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Naturalization Records on Microfilm

County Court Records

As a general rule, the National Archives does not have naturalization records created in State or local courts. However, some county court naturalization records have been donated to the National Archives and are available as National Archives microfilm publications:

  • California:

    M1526. Naturalization Index Cards from the Supreme Court of San Diego County, California, 1929-1956 (5 rolls). NAID 7551473.

    M1608. Naturalization Index of the Superior Court for Los Angeles County, California, 1852-1915 (1 roll).

    M1609. Index to Citizens Naturalized in the Superior Court of San Diego, California, 1853-1956 (1 roll). NAID 7551553.

    M1612. Index to Declarations of Intention in the Superior Court of San Diego County, California, 1853-1956 (1 roll). NAID 7551377.

    M1613. Naturalization Records in the Superior Court of San Diego County, California, 1883-1958 (19 rolls). NAID 7560873.

    M1614. Naturalization Records of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California, 1876-1915 (28 rolls). NAID 7821340.
     
  • Washington State:

    M1233. Indexes to Naturalization Records of the King County Territorial and Superior Courts, 1864-1889 and 1906-1928 (1 roll).

    M1234. Indexes to Naturalization Records of the Thurston County Territorial and Superior Courts, 1850-1974 (2 rolls).

    M1235. Indexes to Naturalization Records of the Snohomish County Territorial and Superior Courts, 1876-1974 (3 rolls).

    M1238. Indexes to Naturalization Records of the Pierce County Territorial and Superior Courts, 1853-1923 (2 rolls).

    M1543. Naturalization Records of the Superior Courts for King, Pierce, Thurston, and Snohomish Counties, Washington, 1850-1974 (103 rolls).

In addition, there are three National Archives microfilm publications that serve as indexes to some State and local court naturalizations in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

  • M1285. 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 (179 rolls). NAID 1160705. This serves both as an index to naturalization petitions from the two Federal courts mentioned in its title and as an index to naturalization petitions filed in county courts in eastern Iowa, northwestern Indiana, eastern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. Specifically, the following counties are included:

    Illinois counties: 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.

    Indiana counties: Benton, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, and Starks.

    Iowa counties: Allamakee, Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Grundy, Hardin, Henry, Howard, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Mahaska, Mitchell, Monroe, Muscatine, Scott, Tama, Van Burean, Wapello, Washington, and Winneshiek.

    Wisconsin counties: Adams, Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Lafayette, Langlade, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, and Wood.
     
  • M1674. Index (Soundex) to Naturalization Petitions Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York, New York, including New York, Kings, Queens, and Richmond Counties, 1792-1906 (294 rolls). NAID 71974183. This serves as a finding aid for New York City naturalization petitions.
     
  • M1299. Index to New England Naturalization Records, 1791-1906 (117 rolls). NAID 4498967. This serves a similar function for naturalizations occurring in various courts in the six New England States of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.


Federal Court Records

If the naturalization took place in a Federal court, naturalization indexes, declarations of intent, and petitions will usually be in the National Archives facility serving the state in which the Federal court is located. Some of these indexes and records have been microfilmed.

The Microfilm Reading Room in the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, has some microfilmed Federal court naturalization indexes, declarations, and petitions, but they do not form a complete collection of these records. For listings of naturalization indexes and records available as National Archives microfilm publications in the Microfilm Reading Room, see listings for Record Group 21, Records of U.S. District Courts; Record Group 85, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and Donated Materials in the National Archives in Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996).


Microfilm Publications Digitized by National Archives Partners

Several of National Archives digitization partners, including Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and Familysearch.org, have digitized microfilm publications and make them available on their websites. 

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