North Dakota Naturalization Records
Naturalization records created after
1906 are among the most
valuable of genealogical documents. If you have ever had the
good fortune to obtain copies of the post-1906 naturalization records of an ancestor, then you have some first-hand experience
of their true value.
You can obtain the naturalization records of your North Dakota
ancestors.
We are able to research the naturalization records of North Dakota to
look for your foreign-born ancestors who applied for United States citizenship in North Dakota.
We will research the name of your foreign-born ancestor to see if he
or she filed naturalization papers in the district courts of North Dakota, and will advise you by return email.
You can purchase photocopies of your ancestors' naturalization records, if you desire. These valuable documents
may be at your fingertips just for the asking.
We charge a flat fee of $5 to send you photocopies
of one naturalization document.
Please send information to:
Time Passages Genealogy
42080 Gibbel Road
Hemet, CA 92544-9262
701-588-4541
Contact Us |
Q:
Why did people file naturalization records anyway?
A:
To get free land from the United States government.
Owning land in the United States required foreign-born persons to apply
for United States citizenship. Citizenship is also a requirement to vote and to serve in public office.
In the early years of homesteading in the Dakotas, an immigrant arriving
in the United States filed naturalization papers as an integral part of applying for a homestead land grant from the United States government -- to obtain free land!
Homestead applicants were required to present evidence that they were
United States citizens or had applied for citizenship. Every homestead application filed by a foreign-born person
included at least a declaration of intention (known as "first papers") affirming the person's intent to become a United States
citizen. In later years, applying for citizenship enabled foreign-born persons to purchase land.
In the boom years of homesteading in the Dakotas, only the head-of-household
was required to become a naturalized citizen, since the remainder of the family automatically became naturalized
when the head-of-household received the "final papers." Because women and children automatically became
United States citizens when the husband or father acquired citizenship, relatively few naturalization records exist
for women immigrants.
Separate records were not required until 1928, when both spouses were
required to file applications. In later years, separate records were also required for children.
A foreign-born person could go before any local, state, or federal court
and declare his or her intention to become a citizen after having resided in the United States for a specified
period of time. Before September 27, 1906, naturalization records were kept exclusively in the local, state, or
federal courts. After that date, naturalization records were also forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service in Washington, DC.
What information is found in naturalization records?
Naturalization records are composed of two sets of documents:
 Declaration
of Intention -- "First Papers"
Petition for Naturalization -- "Second or Final Papers"
Knowing the approximate date of naturalization of persons being researched
will determine what information researchers may expect to find about their ancestors. Researchers also need to
consider possible variations in name spellings, including name changes due to marriage or other legal reasons,
which may have occurred from the time that the "first papers" were filed to the time that the "second
or final papers" were recorded.
The initial Declaration
of Intention usually preceded the formal Petition for Naturalization to become
a United States citizen by two or more years.
Each naturalization record can contain different information, which is
likely to be fairly minimal prior to the early 1900s than in subsequent years, but researchers can expect to find
some or all of the following documents:
The Declaration of Intention
(First Papers) was an instrument by which an applicant for United
States citizenship renounced allegiance to a foreign sovereignty and declared his or her intention to become a
United States citizen.
Prior to September 1906, Declaration
of Intention forms usually requested relatively minimal information
about the applicant, including name of the person requesting citizenship, year and country of birth, port of entry
and month and year of entry into the United States, name of foreign sovereign, signature, and date of request.
After September 1906, Declaration
of Intention forms requested increasingly more detailed information
about the applicant, including name, age, occupation, personal description, place and date of birth, current address,
country of emigration, name of vessel, last foreign residence, name of foreign sovereign, port of entry and month
and year of entry into the United States, signature, and date of request.
Beginning in the late 1920s, Declaration
of Intention forms also requested information about other family
members.
The Petition for Naturalization
(Second or Final Papers) was an instrument by which an applicant
who had declared his or her intention to become a United States citizen, and had met the residency requirements,
made formal application for United States citizenship.
Prior to September 1906, information on the Petition for Naturalization was often
limited to the petitioner's name, address, occupation, date and country of birth, and port and date of arrival
in the United States.
