Researching Immigrant Ancestors

Guest Blogger: Lauren Kuntzman, MCDL Family History & Learning Center Manager

If you’re an American of European descent, you probably have at least a few immigrant ancestors for whom you’re searching. In this installment of MCDL’s “how to” series, we’ll take a look at the best strategies and resources for learning about these family members. Though this article will mostly focus on researching individuals who arrived in the U.S. during the height of immigration in the early 1900s, it will include resources for locating individuals who arrived here earlier, too.

In general, researching immigrant ancestors is a three-step process. This blog post will discuss each step, then provide an example to illustrate the search process.

Step 1: Start with records in the U.S.A.
Researching immigrants starts like all other research. Collect sources about your ancestor, such as death certificates, obituaries, church records and more. At the top of your priority list, should be the U.S. Federal Census. Last month, Lisa Rienerth wrote an excellent blog post on this topic and noted how the census can help lead to naturalization and immigration records. (See here for details.)

After you’ve exhausted records from the U.S., the next steps involve finding naturalization records and passenger lists. If your ancestor became a U.S. citizen after 1906, I recommend trying to find naturalization records first. Otherwise, Steps 2 and 3 could be conducted simultaneously, or in either order.


Step 2: Find your ancestor’s naturalization record
Kathy Petras has written two fantastic posts about naturalization records in the past: see Naturalization Records and U.S. Naturalization Records for Women for in-depth information on laws, facts in records, and tips for finding documents (especially if your ancestor was in Medina County).

FamilySearch is a great place to search for naturalization records. If your ancestor became a citizen while living in Ohio, see the list of relevant online collections here. If your ancestor became a citizen in a state other than Ohio, see FamilySearch’s list of all online naturalization records here. Note: Some of these collections are on the subscription database Ancestry, but you can access these for free from MCDL.


Step 3: Find your ancestor’s passenger list
When you search for your ancestor’s passenger list, keep these points in mind:

• The terms Passenger Manifest, Ship Manifest, and Passenger List refer to the same type of record.
• United States passenger lists are all arrivals.
• Few countries document individuals leaving. (Exceptions: limited departure records are available from Germany and England.)
• Date and place affect sources, information, and searching.

The records you’ll find (and the information included in them) is impacted by the date when the document was created. Specifically: 

MCDL owns many volumes of the Passenger
and Immigration Lists Index that can help
research immigrants arriving in the
USA in the 1800s.   

Before 1820, passenger lists were not required by the U.S. government. However, some were created. Of the early passenger lists that have survived, many have been indexed in Passenger and Immigration Lists Index by P. William Filby. This multi-volume set of books is available in the MCDL collection (currently housed in the 1907 room).

After 1820 (when the U.S. federal government mandated creation of passenger arrival lists), these records have limited details about the voyage and the passengers, including:

• The captain’s name, the ship’s name, the ports of departure and arrival, and the date.
• The passenger’s name, age, sex, occupation, nationality, and country they intend to inhabit.

After Ellis Island opened in 1892, passenger lists steadily grew to include more details. This timeline summarizes the information you may find in these records:

• 1893 - details added about a passenger’s marital status, literacy, last residence and final destination, financial status, if they were previously in U.S. or have relatives in U.S., if the individual was a prisoner, poor, or polygamist, and their mental and physical health.
• 1906 - details added about the passenger’s physical description, and place of birth, and if they were an anarchist.
• 1907 -- lists become 2 pages long and include name and address of a living relative in country of origin.
• 1919 - lists add questions about head tax, the purpose of the passenger’s visit, belief in overthrowing government, and if they were previously deported.
• 1925 - the lists add three questions pertaining to immigration visas.

While the date of the record determines what information it may contain, knowing the place where the record was created impacts locating it. Passenger list records are generally organized by the place (“port of entry”) where the immigrant entered the country. 

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection,
The New York Public Library. "Immigrant Station, Ellis Island, with ferry
docked at adjacent pier." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed
May 9, 2019. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-d78c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Ellis Island is the most famous port of entry, with more than 12 million immigrants entering the U.S. from this site, while it was in operation between January 1, 1892 and November 12, 1954. Before Ellis Island opened, Castle Garden (aka Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton) served as America's first official immigration center, with 8 to 12 million immigrants entering the country through this earlier port. 

