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The Search for Our Ancestry: More on Naturalization

Angelo Coniglio | Feb 1, 2013, 6 a.m.

The U. S. Federal Census has been taken every 10 years starting with 1790. The latest that is available to the public is the 1940 census, which was released this past April. Federal censuses from 1790 through 1820 recorded no information on the respondents’ origin or language.

Beginning with the 1830 U. S. Census, these reports gave information that can be helpful in determining when, and to some extent from where, their respondents came to America. The 1830 and 1840 censuses asked “how many white foreigners not naturalized” were in a household.

The 1850 census recorded the place of birth of each person, and censuses asked a form of the question though the 1880 version, which also asked the place of birth of each person’s father and mother.

In 1890, the census recorded the same information on origins, as well as the language spoken by the respondent and whether he/she was naturalized or had applied for naturalization. Ditto for 1900 and 1910, with additional questions asking when the person had immigrated and how long they had been in the U.S.

The 1920 census added year of naturalization and the language spoken by the respondent and each parent and asked specifically for the year of immigration for anyone not born in the U.S. In 1930, the year of immigration and naturalization status were reported: “al” indicated “alien”; “Na” meant “Naturalized”; and “pa” meant “papers applied for.”

The most recent federal census available to the public, that of 1940, asked for the place of birth, distinguishing Canada-French from Canada-English and Irish Free State (Eire) from Northern Ireland. It also asked citizenship status, with the same code (al, Na, pa) used in 1930, as well as what the place of residence of the respondents had been on April 1, 1935.

Rules for naturalization varied over the years, but in general, to be naturalized, an immigrant had to file a document like a “Declaration of Intent” (“first papers”), followed by a “Petition for Naturalization.” These notified a U.S. federal court that the person wished to revoke his/her existing citizenship in a foreign country and become a citizen of the United States.

The process also required notarized affidavits from one or more U.S. citizens, stating that they had been closely acquainted with the applicant for a number of years and vouching for the applicant’s character.

The documentation then included a sworn statement by the applicant that he/she accepted the responsibilities of American citizenship. Typically, after the immigrant was sworn in, he/she was issued a Certificate of Naturalization.

Information on citizenship and naturalization can help to find other records about our immigrant ancestors. For example, a census entry regarding place of birth or citizenship can indicate whether you should look for a birth record in the U.S. or in the “old country.”

If the latter is the case, the date of immigration can tell you where (in what time period) you should search for your ancestor’s passenger manifest, which, in turn, could show a town of birth, which then could be researched for birth and other vital records.

If a naturalization date is given, that’s a clue to follow up at the county clerk’s office in the county of residence shown on the census. Look there for the immigrant’s Declaration of Intent or Petition for Naturalization, which often show important details about the person: birth date, place of birth, date and ship of immigration, residence at time of application, names of family members and their birth dates and places, etc.

In my family’s case, the affidavits of friends in my father’s application told me that he lived in Pennsylvania before 1920, and that he and his family had then moved to the Canal district in Buffalo, N.Y., at an address I had not previously known.

If family records include only the Certificate of Naturalization (similar to a diploma), it states that the person was naturalized but doesn’t give important life details like those you will find on the naturalization papers.

 

  Write to Angelo at genealogytips@aol.com or visit his website, www.bit.ly/AFCGen.
He is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia),
based on his genealogical research of Sicilian foundlings.
For more information, see www.bit.ly/SicilianStory.

Angelo F. Coniglio's 50Plus Author's Page

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