RLP 293: Naturalization Records Part 2

Nicole (1s):
This is Research Like a Pro episode 293 Naturalization Records Part two. welcome to Research Like, a Pro a genealogy podcast about taking your research to the next level. Hosted by Nicole Dyer and Diana Elder Accredited genealogist Professional Diana and Nicole are the mother daughter team at family Locket dot com and the authors of Research Like, a Pro A Genealogist Guide with Robin Wirthlin. They also co-authored the Companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA, join Diana and Nicole as they discuss how to stay organized, make progress in their research, and solve difficult cases. Let’s go.

Nicole (42s):
Today’s episode is sponsored by newspapers.com, your go-to resource for unlocking the stories of your ancestors. Well, Hi everyone, welcome to Research Like a Pro

Diana (52s):
Hi. Nicole. how are you today?

Nicole (54s):
I’m well. You know, I’ve been researching our Keaton ancestors for the 14 day challenge and it’s been really informative. The analysis of the starting point information was very helpful. I found a clue that William Reeves and his wife Sally Keaton Reeves, lived in Tennessee. So I’ve been following my research plan, which was to look for the resident my, I wanna find out where they lived in Tennessee in 1830. And so I did a search of the census hoping to find a man named William Reeves somewhere in Tennessee who had a wife about age 30 to 39. ’cause I think Sally was probably born about 1799.

Nicole (1m 36s):
Well, I found about 10 men named William Reeves living in Tennessee. Oh no, I was not expecting that many. I was thinking two or three. No, and all of them have women of the right age, whether 20 to 29 or 30 to 39, because she was kind of right in between those, depending on, you know, if she remembered her exact age or if she was reporting a younger age, she could have been 29 or she could have been 30 or 31. And I’m just estimating her age, I don’t even know her age, just estimating based on the, my hypothesized birth order based on how the children were listed in their father’s estate packet. Anyway, I did correlate the other daughter’s birth years, which I have those daughters birth years.

Nicole (2m 20s):
There’s four daughters and I know all the other three were born at certain times and correlating those with the 1,818 10 census. I do think she was the, you know, one born between 1795 and 1800. So I was really hoping to find a William Reeves that had a wife or a, a woman of the age of 30 to 39. There were more than one and, and there were too many to really know and I don’t know which county. So the next step of my research plan is to check estate records for Burgess Reeves and John Reeves, who are men who were neighbors to William Keaton in Pendleton District, South Carolina in 1,818 10.

Nicole (2m 60s):
And so hopefully that will reveal more details about the elusive William Reeves and his wife Sally.

Diana (3m 6s):
Oh, perfect. Maybe they’ll even say something of this county in Tennessee. You know, sometimes they will give a location. Yes. And something like that.

Nicole (3m 15s):
That’s what I’ve got my fingers crossed for. So

Diana (3m 18s):
Yes, or just any little piece of information to help separate out those men of the same name.

Nicole (3m 23s):
Yep. And I did find an 1850 census that has a William Reeves in Tennessee, and I think it was Madison County with a wife named Susan, or inferred wife named Susan. And so I’m looking for a Sally. So that wasn’t a perfect match, but they were both born in South Carolina about 1799. So that’s when I’m keeping my options open that that could be it, but we’ll see.

Diana (3m 47s):
Oh, that’s great. I can’t wait to learn more about that. I’m so glad you’re doing the work on the Keaton line, which is my line as well. So great.

Nicole (3m 56s):
No problem mom.

Diana (3m 57s):
It’s fun to kind of focus in, we each have our part of the family tree that we like to work on, don’t we? I think that’s fun. Well let’s do our announcements. We have got our Airtable quick reference guide and we’re so excited or I’m so excited. I think everybody using Airtable is excited that Nicole has released the newest template for 2024 Airtable 4.0 and it’s just always fun to have an update with some more of your good ideas Nicole. So I would encourage everyone to go to Airtable Universe and look for the the latest version. We also have got a fabulous Webinar, which will be on February 20th.

