Find of the Day – A Warren County NJ Naturalization Record

Naturalization records can provide a wealth of information on an ancestor including their birth date, birthplace or place of origin, when they immigrated, their port of departure and/or arrival, and possibly the ship’s name. Some petitions for naturalization also include important details, such as birth dates and birthplaces, on an ancestor’s spouse and children. This information can be extremely helpful when continuing your family research.

However, this rich detail is often absent in New Jersey naturalization records that pre-date 1906. Very often researchers are disappointed by the lack of information and specificity in early naturalization records. Pre-1906 naturalization records typically include the petitioner or declarant’s age, country of origin, year of immigration, maybe a port of arrival, but not much else.

Here is an example of our great-great-grandfather’s petition for naturalization filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Middlesex County, New Jersey, on 24 September 1856.

The record, of course, is not without great merit. We learn that Robert Gillis was a native of Ireland, he arrived in 1849 and filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen with the Clerk of the Superior Court of New York City on 12 January 1852. But, we’re out of luck if we’re searching for where specifically in Ireland he originated. Irish genealogy research is heavily dependent on identifying where in Ireland an immigrant ancestor originated – the county, parish and/or townland.

The difference in the information available in naturalization records is partly due to changes in the naturalization process that occurred in 1906. Citizenship could be granted by municipal, county, state, or federal courts before 1906. These varying courts often had their own forms and processes. The Federal Government was unhappy with this inherent lack of standardization and sought greater control and centralization of all naturalization records.¹ The Federal Government’s instrument of change was the Naturalization Act of 1906 – signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt.² The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization – now known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) – was created to support and enforce these new standards.³

See the following resources for more information on the naturalization process and its evolution:

• United States Naturalization & Citizenship:  https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Naturalization_and_Citizenship
• Naturalization Records: Introduction and Links to Resources: https://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/
• Naturalization Records: https://www.archives.gov/research/naturalization/naturalization.html
• A Guide to USCIS and the Process for Citizenship: https://www.uscitizenship.info/a-guide-to-uscis-and-the-process-for-citizenship/?r=bing-organic-search-guide+to+citizenship%27
• The Naturalization Act of 1906: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1906

A Hidden Gem in a Genealogical Haystack

Genealogy is one of the greatest examples of the validity of the well known proverb: “there is an exception to every rule.”

There were courts in other jurisdictions that required more detailed information prior to 1906. The records these courts generated have trickled into New Jersey record sets when an immigrant ancestor declared his intention to become a citizen in one jurisdiction and filed his petition in another. A copy of the declaration of intention, or other prior documentation, was often included with the applicant’s petition for naturalization.

I recently came across a prime example of this situation while researching Warren County naturalization records at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, NJ. Thomas Brady filed a petition for naturalization in the Court of Common Pleas of Warren County on 3 October 1851. Included with the petition was a copy of his declaration of intention – also referred to in the documents as a Report and Registry – filed with the Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, PA.

Here is a snapshot of his declaration filed 6 February 1849 in Easton, Northampton County, PA:

As you can see, it has a gold-mine of information. We learn that Thomas Brady was not only born in Ireland, but he was born in County Cavan, Ireland. He departed from the Port of Liverpool in 1846 and arrived in the Port of New York in June 1846. Thomas was destined for South Easton, Pennsylvania – once a separate borough, but now part of the City of Easton.⁴

While the record fails to provide a specific parish or townland in Ireland, we have at the very least narrowed down Thomas’ origins to County Cavan. We also have opened up new research avenues for a potential passenger list for Thomas. If the information provided was accurate, a search could be done for passenger lists with a departure from Liverpool and arrival in June 1846 in New York.

Naturalization records can be a great resource of genealogical information. Pre-1906 records may not contain all the valuable information found in later documents, but every now and then you might just get lucky and discover a hidden gem. This is a good reminder to not overlook any records. Exhaustive searches are an absolute must when trying to answer important questions related to our ancestors. You never know where one bit of information could lead – possibly breaking down that long-standing brick wall.

Interested in finding your ancestor’s New Jersey naturalization records? Check out these important resources:

• FamilySearch’s New Jersey, County Naturalization Records, 1749-1986 Collection – has good coverage for most New Jersey Counties: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2057433?collectionNameFilter=false
• Monmouth County’s Naturalization Record Search 1804-1906: http://www.visitmonmouth.com/Naturalization.aspx
• New Jersey State Archives’ Naturalization (Citizenship) Records: http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/catsunatura.html
• ItalianGen’s Index to Naturalizations at NARA in NYC – the index includes Camden, Newark and Trenton NJ: http://italiangen.org/records-search/naturalizations.php
• USCIS’ Certificate Files, September 27, 1906 – March 31, 1956: https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/genealogy/certificate-files-september-27-1906-march-31-1956

Need a little extra help? We regularly search for the origins of our clients’ ancestors. Contact us today to find out more about our genealogy and family history research services.

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¹Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), “Naturalization Act of 1906,” rev. 22:49, 30 December 2015.
² Ibid.
³ FamilySearch Wiki (https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/index.php), ” United States Naturalization and Citizenship,” rev. 17:47, 6 March 2016.
⁴ Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), “Easton, Pennsylvania,” rev. 19:11, 11 April 2016.