Seeking Assistance with Family Records from Jackson, Michigan
Hello everyone, my name is (name removed), and I am currently researching my ancestors. One of them emigrated from Falkenau, Kreis Grottkau, Silesia, Germany (now Poland) to the USA. Specifically, I’m focusing on Josef, a brother of my great-grandfather. I have all the details about Josef and his wife regarding their birth in Falkenau and their deaths in Jackson, Michigan.
Now comes the challenging part. According to stories from my grandfather and some former neighbors of Josef in Jackson, Josef and his wife may have had a son. I also found a record from 1960, which clearly supports that a son emigrated with them to the USA. However, according to the neighbor, this son supposedly emigrated again at some point.
Here’s my idea: since the USA keeps detailed immigration and citizenship records, and Josef apparently applied for citizenship in 1965, I’m wondering if these documents might include the birthdate or other details about his son. He would likely have been listed as Josef and his wife’s child in those records.
I’ve already contacted the Vital Clerk’s office in Jackson, and they mentioned they found some records (though they didn’t specify if these were only about Josef and his wife). Here’s the problem: they want me to either call them or visit in person. Since I live in Germany, this isn’t an easy option for me. German authorities often work more digitally, which simplifies things.
Can anyone help me figure out how to proceed? Is there a way to avoid having to travel to the USA or make an international phone call? Would an internet-based call (Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, etc.) be a possibility, or is that not common practice for these offices?
Thank you for letting me vent about my frustration in searching for Josef’s son. If anyone has tips or advice, I’d be incredibly grateful.
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@C7336 Mod note: Community is a public online forum. For your privacy, your post was edited to remove a name that is not part of your username. Please see the Community Code of Conduct for more details.
Have you tried searching the Michigan, Naturalization Records, 1837-1933 collection?
You can also find more record collections that pertain to Jackson County, Michigan in the FamilySearch Wiki here.
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Hey Ashlee, sorry that u had to modify my post 😅 problem is ,that they came to the us at about 1947-1956. He was a prisoner of war and they can't remember exactly when he came back to his family. His naturalization date is 1956 according to his death certificate.
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I see. Getting records for someone at those dates is harder. Your best bet is what you are already attempting - going through the Jackson county vital records office. I'm guessing you sent them an email previously. If not, here is a link to their website. https://www.co.jackson.mi.us/303/Records
Scroll down to find a contact email address.
It's best to contact them directly by email (since the phone call is long distance) and let them know your situation. They might have suggestions for you.
You could also try searching the National Archives website. They claim to have immigration records from the late 1700s through the early 2000s. Here is the link: https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration
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I work in downtown Lansing, right next to the state archives. If you do find that there are any records there that you need, I'd be happy to take photos or scans (or whatever is allowed) for you!
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@C7336 If he was naturalized after 1955 ( I believe you think it was around 1965) then try this web site. It is not the easy way but most naturalization records were filed with this office…
Courts continued to prepare duplicate naturalization records from 1956 to about 1992. USCIS filed the court documents in the immigrant’s A-File along with all other records of that individual.
Naturalization records from after April 1, 1956, are available from the USCIS Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Program.
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