Diana (4m 37s):
So if you’re listening to this on Monday, it’s the very next day. And this is by one of our research team members, Melanie Witt. She’s a qualified genealogist, she’s an amazing researcher. And this is titled Identifying Henry Jacob Van’s mother, a 19th century DNA case study. So this was a research project that I worked with Melanie on and the very first stab we took at this project, I just looked at all the documentary evidence trying to figure out who Susan was. That was the only clue we had was that this mother was named Susan. Well, as so often happens documentary yielded absolutely nothing.

Diana (5m 21s):
And so we turned to DNA and this was in Arkansas with all the counties or burned counties, which is so frustrating. And it’s funny because my client researches in this exact same area of Arkansas, so I feel the pain. But using a network graph, Melanie was able to really find a cluster that she couldn’t identify anywhere else in the family tree and started researching, found that they were also in these burn counties, this family, and was able to find a very likely mother for Henry Jacob Band. So it’s a really a fun case study and so neat and speaks to the importance of DNA.

Diana (6m 3s):
So we hope you’ll join us for that. You can tell I’m excited about it. Well, we have Roots Tech coming up in just a few days, about 10 days from when this podcast comes out. And we’re getting ready with all of the fun things we’ll have at our booth. A lot of fun things to sell, a lot of fun products to help you, and we just look to meet you as well. So we hope you’ll come and find us. And then as always, join our newsletter to find out what we are doing, latest Blog posts podcast episodes, and if we’re running any sales to get a coupon.

Nicole (6m 37s):
Today we’re talking about naturalization records. Again, we hope you enjoyed the last episode where we went over the process for becoming naturalized in the United States. And today we’re gonna talk some more about this, especially as as it relates to legal matters and how we can understand Naturalization in its legal context. naturalization records are important sources. They help us learn more about our immigrant Ancestors, especially those who arrived in the United States in the 18 hundreds and early 19 hundreds. If we want to Discover the home, country or village. And let’s face it, who doesn’t? A naturalization record could help to make connections between our ancestor and the family left behind.

Nicole (7m 19s):
So we already talked in the last episode about why we would want to seek out naturalization records and the process and how to find those records. So let’s look at the Naturalization laws in more detail in this episode. While there have been numerous congressional acts that have dictated the Naturalization requirements and procedures from 1790 to the present day, a lot of these can be viewed at the statutes at large in the Library of Congress. And an excellent resource for viewing a summary of immigration and naturalization laws by year is the source. The source was written by Cory Meyer Inc. And Loretta Dennis S.

Nicole (8m 0s):
And the chapter that you want to look at is Immigration Finding Immigrant Origins. And if you don’t have that book, it was published back in 1997 and it’s a great resource. Well, as conditions in the United States and the world changed, Congress repealed previous acts for naturalization and passed new acts to fit the circumstances of the time. So we need to understand the requirements behind an ancestors’ naturalization because that will give us clues about his or her life. So when you Discover a record for your ancestor study the Legislative Act that dictated the requirements for citizenship at that time, you can search the statutes using the specific title and date of the act.

Diana (8m 40s):
So in 1790, we have an act to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. So the newly formed United States government passed its very first Naturalization Act on 26 March, 1790. And basically any free white person with residents in the US for two years could begin the process of citizenship in any of the states he had resided for at least one year. He was to be a person of good character. Any child under the age of 21 would also be considered a citizen upon a parent’s naturalization.

Nicole (9m 15s):
While then in 1795, there was an act to establish a uniform rule of Naturalization and to repeal the ACT hereto for passed on that subject. Don’t you love those long names? While Congress repealed the act of 1790 and passed a new act, this was January 29th, 1795, and this extended the length of residency for a person seeking citizenship to five years with one year in the state or territory of the court. So again, persons of good moral character who were free and white could be admitted as a citizen. An individual was to declare on oath his intention to become a citizen three years before final citizenship was granted.

