June 2023

Finding U.S. Naturalization Records

Even if the immigrant ancestors in your family did not become famous movie stars, you can still find naturalization and citizenship records for them.

In this issue, we’ll explore search strategies, online collections, and links to resources for naturalization research in the United States.

Naturalization in State and Local Courts

Ohio Probate Court Naturalization Record

Before you search, it’s important to know that our ancestors might have been naturalized in Federal, state, or local courts.

Between 1776 and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, state and local courts set their own requirement and processes.

Under the decentralized system established by the Naturalization Act of 1802, "any court of record" – Federal, state, county, or municipal – could naturalize a new American citizen.

New eBook
Naturalization Records for U.S. Genealogy Research

My new naturalization eBook is done at last!

Discover naturalization records for immigrant ancestors to the United States, from the colonial era to 1952.

Find out more about the topics in this newsletter.

Use search strategies and direct links to legislation and online records found in this Sassy Jane eBook.

Use Promo Code CITIZEN10 For Your Subscriber Discount

Naturalization Records for Female Ancestors

Female immigrant ancestors rarely naturalized individually. Instead, their citizenship depended on the status of their husbands, a legal practice known as “derivative citizenship.”

Before 1922, native-born women lost their U.S. citizenship simply by marrying a man born outside the United States, even if he was in the process of naturalizing. My Chicago-born grand-aunt, who married a man from Sweden, petitioned in 1927 to regain her U.S. citizenship. In many cases, women did not realize they had “voluntarily” surrendered their birthright citizenship until they tried to register to vote in the 1920s.

Free Download: NARA’s
Immigration Legislation List

Congress passed more than 27 immigrant acts between 1790 and 1952.

National Archives staff compiled a free pdf of major U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Legislation, 1790-2005.

Download it at this Sassy Jane blog post.

Register for Upcoming Webinars

Free Registration Here for The Following Upcoming Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Click here for a list of other my upcoming webinars and presentations.

That’s it for this month’s issue of the Sassy Jane Genealogy Newsletter.

My next eBook in progress is on finding records for German-speaking Prussian ancestors in European archives. And I’d best get back to it!

I hope your summer (or winter) is off to a good start. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll see you in July.

Nancy Loe

1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California 93405 USA

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