Naturalizations are some of the most-difficult records for a genealogist to locate. This is due to the cumbersome, disjointed processes that have prevailed. Prior to 1906, naturalization could take place in any court of record -- at the city, county, state, or federal level. The various steps of the process might well have transpired in various courts across several states.
For the researcher who suspects their ancestor was naturalized in Multnomah County, Oregon, the process is complicated by the fact that naturalizations were granted by county courts and by federal courts -- all located in Portland. Many of the records have been collected in archives far removed from the courtroom where the ancestor swore allegiance to the United States.
For handy reference, this webpage is broken down into the following sections:
The first step is to determine if the ancestor was really naturalized. Obtain copies of the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses. These will tell you the answer.
The naturalization process has called for a declaration of intention, a petition for naturalization, depositions of reputable witnesses, and a final decree. Most pre-1906 records in Oregon provide the bare minimum of information: the name of applicant and his country of prior origins. Post-1906 records can provide ages, occupations, personal descriptions, dates and places of births, dates of emigrations, ports of embarkation and arrival, marital status, and similar information on children of the applicant.
| Year | Law |
|---|---|
| 1790 | First United States Naturalization act enacted. Free white males over 21 years could apply for citizenship before any court of record after two years residence in the United States and one year in any state. No declaration of intention required. Naturalization could take place in any court of record. |
| 1795 | Three-year residence requirement for declaration of intent. Residency requirement for final papers increased to five years with one year in the state. Wives and children automatically became citizens (called derivative citizenship). Single women over 21 years could apply for citizenship. |
| 1802 | Citizenship bestowed upon widows and children of alien who had declared intent but died prior to final papers. |
| 1862 | Military veterans became citizens after honorable discharge. |
| 1906 | Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization formed. Aliens required to register upon entry. Residence: two years to declare intent, five years for final papers. Wives and minor children became citizens when father/husband was naturalized (derivative citizenship). |
| 1922 | Women aged 21 years could become citizens. Wives no longer became citizens upon husband's naturalization. Residency requirement for declaration of intent waived. |
All courts conferring citizenship since 1906 have been required to forward copies of these records to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Thus, post-1906 naturalization documents on any person may exist locally or federally; and the INS records of any given event may be housed now in the National Archives or at one of the latter's regional branches. Moreover, records created within the past seventy-five years are deemed confidential.
The importance of these records is that INS maintained a general index by name! They will search their index and provide copies of the documents.
A letter to Immigration and Naturalization Service, citing a request for search under the Freedom of Information/Privacy Act, will initiate correspondence. Write to:
Freedom of Information Act Officer
United States Department of Justice
Immigration and Naturalization Service
511 NW Broadway
Portland, OR 97209
Ask for a copy of the Naturalization Files - the "C-Files" for the ancestor. Include the following information about the naturalized citizen:
Name
Birth date and place (as much as you know)
Approximate date of entry
Names of towns where lived
Death date and place
Names of other persons who may be included in the naturalization process, such as spouse and children.
Include your contact information: name, mailing address, telephone, and e-mail address.
The local agency will forward the request on to the agency in Washington, DC. The search takes from one month to one year to complete.
Read more about the Immigration and Naturalization Service and "C-Files" on the INS, online at: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/history/natzrec/natrec.htm.
Did your immigrant ancestor receive Federal land? If so, he or she was a citizen. Under the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Donation Land Act of 1850, applicants had to be citizens to receive federal land. A copy of the naturalization papers is included in their Land Case File.
Search Land Patents on-line at: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov . If you do not have Internet access, check the Index to Oregon Donation Land Claims, a book published by the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. Also, look at the BLM Tract Books, on microfiche, in the Forum Library.
Genealogical Forum of Oregon Library ($5.00 visitor fee)
1505 SE Gideon St.
Portland
E-mail: gfoinfo@hotmail.com
The Forum has a research service, and a member of the Research Committee can look up the information from the Index to Oregon Donation Land Claims for you. The fee is $10.00 for a half hour of research. Photocopies are an additional 25 cents per page. Please enclose a long stamped, self-addressed envelope with your request and send to:
Attn: Research Requests
Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Inc.
PO Box 42567
Portland OR 97242-0567
If you find that your ancestor had a Homestead or Donation Land Claim, you can obtain a copy of the entire file (including the naturalization papers) from the National Archives. The current fee, as of the year 2002, is $17.50. Request a copy of NATF Forum 84, "National Archives Order for Copies of Land Entry Files," from the National Archives. You can send an e-mail request for the form to inquire@nara.gov. Mail requests for the form should be sent to:
National Archives & Records Administration
NWCTB
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20408-001
The Genealogical Forum of Oregon Library and the Oregon State Archives have the microfilmed set of Oregon Donation Land Claim case files, but the files do not include the naturalization papers. At the time of microfilming, it was not legal to copy naturalization papers.