Diana (9m 58s):
Then in 1798, we have an act supplementary to and to amend the act entitled an act to establish a uniform rule of naturalization and to repeal the act here to for pass on that subject. Subject. Nice. I think it’s so interesting. This was passed on 18 June, 1798, which repealed the previous act and changed the residency requirement from five years to 14 years in the United States and five years in the state or territory of the court and a person seeking citizenship was to file a declaration of intention at least five years before citizenship.

Nicole (10m 34s):
Well, in 1802 we have another act. The title of that one is an act to establish and Uniform Rule of Naturalization and to repeal the ACTS hereto forecast on that subject. And this one was April 14th, 1802. Congress reversed the residency requirement to five years in the US and one year in the state or territory of the naturalization court. They must have just decided that 14 was way too long,

Diana (11m 2s):
14 was a long time.

Nicole (11m 4s):
And they brought back that children who were under the age of 21 years when their parents were naturalized were to be considered citizens of the United States. In 1824, there was another act, basically an addendum to the one from 1802. And with the end of the war of 1812, there was an influx of immigrants from the British Isles and Europe. And so they just wanted to add more onto the previous act. So in in May of 1824, they said that any free white person and a minor under the age of 21 who had resided in the United States for up to three years could be admitted as a citizen upon reaching the age of 21 once they had resided in the US for five years without having to make the initial declaration and the individual could make the declaration at the time of his or her admission.

Diana (11m 56s):
So that was quite a big change, wasn’t it, from some of the things they had previously said.

Nicole (12m 1s):
Yeah. So anybody who was under 21, they could kind of bypass that first step and then when they had reached three years of living there, they could become a citizen.

Diana (12m 12s):
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Diana (12m 53s):
And here’s the best part, our listeners get an exclusive offer. Use promo code, FamilyLocket it for a 20% discount on your subscription. That’s FamilyLocket it@newspapers.com. Sign up today@newspapers.com and embark on a journey of discovery. Well, in 1855, we have an act to secure the right of citizenship to children of citizens of the United States born out of the limits thereof. So on 10 February, 1855, we see the right to citizenship for any woman who married a citizen of the US or whose husband achieved citizenship. And a child born abroad was granted citizenship if his father was a citizen of the United States at the time of his birth.

Diana (13m 36s):
So that one is a little bit different than some of the previous ones. And in 1862, we have an act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain. So this is key because the Homestead Act that a lot of us love because of all the records we get from it. But this act was instituted 20 May, 1862, and it has a clause that enticed many immigrants to begin the naturalization process. So any head of a family or anyone 21 years and over who was a citizen or who had filed a declaration of intention and who had never bore arms against the United States, was entitled to one quarter section or less of unclaimed public lands.

Diana (14m 20s):
Also, an alien soldier who was honorably discharged from the United States Army was not required to file a declaration.

Nicole (14m 28s):
Nice. And

Diana (14m 29s):
Of course, many people wanted land. And so that would be a good impetus to file that declaration of intention and get going on your citizenship.

Nicole (14m 39s):
Right. And if you find that your ancestor didn’t file a declaration, but then were a citizen, you might be able to look in military records to find out, oh, maybe he was a soldier.

Diana (14m 51s):
Exactly.

Nicole (14m 52s):
It’s cool how all of these laws help us think about our ancestors life more broadly and what factors cause them to do different actions that created records like being a soldier, becoming a homesteader, seeking naturalization.

Diana (15m 9s):
Right.

Nicole (15m 11s):
Well, in 1870 there was an act to amend the naturalization laws and to punish crimes against the same and for other purposes. So in 1870, obviously this was after the Civil War and after emancipation Congress ratified the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, and that was July 9th, 1868. This granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. On July 14th, 1870, Congress passed another act that clearly stated citizenship to be extended to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent. This act also provided for the prosecution of anyone forging a certificate of naturalization or providing false evidence in court.