To find records for Ellis Island, Castle Garden, and earlier New York arrivals, try the following resources: 

• With a free account, search the Ellis Island website for records, including images of passenger lists and ships.
• Search the Castle Garden website for free (no account required), for text-only records on 11 million immigrants from 1820 through 1892.
• Search passenger lists for both Ellis Island and Castle Garden with Ancestry. Search for free at Medina County District Library, using Ancestry’s collection of “New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957.”
• FamilySearch also provides access to information from Ellis Island and Castle Garden. See FamilySearch’s collections of passenger lists and indexes here.

Besides Ellis Island and Castle Garden in New York, other major U.S. ports include Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. To search for records from these ports, try:

FamilySearch

• Baltimore Index and Passenger Lists (1820-1948)
• Boston Index and Passenger Lists (1820-1891)
• New Orleans Passenger Lists (1820-1945)
• Philadelphia Index and Passenger Lists (1800-1882)

Ancestry
Search the Ancestry Card Catalog United States Passenger Lists for the following collections (and many more):

• Baltimore, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1872
• Boston, 1821-1850 Passenger and Immigration Lists
• Philadelphia, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1800-1850
• New Orleans, Passenger Lists, 1813-1963

This is a lot of information. Here’s an example of how the process works:

Helyak Family, date/place unknown.  Copy in the collection of the author.

The gentleman on the far right in the photo is my great-grandfather Michael Hellock (born Mihaly Helyak). When I began to research him, I wanted to learn where he had been born, when he arrived in the U.S.A., and when he'd become  a naturalized citizen.  Since Michael had a typical, twentieth-century immigration experience, he makes an excellent example of the research process and records you can expect to find. 

Step 1: Start with records in the U.S.A.
Though I found my great-grandfather’s death certificate, obituary, and social security application, the most helpful source was the U.S. census. I located Michael on the 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses. Here is the relevant information from these records:

	Name	Age	Birthplace	Immigration Year	Naturalization Status	Language
1910	Michael Helak	20	Hungary	1905	AL [Alien]	English [?]
1920	Mike Hellock	29	Austria	1904	AL	Slovak
1930	Michael Helak	40	Czechoslovakia	1905	NA [Naturalized]	Slovak
1940	Michael Hellock	51	Slovakia	-	-	-

From these records, I learned that Michael became a naturalized citizen between 1920 and 1930, that he arrived in the USA around 1904-1905, and that he came from somewhere around Austria-Hungary-Slovakia. It also gave me options for how his name might be spelled. These clues gave me the information that I needed to begin Step 2.


Step 2: Find your ancestor’s naturalization record
When I originally searched for Michael’s record (about 20 years ago), census records indicated that he had naturalized between 1920 and 1930, while living in Jefferson County, Ohio. I had to go to the county courthouse, look at indexes, and search through bound ledgers of records. Today, his records can be found with a few mouse clicks.

Since Michael spelled his name in a variety of ways, I searched for Helyak, Hellock, and a couple other variations. The first document I found was his “Declaration of Intention” (aka “First Papers”). It includes great personal details, plus specific information on the port through which he entered the country (New York), the ship he came on (Ultonia), and its date of arrival (28 June 1906).

The next document I found was the “Petition for Naturalization.” Be aware that these are at least two pages long, so browse pages around your record, to make sure you don’t miss something! For Michael, a copy of his Declaration was inserted prior to the Petition, making it three pages. While much of the information from the Declaration is repeated, the Petition also includes info on Michael’s children.

Step 3: Find your ancestor’s passenger list
With information from the census records and the naturalization records, I next looked for a passenger list with Michael on it. For Michael, his naturalization record specified that he arrived on 28 June 1906 in New York aboard the Ultonia.

I searched FamilySearch’s “New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924” collection because it was the place I needed, for the right time period, and it’s a free resource. In searching it, I found not one, but two records for Michael. He first arrived on 21 May 1904... and then he arrived again on 24 June 1906 -- almost the exact date in his naturalization records!

