April 26, 2024 Passenger lists are my favorite records. They document a momentous time in our ancestors’ lives – the day they set forth on a journey to a new life in America. Finding an ancestor’s name on a ship’s list verifies an event that changed our ancestor lives. It continues to impact our own …
Tag: Carol Stetser
Ineligible for Citizenship
April 19, 2024 From the beginning, the United States has considered some categories of people ineligible to become citizens. If your ancestors fall into any of these categories, they could never become citizens, no matter how long they spent in the United States. That means that you won’t find any kind of naturalization documents for …
Naturalization Papers
March 29, 2024 Many family historians want to locate their ancestors’ naturalization papers. Before they can begin, they need to know exactly what they’re looking for. For most of its history, the United States has had a two-step naturalization program. Would-be citizens first had to file a declaration of intent and later a naturalization …