{"id":50723,"date":"2019-06-12T11:06:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T15:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=50723"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:54:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T16:54:22","slug":"genealogy-tip-citizenship-and-naturalization-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-tip-citizenship-and-naturalization-reports.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Tip: Citizenship and Naturalization Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction<\/em><\/strong><em>: In this article, Mary Harrell-Sesniak writes about a source of family history information helpful to genealogists: citizenship and naturalization reports in old newspapers. Mary is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes we wonder how, when and why an ancestor became a citizen or was naturalized. When researching this aspect of your family history, keep in mind that naturalization and citizenship granting is always dependent upon the laws at the time.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50727\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50727\" style=\"width: 733px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/photo-0612-2019-albert-einstein-citizenship.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50727\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/photo-0612-2019-albert-einstein-citizenship.png\" alt=\"Photo: Albert Einstein receiving his certificate of American citizenship from Judge Phillip Forman, 1 October 1940\" width=\"733\" height=\"592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/photo-0612-2019-albert-einstein-citizenship.png 733w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/photo-0612-2019-albert-einstein-citizenship-300x242.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50727\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Albert Einstein receiving his certificate of American citizenship from Judge Phillip Forman, 1 October 1940. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Citizenship and Naturalization Difference<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many of you are probably asking: just what is the difference in these two terms?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We acquire citizenship from our parents, either because someone was born in this country or because we have a birth right to become a citizen. Usually this has to be established before the age of 18.<\/li>\n<li>If these conditions do not apply, a certificate of naturalization is given to someone who later becomes a citizen through a naturalization process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/research\/naturalization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Archives<\/a> to order pertinent historical documents. If you need a more recent certificate, you can find information at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services<\/a> website. Fees can be expensive, however, so first try exploring citizenship and naturalization reports in online newspaper archives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Citizenship and Naturalization<\/strong> <strong>Laws<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This topic is so vast that a true scholar should study how the laws have changed. Here is an example from a naturalization bill of 1802 that proposes to repeal a law passed in 1798 which required 14 years of residency. The proposed bill shortened the requirement to five years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50733\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50733\" style=\"width: 531px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A105F9E7C765DFFD0%40GB3NEWS-1074BFBC83E1F908%402379273-1074BFBCF34FD958%402-1074BFBDE501C140\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50733\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/newburyport-herald-newspaper-0216-1802-naturalization-bill.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, Newburyport Herald newspaper article 16 February 1802\" width=\"531\" height=\"703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/newburyport-herald-newspaper-0216-1802-naturalization-bill.png 531w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/newburyport-herald-newspaper-0216-1802-naturalization-bill-227x300.png 227w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50733\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Newburyport Herald (Newburyport, Massachusetts), 16 February 1802, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Citizenship Testimony<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you find reference to someone admitted to citizenship in newspapers, it may or may not have a lengthy report. The longer ones typically address how long someone had been a resident, whether a woman had married a foreigner, and other factors such as whether they had renounced citizenship in their home country.<\/p>\n<p>Occasionally you\u2019ll find an article reporting the questions put to an immigrant as a citizenship test.<\/p>\n<p>In 1908 a person named Sundin, who had been a resident of Naugatuck since 1902, was asked who the president was and other questions pertaining to our government and country.\u00a0 His knowledge led to him being admitted to citizenship, along with 20 other petitioners unfortunately not named in the article.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50739\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50739\" style=\"width: 408px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A1680C6FD6B88C17B%40GB3NEWS-16846E73707151A2%402418015-16846E9248A6BD29%405-16846E9248A6BD29\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/waterbury-evening-democrat-newspaper-0314-1908-naturalization.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, Waterbury Evening Democrat newspaper article 14 March 1908\" width=\"408\" height=\"723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/waterbury-evening-democrat-newspaper-0314-1908-naturalization.png 408w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/waterbury-evening-democrat-newspaper-0314-1908-naturalization-169x300.png 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50739\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Waterbury Evening Democrat (Waterbury, Connecticut), 14 March 1908, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Unusual or Famous People<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we see today, when there was a famous or unusual person involved, it was reported in the newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>Ernest Rommell, a retired circus performer and \u201cnoted dwarf,\u201d stated that he had been born in Germany, was a resident of this country, and had been married four years. We also learn about his career in vaudeville.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50743\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50743\" style=\"width: 362px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A15029695F154CB6F%40GB3NEWS-162A12440959CC02%402422360-162A12440D928563%401-162A12440D928563\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50743\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bridgeport-evening-farmer-newspaper-0205-1920-citizenship.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, Bridgeport Evening Farmer newspaper article 5 February 1920\" width=\"362\" height=\"722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bridgeport-evening-farmer-newspaper-0205-1920-citizenship.png 362w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bridgeport-evening-farmer-newspaper-0205-1920-citizenship-150x300.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50743\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bridgeport Evening Farmer (Bridgeport, Connecticut), 5 February 1920, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Silvio Contri, who had built the Palace of Justice in Mexico City, became a U.S. citizen in 1914. At the time he was considered a world-famous architect and was associated with several civil engineering societies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50747\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50747\" style=\"width: 446px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A1228C1F96EAE924B%40GB3NEWS-122D613C513C3758%402420174-122D58E34604D908%400-122D58E34604D908\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50747\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0210-1914-citizenship.