Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Naturalization Records, 1844-1974


Summary Information
Title: Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Naturalization Records
Inclusive Dates: 1844-1974

Creator:
  • Wisconsin. Circuit Court (Fond du Lac County)
Call Number: Fond du Lac Series 36; C1989/091; C1989/094

Quantity: 18.0 cubic feet (23 volumes and 18 archives boxes), 3 reels of microfilm (16 mm), and 22 reels of microfilm (35 mm); plus additions of 7 reels of microfilm (35 mm)

Repository:
Archival Locations:
UW-Oshkosh Polk Library / Oshkosh Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:
Records of naturalization cases in the Circuit Court of Fond du Lac County, 1844-1974, and the Municipal Court of Ripon, 1856-1906. Records include indexes to Declarations of Intention, Petitions, and Orders Admitting to Citizenship (1844-1974); Declarations of Intention (1844-1973); Petitions (1844-1974); Certificates of Naturalization (1884-1903); Orders Admitting to Citizenship (1844-1852); Orders Granting and Denying Citizenship (1929-1974); and Repatriations (1940-1965). This series is also available on microfilm.

Note:

Reels 1-23 consist of service copies of film produced by the Geneaological Society of Utah (GSU), 1982, 1984, 1989 and 2005.



Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-fond0036
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Arrangement of the Materials

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 3 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

Biography/History

See a general description of the naturalization process and naturalization records.

Note

SIMPLIFIED METHOD OF USING THE FOND DU LAC COUNTY NATURALIZATION RECORDS

1. Go to the alphabetical card index. (The original cards are located at the Oshkosh Area Research Center; they have been microfilmed and also appear on Reels 1-3 of this collection.) If you do not at first find the individual you are researching, try different spellings of the name. There are many reasons why the spelling you have may not be the same as the spelling on the index card. If you are still unsuccessful, you should try the other indexes described in “Scope and Content,” and listed in the Contents List.

2. Once you find the individual you are researching, take down all the potential finding aid information given on the index card. Finding aid information includes date of transaction (that is, declaration, petition, order, certificate), court number (which may refer to either the declaration or the petition, whichever was the last step taken by the particular individual in the naturalization process), certificate number, and volume and page numbers.

3. With this finding aid information in hand, turn to the Contents List and match your information with the information on the Contents List to determine which volumes, boxes, or reels of microfilm contain the document(s) for the individual you are researching.

4. If this method does not work for you, study the “Scope and Content” section and/or consult with the archival staff.

Contents List
Fond du Lac Series 36
Part 1 (Fond du Lac Series 36): Original Collection, 1844-1974
Physical Description: 18.0 cubic feet (35 volumes and 15 archives boxes), 3 reels of microfilm (16 mm), and 22 reels of microfilm (35 mm) 
Scope and Content Note

General

The Fond du Lac County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Petitions, Naturalization Certificates, Orders granting or denying Petitions, Orders Admitting to Citizenship, Repatriations, and Indexes to Declarations, Petitions, Certificates, and Orders Admitting to Citizenship. The records in this collection exist in several formats--bound volumes, boxes, and microfilm--and the same record may appear in more than one form.

Originally the records contained several volumes identified by the same volume number. For instance, there were two volumes identified as “A” and four volumes identified as “1.” In an attempt to eliminate some of the confusion, all volumes have been renumbered consecutively. However, since the indexes often reference the original volume numbers, the original numbers are included in parentheses on the labels and the Contents List.

Furthermore, the original titles on several volumes were either inaccurate or misleading. These have been corrected and standardized on the labels and the Contents List.

Indexes

For each of the five indexes in this collection, the dates given are core dates. For example, Volume 1 indexes Declarations and Orders Admitting to Citizenship for such transactions completed in the 1844-1911 period. However, if a person was admitted to citizenship in 1844, that person obviously filed a Declaration of Intention prior to 1844, and Volume 1 will index this pre-1844 Declaration. Similarly, if a Declaration was filed in 1911, the admission to citizenship took place after 1911 and is included in the index.

The beginning place for using the Fond du Lac Naturalization Records is the Card Index to Naturalizations, 1844-1974. It is contained in nine card drawers which have been filmed and appear on Reels 1-3.