Mihaly Helyak's 1906 Passenger List.  View on FamilySearch at
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95M-X96F-9?i=262&cc=1368704.  

Arriving in the United States more than once was not uncommon in the 1900s. With technological improvements, in the early 1900s a trip from Europe to America could take as little as two weeks. With shorter travel times, individuals would come to the U.S. for work, save money, then return to the “old country.” They would then return to the U.S. for work, and the cycle could repeat itself -- or the individuals might decide to stay and become citizens. These individuals (including Michael) are called “birds of passage.” (Learn more here.) 

Be sure to read all of the details on the passenger lists. For Michael’s 1906 record, this includes his last residence (Zahar, today Zahor, Slovakia), his destination in the U.S. (Bridgeport, PA), and the name of a relative/friend he will be meeting in the U.S. (his brother, Gyorgy Helyak). These facts confirm information from the naturalization record, plus add a new relative, Gyorgy, to my family tree. This illustrates another important point of researching immigrant ancestors -- the idea of chain migration. In the early 1900s, it was common for one relative to come to the United States, then provide aid to have other family members join them. For Michael and Gyorgy, their three siblings also came to the U.S., but only one sister stayed permanently.

Though my questions about Michael’s experience with immigration and naturalization have been answered, the clue about Michael’s brother Gyorgy means the search process can begin all over again!


Some Final Tips for Searching
If you’re having trouble finding your ancestor...

• Try searching variant spelling of your ancestor’s surname.
• Spell a surname with wildcard characters. In most databases you can use a ? to represent a single letter in a name, while a * can represent multiple letters in a surname. (Example: searching for Sm?th will find records for Smith or Smyth, while searching for Smith* will find results for Smith or Smithe or Smithson.)
• Learn the ethnic name equivalents and try searches in the immigrant’s native language. While it’s a myth that immigration officials changed your family’s name at Ellis Island (learn more here), you ancestor may not have used the English version of his or her given name. Their surname may also have ethnic variants.
• Learn about pronunciation in your immigrant ancestor’s native language. In some cases clerks may have recorded the name as they heard it.
• Remember: Not everything is online and not all records have been indexed. Check back periodically, or consider which repository might hold a copy of your ancestor’s documents.
• Try searching for relatives of your ancestor -- siblings, spouses, children, etc.

And lastly, if you’re running into challenges, contact the Genealogy Team at MCDL. We’re happy to offer suggestions for finding your ancestor!

U.S. Naturalization Records for Women

Columbia personified from a World War I poster
by Paul Stahr from Wikipedia

Naturalization records for women are even more complicated than those for men.

While the laws for naturalization did not limit citizenship by sex, women had few reasons to apply for naturalization before 1920 because they could not vote.  Generally, they did not hold property in their own names or appear as "persons" before the law. Only widows or single women would be likely to apply.  And since there were court fees to be paid, and no tangible benefits, few applied.

Prior to 1922, they derived their citizenship status from the status of their husbands. If her husband was alien, she was an alien, even if she had been born and raised in the U.S.!

Here is a timeline of the different laws and acts that effected women's citizenship in the U.S.:

