Illinois, Northern District (Eastern Division), Naturalization Index - FamilySearch Historical Records: Difference between revisions

CID=1838804<br>Title=Illinois, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950  

==== Style Guide ====

These indexes are for records that cover the years from 1840 to about 1950.  

== Record Description ==

This collection is a soundex card index to petitions for residents of northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, southern and eastern Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa. It includes no records from Cook County, Illinois prior to 1871 as these records were destroyed by fire. For more information about Soundex indexes and instructions for coding names, see the Wiki article “[[Soundex|Soundex]].”  

'''The collection includes the following counties for Illinois:'''  

Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Champaign,Cook, De Kalb, Du Page, Ford, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, La Salle, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.  

Benton, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, La Porte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph and Starke.  

'''The collection includes the following counties for Iowa:''' Allamakee, Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Grundy, Hardin, Henry, Howard, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Mahaska, Mitchell, Monroe, Muscatine, Scott, Tama, Van Buren, Wapello, Washington and Winneshiek.  

'''The collection includes the following counties for Wisconsin:''' Adams, Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Lafayette, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood.  

The actual naturalization volumes vary in size and format. Prior to 1906 each document was usually handwritten on one page. From the late 1800s and on, printed forms were used. After 1906 many entries were typewritten.  

While there were various types of naturalization records, the Declaration of Intent and Naturalization Petition usually had the most complete genealogical information.  

=== Record Content ===

The following lists are information usually found on the index cards. However, not all of this information, is provided on every card.  

Index cards for naturalizations taking place prior to 1906 typically contain the following:<br>• Name of the petitioner<br>• Name of the court in which naturalization occurred<br>• Document number<br>• Country of origin<br>• Date of naturalization.<br>Most cards that index naturalizations after 1906 provide space for the following information: <br>• Name of petitioner<br>• Address<br>• name of the court in which naturalization occurred<br>• certificate, petition, or other identifying document number<br>• Country of origin <br>• date of birth<br>• date and place of arrival in the United States<br>• date of naturalization<br>• name and address of witnesses  

The following lists are informormation usually found in the actual naturalization records.  

== How to Use the Record ==

Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the card index. Name indexes make it possible to access a specific record quickly. Check the index for the surname and then the given name. You may need to look at many cards to find the one you are seeking. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.  

When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:  

*The full name of your ancestor.  

*The approximate immigration and naturalization dates.  

If you do not know this information, check the 1900 census and then calculate the possible year of naturalization based on the date of immigration. The 1920 census may tell you the exact year of immigration or naturalization.  

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:  

Use naturalization records to:  

*Learn an immigrant’s place of origin  

*Confirm their date of arrival  

*Learn foreign and “Americanized” names  

You may also find these tips helpful:  

*Look for the Declaration of Intent soon after the immigrant arrived, and then look for the Naturalization Petition five years later, when the residency requirement would have been met. Look for naturalization records in federal courts and then in state, county, or city courts.  

*An individual may have filed the first and final papers in different courts and sometimes in a different state if the person moved. Immigrants who were younger than 18 when they arrived did not need to file a Declaration of Intent as part of the process.  

*If your ancestor had a common name, be sure to look at all the entries for a name before you decide which is correct.  

*Continue to search the naturalization records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who may have naturalized in the same area or nearby.  

*The witnesses named on naturalization records may have been older relatives of the person in the naturalization process. Search for their naturalizations.  

If you do not find the name you are looking for, try the following:  

*Check for variant spellings. Realize that the indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings and misinterpretations.  

*Try a different index if there is one for the years needed. You may also need to search the naturalization records year by year.  

== Record History ==

The first naturalization act was passed in 1802. Immigrants to the United States were not required to apply for citizenship. Of those who did apply, many did not complete the requirements for citizenship.  

Naturalization to become a U.S. citizen was a two-part process: the Declaration of Intent to Naturalize, or First Papers, and the Naturalization Record (including the Naturalization Petition), or Final Papers. The First Papers were normally filed five years before the Final Papers because of the five-year residency requirement to become a citizen.  

No centralized files existed before 1906. In 1906 federal forms replaced the various formats that had been used by the various courts. Copies were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), creating a central file for naturalization papers. The INS is now known as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  

Naturalization records are generally well preserved, but some records may have been lost to fire or other disasters.  

=== Why this Record Was Created ===

=== Record Reliability ===

The information found in the index is usually reliable. However, there was always a chance for misinformation. Errors may have occurred because of the informant’s lack of knowledge or because of transcription errors or other circumstances.  

== Related Web Sites ==

[http://www.accessgenealogy.com/naturalizations.htm Illinois State Archives]<br>

[http://www.archives.gov/great-lakes/finding-aids/naturalization-records.html National Archives, Great Lakes Region]&nbsp;

== Related Wiki Articles) ==

[[Illinois Naturalization and Citizenship|Illinois Naturalization and Citizenship]]

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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: [[How to Cite FamilySearch Collections|How to Cite FamilySearch Collections]].  

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== Sources of Information for This Collection  ==

“Illinois, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950,” database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/); from United States Federal Archives and Records Center. NARA M1285. FHL Microfilm, 179 rolls. Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

 

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