These pre-printed cards provide the following information: name, certificate number, date, when born, where born, court number, names of witnesses, and date and port of arrival in the United States. Frequently, the “date of final papers” and the volume and page number of the final papers will also be typed on the card. “Final Papers” generally means the Order Admitting to Citizenship. Not every card will give all of this information. The forms used for the various stages of the naturalization process varied from time to time and place to place and often these forms did not request all of the information listed above. Further, if a person did not carry the naturalization process past filing for a Declaration of Intention, no witnesses, which were required only for Petitions, will be given. Also, if a person was naturalized before October 1906 when certificate numbers were first issued, no certificate number will be listed.

The main problem with the Card Index is that, although the index cards were uniform, the practices of the indexers were not. Sometimes a court number will be put in the space provided for the Certificate number. Also, since the card calls for “date” and “court number” but does not specify whether these are for the Declaration or the Petition, the indexers frequently were arbitrary in which document they chose to reference in these categories. In general, however, the reference is to the last step taken in the naturalization process by a particular person.

In order to take into consideration both these inconsistencies and also the probability of human error creeping into the indexing procedure, the Contents List and the labels for each volume, box, or reel include virtually all possible finding aid information--date, original volume number, court number, and certificate number. The one to four digit numbers (shown in parentheses) are the court numbers and the five digit or longer numbers are the certificate numbers.

If you cannot find a particular person in the Card Index, consult the other four indexes. Volume 1 is an index to Declarations and to Orders Admitting to Citizenship for the years 1844-1911. It should be noted, however, that individuals often were admitted to citizenship at the same time that they filed their Petitions. To the extent that this was the case, this volume can also be considered an index to Petitions. Volume 1 gives the date, volume, and page for Declarations and the same information for Orders Admitting to Citizenship. Sometimes this index also lists a “number” and a “box” with the Orders Admitting to Citizenship information, but this actually refers to the court number and volume of the Declaration. This index is arranged by alphabetical segments and chronologically therein.

Volumes 2 (1844-1882) and 3 (1872-1886) are also indexes to Declarations and Orders Admitting to Citizenship. They provide the name of the individual and the dates of Declaration and Order. Sometimes a volume and page number will be given. When this is not the case, however, the date is the key to finding a record and it must be matched with the corresponding dates in the appropriate Declaration and Petition volumes or boxes. These indexes are arranged by alphabetical segments and thereunder more or less chronologically by date of Declaration.

Volume 4 indexes Declarations, Petitions, and Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1917-1974. For each individual, it gives information useful for finding the desired documents--date, volume, page number, court number, and certificate number. It is arranged by alphabetical segments and roughly chronologically by date of transaction (Declaration or Petition) therein.

Declarations of Intention

In addition to the Declarations contained in Volumes 5-21, copies of Declarations are often included with the Petitions, especially after 1906. Also, see the description of Boxes 3-12, under Miscellaneous.

Petitions

Volumes 22 and 23 contain copies of Petitions for 1844-1871 and 1871-1883 respectively. There does not appear to be any consistent order to these documents, but each is assigned a court number. This court number is usually the key information when using the indexes, although volume and page numbers are also often provided by the indexes and are useful as backup finding aids. Furthermore, not all Petitions for these time periods are recorded in Volumes 22 and 23. Boxes 3-12, described under Miscellaneous, also contain Petitions, which in some cases duplicate and in some cases complement those in Volumes 22 and 23.

Volume 24 contains court copies of actual Certificates of Naturalization, 1884-1903. There does not appear to be a complete set of Petitions for this time period, although many are contained in Boxes 9-10 described under Miscellaneous. The Certificates of Naturalization, however, contain the same information usually provided by Petitions.

Petitions for 1903-1974 are contained in Volumes 25-60. During these years forms were standardized throughout the United States, with the Petition and the Order Admitting to Citizenship usually appearing on the same document. Furthermore, copies of Declarations generally accompany these Petitions. The Contents List and volume labels give the court and certificate numbers when provided, and also the dates of the records. The documents have two significant dates: the Petition filing date and the date of the court's Order Admitting to Citizenship. Since the latter date is often several months later than the Petition's date, the beginning date of a volume is sometimes earlier than the ending date of the preceding volume. Also, the certificate numbers were not always assigned in consecutive order. Thus, a lower certificate number will sometimes appear in a later volume than one might expect.