• 1795 - an act (1 Stat. 414 § 1) that provided for the derivative citizenship for minor children . While it doesn't mention women they are included. 
• 1804 -  Widows and children of an alien who dies before filing his final papers are eligible for citizenship. 
• 1855 - An alien female who marries a U.S. citizen is automatically naturalized. 
• This law that linked a woman's citizenship with her husband' s status, was also used to revoke the citizenship of a woman if she married an alien resident even if she had been born and raised in the U.S.!
• The courts disagreed on how to apply this statute and eventually decided that between 1866 and 1907 no woman lost her citizenship by marrying an alien unless she left the country.
• 1867 - The U.S. annexed Alaska. Native Americans are considered citizens of a "separate nations" until 1924.
• 1888 - Native American  women who marry a U.S. citizens are declared citizens of the U.S. 
• Prior to 1906, wives and children may, or may not, be mentioned in the husband's naturalization papers.
• 1906 - The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization is established, standardizing the forms used and information collected. Women still are subject to derivative citizenship. 
• 1907 - the Supreme Court ruled that women who married alien residents before 1907 did NOT lose their American Citizenship.
• 1907 - The Expatriation Act decided that female U.S citizens who married an alien lost their U.S. Citizenship. A married woman could not legally file for naturalization. This Act was repealed in 1922, but women who lost their citizenship under this act did not have their citizenship restored until 1936. (See later entry.)
• 1916 - Divorced wives and widows of U.S. citizens who are living abroad must register with a U.S. consulate within one year to retain their citizenship.
• 1918 - Women who are married to German citizens have their property confiscated.
• 1920- U.S. women are given the right to vote. Women who had their property confiscated during World War I (see above) can reclaim their property.
• 1922 - The Cable Act (42 Stat. 1022 § 4) establishes citizenship for women 21+ years old. Derivative citizenship is discontinued.
• 1929 - Women who gained citizenship through a husband who was naturalized could obtain a Certificate of Derivative Citizenship.
• 1931 - A woman who married an alien citizen would remain an American citizen unless:
• She renounced her U.S. citizenship in a U.S. court.
• She became a naturalized citizen of another country.
• She took an oath of allegiance to another country.
• She married an alien ineligible  to become a U.S. citizen prior to 1931.
• 1882-1930 - Chinese women were denied entry to the U.S. In 1930, Chinese wives were allowed entry if they had married a U.S. citizen prior to 1924. In 1945, the War Brides Act allowed the wives and children of Chinese American citizens to apply for citizenship. 
• 1936 - Women who lost their citizenship under the 1907 Expatriation Act, could apply for repatriation after the death of or divorce from her alien husband.She could regain her citizenship by taking the Oath of Allegiance.
• 1940 Congress allowed all women who had lost their citizenship between 1907 and 1922 to regain their citizenship regardless of their marital status - they did not have to be widowed or divorced.

Examples:

1. Mary Petras - Marie Komora was born in Czechoslovakia in 1903. She married Victor Petras in 1920. Victor came to the United States in 1922, leaving behind his wife and two small children. He applied for naturalization in 1923 and was granted citizenship in 1927, while his wife and children were still in Czechoslovakia.

Mary Petras and children, Mary and John Petras
around the time of their immigration to the U.S.
Photo courtesy Marijane (Petras) Kubach

Mary and the children sailed to the U.S. in 1928, joining her husband Victor in Cleveland, Ohio. Her status has nothing to do with her husband's, as shown in these excerpts from the 1930 and 1940 census records: 

Excerpt from the 1930 Census for Cleveland Ohio from Ancestry Library Edition.
It shows the family: Victor, Head of the family; Mary, his wife; John, his son; Mary, his daughter.

This tinier excerpt shows their citizenship status:
Victor immigrated in 1922 and he is a naturalized citizen.
Mary came in 1928 and she is an alien.
John & Mary (daughter) both came in 1928
and their citizenship is derived from their father's.

This the an excerpt from the 1940 Census for the family.
Mary's status as an alien hasn't changed.
Oh, and a third child has joined the family, Margaret.
As she was born in the U.S. of a naturalized citizen, Victor Petras, she is a natural citizen.

           But in December of 1939, Mary Komora Petras filed her application for naturalization:

Mary Petras' application for naturalization, dated December 1939.
From Ancestry Library Edition

                 And on April 19th, 1940 she took the Oath of Allegiance:

 But wait! Didn't the 1940 census still list her as an alien? Yes, it did. So what is going on here?  The census was taken on 13 April, six days before Mary took the oath and became an American Citizen. Technically, the census should have listed her status as "pa" for "papers filed."

 2. The two women in the documents below lost their U.S. Citizenship when they married alien residents. They were applying to get their citizenship reinstated or "repatriated" under the 1936 legislation, one because her husband had died and the other because they had divorced.

