Naturalized or Not?
Many genealogists think that the typical immigrant was naturalized as soon as possible after he arrived in the United States. While some were, a large number delayed becoming citizens for years, even decades after they were eligible. Still others never naturalized at all.
Americans tend to assume that everyone who lives permanently in the United States is a citizen. That has never been the case. At least twenty-five percent of immigrants who came to the U.S. never naturalized. Another portion did eventually become naturalized, but not until after years here.
The reasons that people didn’t become citizens are varied. Some planned to work for a while and then return to their home countries. Others, such as most Asians, were not eligible for citizenship until well after World War II. Until 1922, when they were finally able to vote, few women naturalized. Citizen or not, they still wouldn’t be able to vote. Even after 1922, some women did not feel that citizenship was important for them.
All of this can make it difficult to find a specific naturalization record. Before searching, it’s important to determine whether someone ever became a citizen or not. It’s also helpful to have at least a rough idea when someone might have naturalized.
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive index to naturalizations. Before 1906, any court in any jurisdiction could naturalize someone. This includes federal, state, county and municipal courts. These records are scattered in various online and offline collections. Large online websites such as Ancestry and Family Search, state archives and local courthouses all contain naturalization records. After 1906, most naturalization records were done by the federal government. Information concerning them can be found on the National Archives website.
Luckily, there are some common records that can help in a naturalization search. Censuses, military and homestead records are readily available online. These records indicate someone’s citizenship status at the time of the record. Checking them first can save you the time and frustration of a search for non-existent records.
Check at the National Archives website (http://www.archives.gov) to find a listing of what the various censuses and military records contain. In general, censuses between 1900 and 1950 include a column for citizenship. Most of them merely indicate whether someone was naturalized or not, but the 1920 census indicates the year in which a person was naturalized.
Draft registration cards for both World War I and World War II will indicate a man’s citizenship status.
The various homestead acts of the 19th century required that the person filing for a homestead be a citizen or in the process of becoming one to receive title to a property.
Keep in mind that the various records detailing someone’s citizenship status are only as accurate as the person who supplied the information. For example, an ancestor of mine lied on his homestead application saying he was a “natural born citizen” even though he was born in Canada to non-American parents. The ancestor was successful with his lie. He got title to his property. However, later census records indicate that he was an alien, not a citizen, through the rest of his life.
Naturalization records can help build a picture of your immigrant ancestor, but not everyone who came to the United States became a citizen. Keeping this fact in mind will help avoid frustration when searching for these elusive records.
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society