Miscellaneous

In addition to the naturalization documents generally listed in this category, such as lists of Orders Granting or Denying Citizenship and Repatriations, a volume of Orders Admitting to Citizenship and ten boxes of Declarations and Petitions are also included.

Volume 61 contains the Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1844-1852, for approximately fifty individuals who had filed Declarations outside Fond du Lac County. There is an alphabetical index at the front of the volume. Petitions for these individuals can be found in Volume 22.

Boxes 3-10 contain original Declarations and Petitions filed in the 1844-1903 period. Documents in Boxes 3-9 have been assigned court numbers 1-8130 and are filed by court number. Documents in Box 10 were not assigned court numbers; they are filed by alphabetical segments. Generally both the Declaration and the Petition are included together. Copies of these documents can often be found in the volumes of Declarations and Petitions described above. When this does occur, the Card Index will reference the volume and page number and also the court number.

Declarations and a few Petitions filed in Ripon's Municipal Court, 1856-1906, are in Boxes 11-12. These are not indexed; they are filed by alphabetical segments and chronologically thereunder.

“Notices for Application for Admission to Citizenship, 1909-1933” are notices that were posted for the public, listing persons who were slated to appear in court to apply for admission to citizenship. Entries include applicant's place of birth, residence, place of arrival, witnesses, and date of hearing.

NOTE: In many cases, especially where more than one type of naturalization document is referenced or included in a particular Volume or Box, dates listed are core dates. Because the naturalization procedure has several steps spread over several years, steps taken outside the core dates listed will sometimes be documented in the same record set.