Oath of Allegiance - Family Search - Film # 007797040 - United States. District Court
(Nebraska  Omaha Division) - from FamilySearch.org

Oath of Allegiance - Family Search - Film # 007797040 - United States. District Court
(Nebraska  Omaha Division) from FamilySearch.org

 3. A single woman petitioning for citizenship in 1921 - shortly after women won the right to vote:

Ohio, Naturalization Petition and Record Books, 1888-1946 for Emma Johnson
from Ancestry Library Edition.
This is her Declaration of Intention.

In the hopes of finding an example of a woman applying for naturalization prior to 1920, I searched the indexes for early records in Lorain County Ohio, 1835-1845, Summit County Ohio 1843-1844 and Medina County Ohio, 1833-1860. I was really excited when Florence Weber appeared in the dockets for Medina County, the declaration of intention appearing in Volume D, page 265 of the docket and the naturalization record in Volume E, page 251:

Apparently, Florence can be a man's name in early 19th century France...

SOURCES:

• The Hidden Half of the Family A Sourcebook for Women's Genealogy by Christina Kassabian Schaefer.
• "Naturalization Records", The National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/naturalization.html 
• ""Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married..." Women and Naturalization, ca. 1802-1940" The National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-1.html and part 2 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1998/summer/women-and-naturalization-2.html  
• They Became Americans Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins Loretto Dennis Szucs.
• "When Saying "I Do" Meant Giving Up Your U.S. Citizenship" by Meg Hacker, The National Archives https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2014/spring/citizenship.pdf

Naturalization Records

Naturalization records, along with ship passenger lists, provide the link to "the Old Country" that we, as family historians, are all looking for eventually.

It helps if you have exhausted all the more traditional genealogical research before tackling Naturalization Records. Such research will help narrow down the place and time that your ancestor's naturalization might have taken place. Census records have clues to dates and places that might help guide your search.

CENSUS RECORDS

Census records can help lead your search. For example, if the parents are listed in the census as both  being born in Germany, as well as the oldest child/ren, but the next child is born in Pennsylvania and the following child is born in Ohio, the children's ages can help pinpoint the year of the immigration as well as where they have lived since immigrating. Knowing that they have to reside in the US for 5 years before becoming a citizen means you need to start looking at where they were residing in the 5-10 years after immigration to find their naturalization records. 

These census enumerations taken during the years of the US's. highest immigration (1880-1940) asked specific questions about immigration and naturalization status:

• 1900 Census asked:
• Year of immigration to the U.S.
• How long the immigrant had been in the U.S.
• Is the person naturalized
• 1910 Census listed:
• Year of immigration to the U.S.
• Whether a naturalized citizen or an alien resident
• Whether able to speak English, or list of what language is spoken
• 1920 Census asked:
• Year of immigration to the U.S.
• Whether a naturalized citizen or an alien resident
• If naturalized, year of naturalization
• 1930 Census listed:
• Year of immigration to the U.S.
• Naturalization
• Whether able to speak English
• 1940 Census simply asked Citizenship status.

Under the "Naturalization" column, you will see these abbreviations:

• AL means they are an alien resident
• NA means they are a naturalized citizen
• PA means they have filed their first papers but are not yet a naturalized citizen.
• NR means "not reported"

Excerpt from the 1920 Census for Cleveland Ward 3, Cuyahoga County Ohio.
Notice that Salvatore DiSalvo is listed under the name "Sam Desolva" His year of immigration is 1911.
His wife, Mary came to the US in 1915. "Sam" has filed his first papers "pa" while Mary is listed as an alien "al"
Notice that the two boys were both born in Ohio. However, their mother tongue is listed as "Italian" even
though they probably weren't doing much talking at the age of  1 1/2 years and one month!

Remember that not all of the foreign born alien residents became naturalized citizens even though they may have lived here the rest of their lives. Their reasons varied from a deep loyalty to their home country to simply not wanting to file the paperwork.

And to understand what information can be found and where to look for the record, you need to know what the laws were at the time of immigration.