If your ancestor voted in Multnomah County, you will probably find their registration card on the "Foreign Registration Cards Prior to Sept. 1967. The cards include the date and name of the court where the naturalization took place.
A set of the 29 rolls is in the:
If you have not found your ancestor's naturalization, and you are positive the naturalization took place in Multnomah County, here is the next step.
Contact the Multnomah County Circuit Court File room at the Multnomah County Courthouse. The court staff will check the Multnomah County Naturalization Indexes.
Multnomah County Courthouse
1021 SW 4th
Portland, OR 97204
In September 2001, the Oregon State Archives prepared an inventory of Multnomah County court records. The following information about Multnomah County naturalization records was taken from the online inventory at Oregon State Archive's website, http://arcweb. sos.state.or.us/county/cphome.html.
Circuit Court Citizenship Journal, vol. 160-161, 1903-1905 (2 volumes); vol. 167-168, 1905-1906 (2 volumes)
[Hearing of Petitions for Naturalizations Docket], 1908-1912 (1 volume)
Index to Citizen [title varies], 1854-1906 (2 volumes)
Index to Citizenship Journal, 1854-1906 (1 volume)
Index to Declaration of Intention, vol. 1, 1852-1912 (1 volume)
[Journal County Court Law-includes some citizenship and insanity cases], vol. 1-8, 1859-1934 (4 reels of microfilm)
Naturalization Index, 1906-1920 (1 volume and 1 reel of microfilm)
Naturalization Index, 1906-1920 (1 volume)
Petition and Record [with index], vol. 1-22, 1906-1920 (22 volumes)
Record of Declarations of Intention [title varies-with index], vol. 3-29, 1888-1913 (27 volumes); vol. 31-45, 1913-1920 (15 volumes)
[Hearing of Petitions for Naturalizations Docket], 1908-1912 (1 volume)
[Journal County Court Law-includes some citizenship and insanity cases], vol. 1-8, 1859-1934 (4 reels of microfilm)
[Naturalization Index], 1906-1920 (1 reel of microfilm)
[Naturalization Index], 1906-1920 (1 volume)
Miscellaneous Books [includes some Certificates of Citizenship], vol. 3-87, 1887-1929 (12 reels of microfilm); vol. 1-40, 1929-ca.1940 (10 reels of microfilm)
Certificates of Naturalization, 1907-1921 (77 volumes)
Citizenship Records [Record of Citizenship], 1923-1929 (.40 cu.ft.)
If the search of the Multnomah County Circuit Court does not bring results, all is not lost. Many people became citizens at the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Circuit Court, also located in Portland.
Contact the US District Court and ask that the staff check their naturalization card index which covers the years circa 1920 to the present.
U. S. District Court
Mark O. Hatfield US. Courthouse
District Court Clerk, Suite 740
1000 SW Third
Portland OR 97204
A consolidated index to naturalization proceedings in the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Circuit Court for Oregon between 1859 and 1946 has been microfilmed as M1242, Indexes to the Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for Oregon, 1859-1956. The researcher can find these indexes at the Genealogical Forum Library.
The records that go with the microfilm index cards are at the Federal Records Center of the National Archives-Pacific Alaska Region in Seattle, Washington.
Federal Records Center
6125 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, Washington 98115-7999
Phone:206-526-6501
E-mail: seattle.archives@nara.gov
Fax: 206-526-6575
Court journals of proceedings, 1859-1877
Declarations of intention, 1859-1906
Indexes to declarations and petitions, 1906-1956
Journals of admission to citizenship, 1877-1906
Petitions, 1904-1970
Unindexed petitions based on military service, 1868-1879
Court journals of proceedings, 1863-1877
Declarations of intention, 1897-1911
Indexes to declarations and petitions, 1906-1911
Journals of admission to citizenship, 1877-1906
Petitions, 1904-1911
Greenwood, Val D. “American Aids to Finding the Home of the Immigrant Ancestor.” The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 2nd Edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990, pp 465-484. [Bibliography includes books about naturalization.]
Newman, John J. American Naturalization Records 1790-1990 What They Are and How to Use Them. Bountiful UT: Heritage Quest, 1985, 1988. [Laws relating to naturalization, sample naturalization records, bibliography.]
Schaefer, Christina K. Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States. Baltimore, MD:
Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987. [State-by-state list of records.]
Szucs, Loretto Dennis. They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry, Inc., 1998.
United States Immigration & Naturalization Service. See the “History, Genealogy and Education” page: www.ins.usdoj.gov/gra phics/index.htm