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, New Orleans Item newspaper article 10 February 1914\" width=\"446\" height=\"694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0210-1914-citizenship.png 446w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0210-1914-citizenship-193x300.png 193w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50747\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Orleans Item (New Orleans, Louisiana), 10 February 1914, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Women<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an unfortunate aspect of our research that women were frequently not even mentioned, since their eligibility often depended upon their marital status. At one time if you married a foreigner, your citizenship was revoked. However, on occasion, a woman was granted citizenship in her own right.<\/p>\n<p>Here we read about Anna Gamewell, an unmarried teacher and resident for 67 years. She was granted citizenship in 1915 at the age of 74. As we approach the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting the right to vote for women, it\u2019s nice to see she, as an ardent suffragist, was hopeful the amendment would pass within the year. She wasn\u2019t far off: the 19<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment passed Congress in 1919 and was ratified in 1920.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50753\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50753\" style=\"width: 547px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A1228C1F96EAE924B%40GB3NEWS-122FFD62459BF960%402420627-122BB57B10329758%408-122BB57B10329758\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50753\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0509-1915-naturalization.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, New Orleans Item newspaper article 9 May 1915\" width=\"547\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0509-1915-naturalization.png 547w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/new-orleans-item-newspaper-0509-1915-naturalization-300x265.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 547px) 100vw, 547px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50753\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Orleans Item (New Orleans, Louisiana), 9 May 1915, page 9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Other Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although the above examples gave in-depth details, many articles aren\u2019t as thorough. However, you\u2019ll find numerous newspaper reports about court actions regarding citizenship, such as the following, that provide important clues about your ancestors.<\/p>\n<p><strong>San Andreas, California (1858)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the June term of 1858, Alexander Love, Thomas Wilson, Patrick Highland, M. Corcoran and Edmund Hodapp were admitted to citizenship.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50757\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50757\" style=\"width: 602px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A170F7D8F986AE93F%40GB3NEWS-171CA98733D9835B%402399857-171CA995C3ECCF1A%403-171CA995C3ECCF1A\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50757\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/san-andreas-independent-newspaper-0626-1858-citizenship.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, San Andreas Independent newspaper article 26 June 1858\" width=\"602\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/san-andreas-independent-newspaper-0626-1858-citizenship.png 602w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/san-andreas-independent-newspaper-0626-1858-citizenship-300x116.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Andreas Independent (San Andreas, California), 26 June 1858, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Clayton, New York (1903)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alex Levy (perhaps an abbreviated given name) of Lafargeville was admitted to citizenship. He was probably a native of Poland, although it just says he was formerly from that country.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50761\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50761\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A12A5AC0AEA465C7B%40GB3NEWS-12BCCCB5F62F9A96%402416454-12BCC9896578EAEB%404-12BCC9896578EAEB\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/watertown-daily-times-newspaper-1205-1903-citizenship.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, Watertown Daily Times newspaper article 5 December 190\" width=\"700\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/watertown-daily-times-newspaper-1205-1903-citizenship.png 700w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/watertown-daily-times-newspaper-1205-1903-citizenship-300x52.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, New York), 5 December 1903, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Yuma, Arizona (1873)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In March of 1873, William H. Tone was admitted to citizenship.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50765\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50765\" style=\"width: 707px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A16A0C0F243666350%40GB3NEWS-16427D1D2858B573%402405240-16427D2A8BB90FE5%405-16427D2A8BB90FE5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/arizona-sentinel-and-yuma-weekly-advertiser-newspaper-0322-1873-citizenship.png\" alt=\"An article about citizenship and naturalization, Arizona Sentinel and Yuma Weekly Examiner newspaper article 22 March 1873\" width=\"707\" height=\"157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/arizona-sentinel-and-yuma-weekly-advertiser-newspaper-0322-1873-citizenship.png 707w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/arizona-sentinel-and-yuma-weekly-advertiser-newspaper-0322-1873-citizenship-300x67.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50765\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Arizona Sentinel and Yuma Weekly Examiner (Yuma, Arizona), 22 March 1873, page 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Tips to Narrow Your Search<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I found these newspaper examples by querying for \u201cwas admitted to citizenship\u201d and sometimes adding keywords such as \u201cDistrict Court\u201d or \u201cNaturalized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to use initials or try common abbreviations, such as \u201cWm\u201d for William, and don\u2019t be afraid to insert the country of origin into your query. However, as in the case of a country where borders changed, use the name at the time of naturalization.<\/p>\n<p>Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/sign-up\">Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Article:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/the-1907-expatriation-act-did-your-female-ancestor-lose-her-american-citizenship.html\">The 1907 Expatriation Act: Did Your Female Ancestor Lose Her American Citizenship?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mary Harrell-Sesniak writes about a source of family history information helpful to genealogists: citizenship and naturalization reports in old newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":50773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[39229,12,2719,2020],"class_list":["post-50723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-citizenship","tag-genealogy","tag-genealogy-search-tips","tag-newspaper-archives"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/photo-0612-2019-featured-graphic-citizenship.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50723"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103124,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50723\/revisions\/103124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}