LAWS

The United States passed its first law providing for the naturalization of foreign born residents in 1790. Some of its provisions were:

• The alien resident had to have lived in the U.S. for two years before filing a "declaration of intent". The person had to be " a free white citizen who behaved as a man of good moral character." Two witnesses attested to his "good moral character." This document usually contains more useful information for the genealogist.
• After 3 more years, the alien then had to file a "petition for naturalization". If the petition was granted, a certificate of citizenship was granted.
• Prior to 1906, these filings could occur in ANY court of record and most alien residents would file at the court most convenient to them.
• The names of these courts varied according to location and time period. Some of the names they went by are:
• County supreme court
• County circuit court
• County district court
• County equity court
• County chancery court
• County probate cord
• County common pleas court
• State supreme courts of Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Jersey and South Dakota
• Because so many different courts were involved in the naturalization process prior to 1906, the information collected varies so greatly that no rules can be provided as to what you will find or if it even still exists. Even court employees may not be familiar with what naturalization records are held in their older records.
• "Derivative" citizenship was granted to wives and minor children of naturalized men from 1790 to 1922. Children had to be under the age of 21 in the years from 1790-1940.
• Prior to September 1906, names of wives and children are generally not included in the filings.
• Starting in 1824 through 1906, minor aliens who had been living in the US for 5 years before their 23rd birthday could file their declarations & petitions at the same time.
• In 1862, any honorably discharged Army veteran of any war could petition for naturalization without filing a declaration of intent after living in the US for only 1 year. This provision was extended to honorably discharged veterans of the Navy or Marine Corps in 1894.
• Over 190,000 US veterans were naturalized during World War I.
• See Christina Schaefer's Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States to see what records are available for a particular locality.
• In 1906 the Federal Government standardized the forms and questions and the records are kept in Federal Archives.

My ancestor, James TAGG traveled from England to the U.S. in 1836. They came to Portage County, Ohio, where his wife, Rebecca, would be near her brother, Thomas HEIGHTON. In 1840, James filed his Intention to become a citizen. That record still has not been located. However, in the Archives in the Polsky Building at the University of Akron, I found the Supreme Court Journals for Portage County. In Volume 2, on page 263 I found what I was looking for. The Archives photocopy of the original is very difficult to read. Here is the transcription:

September Term A.D. 1842

William Clark, James Clark & James Tagg’s Naturalization

This day comes William Clark James Clark & James Tagg and prove to the satisfaction of the Court that they filed in this Court two years ago the requisite declaration of their intention to become citizens of the United States that they have resided in the United States for five years last past, that they have resided one year last past in the said State of Ohio and that during all that time they have behaved as men of good moral character attached to the principles and constitution of the United States and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same and the said William Clark James Clark & James Tagg in open Court here severally swear that they will support the Constitution of the United States and they do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince Potentate State or Sovereignty whatsoever and particularly all allegiance and fidelity to Victoria Queen of Great Britain whose subjects they were. Whereupon it is ordered by the Court that certificates of Naturalization be issued to them on payment of costs of this application.

A scanned image of a Supreme Court Record book for Portage County from Familysearch.org
Unfortunately, the volume where James' records are have not been digitized, yet...

With this document, James TAGG was also conferring citizenship to his wife, Rebecca and his minor children at the time: John, born 1825, Joseph, born 1826, Mary born 1828, Lydia born 1829 and Eliza born 1830. Notice how NONE of their names, nor any other genealogical information, is listed in this document.

If the naturalization took place at a Federal Court, you will need to consult the National Archives regional offices for the appropriate state. Many of the records for 1880 through the 1930's can be found online at sites like Ancestry Library Edition and FamilySearch.org

RECORDS FOR SALVATORE DISALVO from Ancestry Library Edition in the order they would have been filed:

1. The Declaration of Intention - this paperwork lets the government know that the resident alien is interested in becoming a citizen. Filed on 29 December 1927.

This document tells us where & where he was born, Grotte (Sicily), Italy, where he came from,
Palermo (Sicily), Italy and the name of the ship he traveled on, Canada.
It also tells his current address and that he has a wife, Maria, who is living here with him.
Finally it gives us the date of his immigration to the U.S.

2. Petition for Citizenship - this document indicates that Salvatore believes he meets all the requirements to become a U.S. citizen. Filed 19 November 1930.