After September 1906, subsequent versions of the Petition for
Naturalization required increasingly more detailed information,
including petitioner's name, residence, occupation, date and place of birth, race, date and place of Declaration of Intention, marital
status, name of spouse, date and place of marriage, date and place of spouse's birth, date and place where spouse
entered the United States, if applicable, residence of spouse, names, dates of birth, and place of residence of
children, last foreign residence, port of emigration, port of entry and date of arrival, petitioner's name at time
of arrival, name of vessel or other conveyance, name of foreign sovereign, length of time, dates and places of
residency in the United States, signature, and date of document.
Part of the Petition
for Naturalization also includes a place for signed and dated
affidavits of two witnesses, Certificate of Arrival file number, and Declaration
of Intention file number. After 1930, the Petition for Naturalization often includes
a photograph of the petitioner.
The Certificate of Arrival
certified that the immigration records show that an alien arrived
at a port on a certain date, and was lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. The Certificate of Arrival includes
the alien's name, port of entry, date of arrival, manner of arrival (name of ship for immigrants arriving by sea,
or railway or other conveyance for immigrants arriving by land), and date of document.
The Certificate of Citizenship
was an instrument by which a petitioner was granted United States
citizenship. The Certificate of Naturalization includes name, address, birthplace or nationality, country from which emigrated,
birthdate or age, personal description, marital status, names of spouse, age or birthdate of spouse, address of
spouse, names, ages, and addresses of children, and date of document.
The Oath of Allegience
was an instrument by which the petitioner renounced allegiance
to a foreign country and declared his or her allegiance to the United States. The Oath
of Allegiance includes the petitioner's signature, and date of
document.
North
Dakota
Naturalization Records
|
North Dakota County
|
Years for which Naturalization Records
are available
|
| Adams |
1907 - 1944
|
| Barnes |
1879 - 1948
|
| Benson |
1899 - 1955
|
| Billings |
1890 - 1941
|
| Bottineau |
1890 - 1955
|
| Bowman |
1908 - 1941
|
| Burke |
1904 - 1955
|
| Burleigh |
1873 - 1955
|
| Cass |
1873 - 1944
|
| Cavalier |
1884 - 1955
|
| Dickey |
1882 - 1947
|
| Divide |
1913 - 1943
|
| Dunn |
1908 - 1942
|
| Eddy |
1885 - 1946
|
| Emmons |
1886 - 1955
|
| Foster |
1883 - 1940
|
| Golden Valley |
1913 - 1929
|
| Grand Forks |
1877 - 1956
|
| Grant |
1913 - 1944
|
| Griggs |
1882 - 1945
|
| Hettinger |
1907 - 1943
|
| Kidder |
1882 - 1927
|
| LaMoure |
1882 - 1954
|
| Logan |
1906 - 1948
|
| McHenry |
1889 - 1956
|
| McIntosh |
1885 - 1948
|
| McKenzie |
1905 - 1957
|
| McLean |
1886 - 1947
|
| Mercer |
1886 - 1943
|
| Morton |
1881 - 1957
|
| Mountrail |
1909 - 1943
|
| Nelson |
1883 - 1954
|
| Oliver |
1890 - 1945
|
| Pembina |
1857 - 1956
|
| Pierce |
1889 - 1955
|
| Ramsey |
1883 - 1955
|
| Ransom |
1881 - 1946
|
| Renville |
1910 - 1966
|
| Richland |
1880 - 1954
|
| Rolette |
1890 - 1955
|
| Sargent |
1883 - 1946
|
| Sheridan |
1909 - 1929
|
| Sioux |
1915 - 1943
|
| Slope |
1929 - 1943
|
| Stark |
1883 - 1965
|
| Steele |
1883 - 1948
|
| Stutsman |
1874 - 1954
|
| Towner |
1884 - 1953
|
| Traill |
1879 - 1947
|
| Walsh |
1882 - 1955
|
| Ward |
1886 - 1956
|
| Wells |
1885 - 1954
|
| Williams |
1892 - 1934
|
 If your foreign-born ancestor actually filed naturalization papers in North
Dakota, chances are excellent that we will find them for you! Our highest
priority is to provide unsurpassed quality of research and extraordinary
personal service.
If you are not 100% satisfied with the information that you receive from us, we will refund your money.
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