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November 21, 2009

Naturalization Records, the often overlooked way to find a Ships Passenger List

We all want to know where our ancestors came from. We want to know when they arrived in North America and when they became citizens. Naturalization and immigration records are the answer. Sometimes naturalization records for an ancestor are the only way to discover the family origins and that all-important ships passenger list.


Naturalization records can help you find the date of immigration, ship's passenger list, port of arrival, and the place of birth for your ancestor. Some naturalization records include occupations, names and ages of minor children, names and birth dates and places of spouses --- and more!

Footnote.com has searchable Naturalization Recordsicon from NARA (National Archives).

There is a wealth of genealogical information just waiting for you in your search for an ancestor. The following examples of various American Naturalization Documents shows you what type of information you might find. You can view these actual American Naturalization Record Documents at NaturalizationRecords.com website

* 1795 Petition for Naturalization for Patrick Ryan in Pennsylvania
* 1906 Petition for Naturalization for Christopher Alt in Baltimore Maryland. Gives occupation, date and place of birth, date of immigration, port of departure and port of arrival, names of children plus dates and locations of births
* 1912 Petition for Naturalization for Jacob Imfang of Pittsburg Pennsylvania. Gives occupation, date and place of birth, date of immigration, port of departure and port of arrival, name of spouse, names of children plus dates and locations of births
* 1880 Naturalization Certificate includes name, age, country of origin
* 1891 Naturalization Certificate with name, date, country of origin
* 1922 Naturalization Certificate with name, age, physical description, wife's name, children's names and ages, country of origin
* 1925 Naturalization Certificate with name, age, physical description, wife's name, children's names and ages, current address, country of origin
* 1941 Naturalization Certificate with photo, name, age, physical description, marital status, country of origin, current address
* 1832 Declaration of Intent includes name, birthplace, age, settlement location
* 1846 Declaration of Intent for Daniel Stinger. Provides name of ancestor, current residence, age, country of origin,
* 1895 Declaration of Intent for Thomas Jones. Gives name, age, occupation, place and date of birth, physical description, current residence, name of ship sailed on, date of immigration, port of departure, port of arrival, last residence, marital status,
* 1937 Declaration of Intent for Pinchos aka Phillip Goldstein. Includes ancestor name, residence, occupation, physical description, race, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, name of spouse, place and date of marriage, Date and place of spouse's birth, year and port of immigration of spouse, current residence of spouse, number and names of children, location and dates of birth of children, year of immigration of ancestor, name of ship sailed on, port of departure, port of arrival, previous residence, actual name at immigration, and photograph

1 comment:

Wilson Hooper said...

I am really grateful for your kind information. My Great Grandfather came here (South Figure, OA ST) in the year 1945. But I found no clue that his records kept in safe place or not. For some inquisitiveness I had checked it and found it.