Nicole (15m 54s):
So that was kind of a huge development in African American history there in the United States. And the fact that they were given the citizenship then was something that allowed them then to vote and do other actions that citizens could do. Well, in 1906, there was an act to establish a bureau of Immigration and naturalization and to provide for a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens throughout the United States. And as Genealogists, we’re also happy now that as of 1906, there’s going to be more uniformity in which courts they use to apply for naturalization. Right,

Diana (16m 31s):
Right. and more information that’s going to be given.

Nicole (16m 34s):
Yes. Well, June 29th, 1906 is when this act went into effect. And Congress made a major overhaul of the naturalization process with the establishment of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. And they were given charge of all matters concerning the naturalization of aliens. Standardized forms were created and a person was to be a resident of the judicial district of whatever court was being used. Very specific requirements were detailed, including being able to speak English. The procedure for the courts was also spelled out, and the specific wording for each form designated the courts were supposed to send a duplicate copy of the Naturalization record to the new Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.

Nicole (17m 17s):
That government department later became the Immigration and naturalization service INS, and then later the US Citizenship and Immigration Services U-S-C-I-S. In 1907, we have an act called Expatriation Act. This act of March 2nd, 1907 saw women losing their citizenship upon marriage to an alien and acquiring their husband’s nationality once again, poor women, just really covered by their men. A US born woman could regain her citizenship upon her husband’s naturalization if he wasn’t eligible to naturalize because of race or did not choose to naturalize.

Nicole (18m 4s):
She remained a non-citizen.

Diana (18m 6s):
Just makes you wonder what they were thinking.

Nicole (18m 8s):
Well, I think they just considered husband and wife to be one politically

Diana (18m 13s):
True. And women didn’t have the right to vote at this point in 1907. Well, in 1922 we have a reversal, an act relative to the naturalization and citizenship of married women. And this happened on 22 September, 1922, when a woman did not automatically become a citizen upon her husband’s naturalization. Instead, if she was eligible, she could comply with the requirements and obtain citizenship in her own right. And exceptions to the requirements were provided. She did need to file a declaration of intention and she only needed to have resided in the United States for at least one year. If a woman married a man who was not eligible for citizenship because of race, her citizenship was still terminated.

Diana (18m 58s):
Hmm. And this was about the Asians. So we have some discrimination here against the Asians who were not eligible for citizenship at this time.

Nicole (19m 7s):
Yeah, it’s interesting to see that in 1922, you know, women had gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920 and So. now we need a new law about that for a naturalization and citizenship of women.

Diana (19m 21s):
Exactly. And then we have another law affecting the women in 1936, which was an act to repatriate native born women. And this act was passed on five March, 1936, to benefit the women who had lost their US citizenship between 1907 and 1922 because of their marriage, but only if they were widowed or divorced, a woman who would have to take an oath of allegiance at any court under the jurisdiction of the United States to regain her citizenship. And then in 1940 we have another act for women, an act to repatriate native born women residents of the United States who adhere to four, lost their citizenship by marriage to an alien.

Diana (20m 2s):
So what about the other women who had lost citizenship between 1907 and 1922? Well, this act of two June, 1940 let all women who had lost their citizenship between 1907 and 1922 take the oath of allegiance and regain their citizenship status regardless of their marital status.

Nicole (20m 21s):
Oh, thank goodness.

Diana (20m 25s):
And then the last one, we’ll talk about 1952, which was an act to revise the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and nationality. And this was a major consolidation of the naturalization and immigration laws on 27 June, 1952. And it brought into one statute, multiple laws, and a major change to the requirements was the lowering of the the age requirement to 18 years old.

Nicole (20m 50s):
Oh, okay. Yeah, that is new. Before that it was 21.

Diana (20m 55s):
Right. And of course since then there have been multiple changes of course. But that’s an overview of kind of the important acts from the beginning of our country.

