TERRE HAUTE —
This week is a continuation of last week’s account of our immigrant ancestors’ path to becoming naturalized citizens.
How did women and attain citizenship? From 1790 through 1922, a woman’s citizenship was linked to the man in her life. The wife of a naturalized immigrant was automatically given U.S. citizenship when her husband became naturalized. An alien woman who married an American citizen automatically became a citizen upon that marriage. However, if an American woman married an unnaturalized alien, she automatically lost her citizenship (even if she continued to reside in the U.S. and never left the country). She could re-gain her citizenship if her alien husband later became a citizen.
How did minor children attain citizenship? From 1790 through 1940, minor children under the age of 21 automatically became citizens when their fathers were naturalized. From 1824 through 1906, minor alien children who had lived in the U.S. for 5 years before they reached their 23rd birthday could file their declarations of intent and petitions for naturalization at the same time without waiting three years between the two steps.
Were there any special rules for veterans wanting to be naturalized? Yes. Starting in 1862 an Army veteran with an honorable discharge from any war could petition for naturalization without having previously filed a declaration of intent, and having resided in the U.S. for only 1 year, instead of the required 5 years. This law was expanded upon in 1894, 1918, 1919, 1926, 1940, and 1952 to cover other branches of service and other wars.
Have any ethnic or racial groups been excluded from naturalization? Yes. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese immigrant workers from citizenship and it was only with laws passed in 1943, 1945, 1952, and 1965 that people of any Asian ancestry were gradually allowed citizenship.
Where are the records located? Since the declaration of intent and the petition for naturalization could be filed in any court of record, at any level (county, state, or federal), the records are all over the place. Many records are still in the counties. In some cases they are recorded and kept in separate naturalization books, and in other cases an individual declaration or petition will be found in the minutes of the particular court in which it was filed, among the other court cases. Some county records have been transferred to state or regional archives.
A very few of the county naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives. These include microfilm series M1285 (179 rolls) titled “Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois, and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950.” This includes an index to the petitions filed in county courts in northern Illinois (Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Champaign, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Stephenson, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago, and Woodford counties) and northwestern Indiana (Benton, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, and Stark counties).
For naturalization records in the federal courts, the records will usually be stored in the National Archives (NARA) regional facility that serves the state where the federal court was located.
History
Genealogy: How did women, minor children first attain citizenship?
- History
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
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