Intermediate/Advanced Level Article
Locating Naturalization Records in Local and County Courts Pre-1906
On September 27, 1906, the Federal Government took over full control of the naturalization process at
ports of entry and in the courts. Prior to that, Declarations of Intention and Naturalization Petitions
could be filed in any local or county court of record within a given jurisdiction. While some kept
separate volumes or files pertaining to naturalization proceedings, most are interspersed with daily
court business.
When proceedings are interspersed with other daily cases, the names of new citizens rarely appear in any of the indexes accompanying the court minutes. This will mean a page by page search unless you are able to narrow your search down to a specific date or month. The good news is that most of these courts, recognizing the significance of the process, kept naturalization proceedings, including the submission of the Declarations of Intention separate from other court business.
Declarations of Intention proceedings were the first step for immigrants on the way to citizenship.
There was no residency requirement for this procedure. While the forms used by the various courts varied by state, they usually included information such as the name, age, and occupation of the immigrant, the country of birth and allegiance, date and port of entry, and signature/ date of application.
In 95% of cases, the Declaration of Intention proceedings preceded the filing of a naturalization petition. However, there were some exceptions often based on highly specialized occupational or military service considerations. It is also important to note that there was no law specifying that the Declaration of Intention had to be filed in the same courts as the eventual Naturalization Petition. In most cases, they were filed in different courts, often in different states.
To complete the citizenship process, the immigrant had to prove continuous residence in the United States for at least five years, renounce any loyalty to any previous homeland(s), and take the oath of Allegiance to the United States. Locating naturalization records in local and county courts is often
easier than for regular daily business proceedings. The indexing is usually better.
The type of information found in the packet will be very similar to the Declaration of Intention. It is supplemented by affidavits submitted by sponsors and/or witnesses attesting to the moral character
and proof that the applicant has fulfilled all of the legal guidelines of residency. Many of these records have been digitized and are not only available through the courts, but also online at FamilySearch and Ancestry.
Here are some final thoughts for consideration:
1. In most pre-1906 records, it was usually the male head of household listed in the naturalization process because his wife and children became citizens as a result of his actions.
2. There are no guarantees that the Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization took place in the same court let alone same state.
3. Not every immigrant who took part in the Declaration of Intention proceedings followed though with becoming a citizen.
For more information on this topic, please be advised that I have compiled multiple study guides on this topic that I can send you electronically and you are free to save them and share as needed. I have
also included some additional current resources below from the Internet and YouTube.
FamilySearch Wiki. Naturalization and Citizenship Records. 2026
You Tube Tutorials
Eddleman, Bill. State Historical Society of Missouri.
Crossing the Pond - Tracing Ancestors Immigration and Naturalization Records . 2024 – 76 minutes
Bill Eddleman, coordinator of the State Historical Society of Missouri's Cape Girardeau Research
Center, continues the popular genealogy series with insight into immigration records. Most family historians in the U. S. have ancestors who migrated from other continents. Depending on the time
period of immigration and port of arrival, it can be difficult to find these ancestors and tell their immigration story. This session will summarize surviving immigration records from different time periods and where to find them. It will also include a summary of naturalization records, where to locate them, and information they might contain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuhHTwcGBcM
Fortier, Margaret. Genealogy TV.
Immigration and Naturalization Records. 2019 – 40 minutes
Learn Immigration and Naturalization with guest Margaret R. Fortier, Certified Genealogist. In this “footnotes” episode we talk about the best ways to research your immigrant ancestors, where to look online, and the nuances and clues within the records. Also discussed are the ports of entry, migration routes and places to look for your ancestors along the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhGvWwGOh1s
Gamble, Alyssa. BYU Family History Library.
Certifying Citizenship: An Introduction to U.S. Naturalization Records. 2023 – 64 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRc8GQghBsIIn this webinar, Alyssa Gamble gives an introduction to naturalization records in the United States.
Hoffman, Suzanne. BYU Family History Library. Immigration and Naturalization from 1790 to 1945.
Bryan L. Mulcahy
Reference – Genealogy Librarian
Fort Myers Regional Library
bmulcahy@leegov.com6/14/2026