Nicole (21m 6s):
While there have been several instances in the history of the United States where citizenship was granted to an entire group of people by an act of Congress as new territories were acquired. So like we mentioned in 1868, all African Americans became citizens collectively with the 14th Amendment. And in 1924, all Native Americans were naturalized. In these cases there will be no naturalization records. And then with additional collective naturalization groupings, you won’t find those records either. So with the 1803 Louisiana purchase, the 1819 Florida included Mississippi and Alabama territories as well.

Nicole (21m 52s):
1845, Texas 1867, Alaska 1868. 1870 African Americans 1900 Hawaii, 1917 Puerto Rico, 1927 Virgin Islands and 1924 Native Americans. So these are all instances of collective naturalization where there will not be naturalization records created.

Diana (22m 19s):
And then as we have been noting, there were several naturalization acts that affected women and the various provisions that changed through the years make it really confusing when researching your female ancestors. So you’ll want to seek out some more information if you are working with that. And there’s a really good article on the National Archives website by Marian l Smith that details these changes that really have to do with the women. And it’s titled Women in Naturalization, circa 1802 to 1940 in its in the Prologue magazine. So I would just guide anyone to the National Archives website because they have so much information there about naturalization.

Diana (23m 3s):
We also have military naturalization and various acts of Congress gave those who served in the military opportunities to more easily naturalize. As we already talked about following the act of 1862, any soldier of the US Army who was honorably discharged, didn’t have to file a declaration of intention and only had to be resident for one year instead of five. And in 1894, an act allowed the US Navy and Marine Corps veterans the same privilege. The act of nine, May 8th, 1918 provided an expedited process for service members in World War I. To be naturalized. And any alien serving in the military or naval service could skip the declaration of intention and file a petition for naturalization.

Diana (23m 47s):
The resident’s requirement of five years was waived and the service member could appear at any court with proof of enlistment and two witnesses. And there’s an article, immigrant Ancestors in World War I, military Naturalizations that details these records and how to find them. And the Blog Post does have a link to that. It’s by Deborah m Eck, Immigration Ancestors in World War I, military Naturalizations. And that’s in the NGS magazine, the April to June, 2020 edition, which is a very good article. So you know, hopefully this has given you a little bit of an overview of the way the laws evolved through the years and will point you to the statutes at large.

Diana (24m 33s):
So you could read them for yourself and just learn more about what naturalization was like and the law at the time your ancestor, what had been going through this process. So how do you best use these various laws? As we talked about in part one, you need to narrow the timeframe for naturalization and then you can study the acts that corresponded to that specific time. And that will give you a really good understanding of how it affected the records that were created for your ancestor.

Nicole (25m 1s):
While these laws are so helpful for understanding what was going on and why these records were created, and give us so many hints for additional records to seek out for our ancestors. So hopefully this is a good resource for all of you doing naturalization research. And if you haven’t done it before, hopefully this will help guide your search. And in our next part of this series, the final part, part three, we’ll talk about additional places to look for ancestors records regarding naturalization, and we’ll have a case study example of a 20th century naturalization. So we look forward to talking to you about that next week.

Diana (25m 36s):
Alright, everyone, have a great week and we’ll talk to you next time. Bye-Bye

Nicole (25m 40s):
Bye. Thank you for listening. We hope that something you heard today will help you make progress in your research. If you want to learn more, purchase our books, Research Like, a Pro and Research Like a Pro at DNA on amazon.com and other books sellers. You can also register for our online courses or study groups of the same names. Learn more at FamilyLocket dot com slash services. To share your progress and ask questions, join our private Facebook group by sending us your book receipt or joining our courses to get updates in your email inbox each Monday. Subscribe to our newsletter at FamilyLocket dot com slash newsletter. Please Subscribe rate and review our podcast. We read each review and are so thankful for them. We hope you’ll start now to Research Like a Pro.