This paper repeats some of the information in the Declaration of Intention: address,
occupation, date of immigration, etc. But it also includes all of his children's names
and dates of births and that they all were born in the U.S. It includes the names of
two witnesses who are testifying to his moral worthiness to become a citizen.
The DiSalvo family is related to the Chianello family.

3. Certificate of Arrival - this shows that the alien came into the US legally and confirms the date and "manner of arrival" - aboard the SS Canada.

4. The Oath of Allegiance - this document is where the resident alien fore swears or rejects his allegiance to the leadership of his former country, in this case, the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. But look more closely.

This petition was denied on the grounds that his "moral character not established." This would have been around the time that Salvatore's neighbor turned him in for making wine in his bath tub during Prohibition. The case did go to court and he was found guilty, but was not deported. Prohibition was repealed in 1933.

5. This card is an online index from Ancestry LE that shows that his petition was denied in November of 1931.

6. Salvatore filed a second Declaration of Intention on April 9, 1932.

This contains all the same information as was on his first Declaration. But now it includes a photo!

7. Now called a Petition for Naturalization, this repeats all the information in the first petition. Dated 10 January 1936, it does mention that his first petition was denied. Also, notice that the names of the witnesses are different.

8. The final Oath of Allegiance conferring citizenship to Salvatore DiSalvo on 24 April 1936.

INS/USCIC Records
 The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has copies of ALL naturalization records from 1906-1956. However, they charge $65 per record requested. Since their fees are so expensive, you will want to use them as a last resort. You can visit their website for details on how to apply. USCIS And here is a graphic that explains the process concisely:

Medina Library has volumes of photocopied naturalization records covering the years 1934-1965 for Medina County. They are indexed. The look very much like Salvatore DiSalvo's record above.

The bound volumes of Medina County Naturalization Records are in dark blue
3-ring binders with orange covers as seen above.

Also, the Library has a 6 reel microfilm set that is labeled "Medina County Naturalization Records but is in fact a listing of court costs paid. Most of the individual entries are for civil litigation, but sometimes you will find where an individual paid the court costs for his petition for naturalization. This helps narrow down the time period for searching for the actual court record. Each Journal is indexed at the end of the journal. More than one journal can be on one reel of microfilm. Covers the years 1818-1855.

In the September Term (of the court) in 1825, Josepeh Pimlot applied for a Cert. of Naturalization in Medina County.
The above record shows where he paid the clerk's fee of $2.01 for the filing.

On this page for the Jan Term 1834, three different gentlemen paid their fees: James Brown,
Wm. Shaw, and Edwin Powers.

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index - many-volumed set of index listings to passenger and immigration lists published in other sources, does included naturalizations occasionally. 

In a later blog we will explore how naturalization records applied to women...

For more detailed information on U.S. Naturalization Records, please consult these SOURCES:

• Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States, Schaefer, Christina K.
• Mastering Immigration & Naturalization Records,  Quillen, W. Daniel 
• "Naturalization Records, The National Archives: https://www/archives.gov/research/naturalization/naturalization.html.
• They Became Americans Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins, Szucs,  Loretto Dennis.
• USCIS web site: https://www.uscis.gov/genealogy

What I learned....

The Ohio Genealogical Society Library near Bellville, Ohio
just a few miles off I-71.

Every year in October the Ohio Genealogical Society offers an all-day seminar for genealogy librarians. We get to network with other like minded library staff, tour the library facilities and most important of all, discover new genealogical techniques and resources. On October 16th Lisa and I attended the 13th Annual Genealogy Librarians Seminar. We had a very good time and learned a lot!

