Naturalization Document Scan for a Minor
I am looking for help to obtain a scan of a naturalization document for a relative. I have the U. S. Department of Labor, Immigration and Naturalization Service Form No. I-IP which contains, among other items, the Certificate no. At the time of application, I believe the relative was considered a minor, but was almost 22 y. o. at the time of naturalization, 24 Mar 1898.
Are scans of these records available and how might I request one?
Martin Remus
Answers
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Before 1906, when the laws changed, almost any court could grant naturalization. That means that those records may not be in a central database. https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/naturalization
Where the naturalization took place (what state) will impact what may be online. We might be able to give you more specific suggestions if you can share some details. Also, some naturalization records have been digitized and are online but are not yet indexed to be searchable by name. They can be found by browsing.
A minor could declare intent and then the final papers would be granted after the required time period and when the declarant became of full age. A great-grandfather arrived as a minor, and his naturalization paperwork includes this statement:
A 2nd great-grandfather declared intent while living in New York and finalized while living in New Jersey. Both records are in the New Jersey naturalization database.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you for your response, Áine. The person is August M. Hansen and the address on the form was given only as South Chicago, Ill. The Certificate no. was R 64 P-380 minor. The country of birth was given as Germany. The witness was Arthur H. Hansen, probably his older brother, and Arthur's address was the same South Chicago, Ill. There was no birth date for August on this form.
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@Martin Remus The FamilySearch Wiki article about Cook County, Illinois Genealogy has a section on naturalization and citizenship. It has links to some of the available naturalization records:
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Many thanks, but I'm not able to get from the index card to the actual record, if such exists. None of the links I looked at seemed to get me to the Certificate no. (or vol. and page), if that is indeed the actual record. Or maybe the card is all there is for pre-1900.
Thanks again!
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@Martin Remus to the best of my knowledge, those Cook County records are not online. They can only be viewed in person or by hiring someone local to retrieve for you.
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Ok, Áine, many thanks. So it sounds as though a record might yet be available. The search continues . . .
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Something less than 10% of genealogically useful records are online.
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