the file number, but staff at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Pennsylvania couldn't find the paperwork.
Still, a courthouse is your best bet. Once you've exhausted its resources, head for the local library. I lucked out in Burlington, N.J. A roll of microfilm at the main public library contained the citizenship records of John Shelley. He was my kin.
Check with the local historical society next to see if it has records. Then check the state's archives. Most have a Web site showing available records.
The National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., has citizenship records for selected counties in California, Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. It also has records for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine for 1798-1906 and the District of Columbia for 1802 to 1926.
The administration also would have papers filed in federal court before 1906, either in Washington or at a regional facility. (The administration also keeps immigration files pertaining to border crossings relating to Mexico and Canada).
To obtain papers filed between 1906 and 1956 from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, write to: USCIS, I&N Historian, 425 I St. NW, Room 1100, Washington, DC 20536, or call (202) 514-1722.
For records after 1956, write to the appropriate district office.
-- Read past Donna Murray Allen columns online at www.sptimes.com Type "Donna Murray Allen" in the search box. You can write to Allen c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her at rootscolumn@yahoo.com Her Web site: www.rootsdetective.com includes information on classes and lectures. Allen welcomes your questions about genealogy and will respond to those of general interest in future columns.