Here are some highlights:

Tom Neel, the OGS librarian, talked about Naturalization Records. Lisa and I have worked with

Tom Neel, Librarian at the
Ohio Genealogical Society Library

naturalization records before, but Tom's talk took us in deeper than our own research had ever required of us.  Facts:

• Naturalization was not required, unless the immigrant wanted to vote or buy land. I suspect buying land was more of an incentive than voting.
• Prior to 1920, most applicants were men. Their wives and children's citizenship status followed whatever he was. If a native born American woman married an "alien" immigrant, she became an alien resident. In 1920, women won the right to vote, so they had to change that law.
• Colonial citizenship only required an "oath of allegiance" to whoever was in power, mostly like the King.
• In 1776, all white male residents of became citizens of the new-born United States of America, if they wanted to. But for many years, only white males who owned land could vote.
• Residency requirements changed over time:
• Prior to 1795 you had to be a resident for 5 years.
• Starting in 1795, you had to be a resident for 3 years.
• In 1824, the law was changed so you had to be a resident for 2 years.
• Different paperwork was filed:
• First paper- declaration of intent. Many immigrants were encouraged to file these as soon as possible.
• Second papers - Petition for naturalization - were filed in court.
• Certificate of citizenship was issued to the immigrant and would remain in the immigrant's possession.
• Naturalization papers could be filed in any court of law. In Ohio:
• Prior to 1852 could be filed in the county court of common pleas or the Ohio Supreme Court.
• In 1852, the probate courts were formed and they took over most of the applications for naturalization. These papers would be on file with the Clerk of Courts.
• The "packets" of naturalization papers are on file at the National Archives Regional Offices. For Ohio, that is in Chicago, Illinois.

Gwen Mayer giving a Haunted
Hudson Tour. Gwen's eyes make
her look possessed.

Next, Gwen Mayer from the Hudson Library and Historical Society talked about genealogy programming at her library. She works with their genealogical society and between them they offer TWO genealogy programs a month! She had a lot of GREAT ideas that we hope to implement in the coming months. I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I won't give any details here. And alas! Our staffing levels will  not permit us to offer two programs a month...

Then, Lisa Long of the Ohio History Connection talked about Ohio's State Hospitals and 

Athens State Hospital, closed in 1993.
Known to thousands of Ohio University students as 
"The Ridges."

Developmental Centers. These are the hospitals for people with mental illnesses, epilepsy or developmental disabilities. Most of us have at least one or more ancestors who needed to be hospitalized in one of these institutions. She covered the history of the legislation that created the hospitals and that also still protects the records. Many of the hospital records have been turned over to the Ohio History Connection, but can only be released to the deceased patient's closest living relative for a $25 fee. Case files, the detailed daily record of treatment and progress, are destroyed 10 years after the patient's release from care. Some documentation of patients' lives can be found in public records, such as:

• Death records
• Census records showing the "inmates" living at the hospital at the time of the census.
• County home registers.
• The DDD census schedule taken in 1880, that lists the deaf, dumb and disabled.
• Newspaper reports
• Institutional cemeteries. Toledo & Athens have online listings: toledostatehospitalcemetery.org and namiathensohio.org/~oldsite/GravesDirectory.html 
• County Histories
• Ohio Laws
• Probate records - it is up to each probate judge whether to provide access to these records. I have luckily found several for my ancestors.

The last presentation was named "Its Electric: Publicizing Your Archival Collections Using EAD FACTORy" by Amy Dawson of Cleveland Public Library. I will admit it. Amy was talking way over my head at the beginning, using jargon and acronyms that I didn't understand. But once we got some definitions, I enjoyed her talk. Basically, she was talking about how to use the open source software, EAD FACTORy to produce finding aids for your digital or archival collections.

An Edris Eckhardt Alice in Wonderland
figurine created by WPA artists, like what
the Medina Library owns.

For example, the Medina Library owns a set of Edris Eckhardt ceramic statues. But unless you talked to me, you would never know it. But with this software we could create a finding aid that would be added to the library's catalog of materials. Then anyone who searched for Edris Eckhardt in the catalog would find out that the Medina Library owns some of her work and that it is in storage. I hope that we are able to use these tools for our collection in the near future.





While you may not be a candidate for the Annual OGS Librarian's Seminar, you should be checking out what classes and programs your local genealogical society or local library is offering to enhance your genealogical research skills!



And I want to thank everyone who lets me know that the blog is appreciated and valuable. Most of you contact me via email, FB or personally. It is nice to know that you are out there! THANKS!