Series: Indexes, 1844-1974
Card Index to Naturalizations, 1844-1974
Physical Description: In nine card drawers 
Reel   1
A-Fiu
Reel   2
Fiu-Mor
Reel   3
Mor-Z
Volume   1
Reel   4
Index to Declarations and Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1844-1911
Volume   2
Reel   4
Index to Declarations and Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1844-1882
Volume   3
Reel   4
Index to Declarations and Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1872-1886
Volume   4
Reel   16
Index to Declarations, Petitions, and Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1917-1974
Series: Declarations of Intention
Volume   5(A)
Reel   4
1844-1856
Volume   6(B)
Reel   4
1856-1870
Volume   7(1)
Reel   5
1867-1872, #4712-5575
Volume   8(2)
Reel   5
1872-1884, #5576-6571
Volume   9(3)
Reel   5
1867-1894, #6572-7887
Volume   10(4)
Reel   5
1894-1906, #7888-8539
Volume   11(1)
Reel   14
1906-1912, #1-300
Volume   12(2)
Reel   14
1912-1916, #301-598
Volume   13(3)
Reel   14
1916-1918, #599-899
Volume   14(4)
Reel   15
1918-1919, #900-1199
Volume   15(5)
Reel   15
1919-1923, #1200-1499
Volume   16(6)
Reel   15
1923-1929, #1500-1792
Volume   17(7)
Reel   15
1929-1937, #1793-1939
Volume/Box   (8)/13
Reel   21
1937-1939, #1940-2039
Volume/Box   (9)/13
Reel   21
1939-1941, #2040-2139
Volume/Box   (10)/13
Reel   21
1941-1950, #2140-2240
Volume/Box   (11)/13
Reel   25
1950-1973, #2241-2333
Series: Petitions and Certificates, 1844-1974
Petitions
Volume   22(A)
Reel   6
1844-1884, #8-4333
Volume   23(B)
Reel   6
1855-1883, #4334-4605
Volume/Box   24(2)/1
Reel   7
Certificates of Naturalization, 1884-1903
Petitions
Volume   25(1)
Reel   7
1903-1906
Volume/Box   26(1)/16
Reel   7
1906
Volume/Box   27(1)/16
Reel   16
1906-1913, #1-150 (#17421-352871)
Volume/Box   28(2)/16
Reel   16, 17
1913-1914, #151-250 (#352887-522156)
Volume/Box   29(3)/16
Reel   17
1914-1915, #251-350 (#522151-522241)
Volume/Box   30(4)/16
Reel   17
1914-1917, #351-600 (#522240-785265)
Volume/Box   31(5)/17
Reel   18
1917-1921, #601-850 (#797813-1296123)
Volume/Box   32(6)/17
Reel   18
1920-1921, #851-950 (#1296073-1574518)
Volume/Box   33(7)/17
Reel   19
1920-1922, #951-1050 (#1574519-1574591)
Volume/Box   34(8)/17
Reel   19
1921-1922, #1051-1150 (#1574557-1574633)
Volume   35(9)
Reel   19
1922-1924, #1151-1250 (#1574635-1759188)
Volume   36(10)
Reel   19, 20
1924-1926, #1251-1350 (#1759177-2431195)
Volume   37(11)
Reel   20
1926-1930, #1351-1443 (#2466626-3196923)
Volume/Box   38(12)/2
Reel   20
1929-1932, #1444-1493 (#3196924-3357898)
Volume/Box   39(13)/13
Reel   21
1931-1934, #1494-1544 (#3357899-3716562)
Volume/Box   40(14)/13
Reel   21
1934-1936, #1545-1592
Volume/Box   41(15)/14
Reel   21
1936-1937, #1595-1644
Volume/Box   42(16)/14
Reel   21
1937-1938, #1645-1694
Volume/Box   43(17)/14
Reel   21, 22
1938, #1695-1744 (#4478281-4478291)
Volume/Box   44(18)/14
Reel   22
1938-1940, #1745-1794 (#4557401-4557450)
Volume/Box   45(19)/14
Reel   22
1939-1940, #1795-1844 (#4557438-4728280)
Volume/Box   46(20)/15
Reel   22
1940-1941, #1845-1894 (#4884576-5004315)
Volume/Box   47(21)/15
Reel   22
1941-1943, #1895-1944 (#5004317-5004348)
Volume/Box   48(22)/15
Reel   22
1941-1944, #1945-1994 (#5004328-5005143)
Volume/Box   49(23)/15
Reel   22
1941-1944, #1995-2044 (#5005123-5622718)
Volume/Box   50(24)/15
Reel   22
1942-1944, #2045-2094 (#5622727-6034231)
Volume/Box   51(25)/15
Reel   22
1943-1945, #2095-2144 (#6034216-6034266)
Volume/Box   52(26)/16
Reel   23
1944-1947, #2145-2209 (#6034267-6492424)
Volume/Box   53(27)/16
Reel   24
1946-1954, #2210-2259 (#6492411-6791872)
Volume/Box   54(28)/16
Reel   24
1951-1955, #2260-2335 (#6791887-7136792)
Volume/Box   55(29)/16
Reel   24
1955-1956, #2336-2400 (#7136795-7469402)
Volume/Box   56(30)/16
Reel   24
1956-1958, #2401-2475 (#7469403-7469482)
Volume/Box   57(31)/17
Reel   25
1958-1961, #2476-2550 (#7469483-7469542)
Volume/Box   58(32)/17
Reel   25
1961-1965, #2551-2625 (#7469543-8594487)
Volume/Box   59(33)/17
Reel   25
1965-1970, #2626-2684 (#8594485-8654063)
Volume/Box   60(34)/17
Reel   25
1970-1974, #2685-2733 (#8654065-9465169)
Series: Miscellaneous
Volume/Box   61/19
Reel   6
Orders Admitting to Citizenship, 1844-1852
Volume/Box   62/17
Reel   23
Orders Granting and Denying Citizenship, 1929-1958
Volume/Box   63/17
Reel   23
Order Granting and Denying Citizenship, 1959-1974
Volume/Box   64/17
Reel   23
Repatriations, 1940-1965
Box   19
Transferred petitions, 1968
Declarations and Petitions
Box   3
Reel   8
1844-1847, #1-399
Box   4
Reel   9
1847-1852, #400-1100
Box   5
Reel   10
1852-1855, #1101-1800
Box   6
Reel   10
1855-1856, #1801-2800
Box   7
Reel   11
1856-1872, #2801-4400
Box   8
Reel   12
1872, #4401-4680
Box   9
Reel   12
1872-1897, #4681-8130
Box   10
Reel   21
1871-1903, no court numbers assigned
Box   11
Reel   13
Declarations and Petitions filed in Ripon Municipal Court, 1856-1906, A-N
Box   12
Reel   13
Declarations and Petitions filed in Ripon Municipal Court, 1856-1906, O-Z
Box   18
Notice of Application for Admission to Citizenship, 1909-1933
C1989/091
Part 2 (C1989/091): Additions, 1844-1974
Physical Description: 4 reels of microfilm (35 mm) 
Scope and Content Note: See GSU Microfilm Operator's Report for contents list.
C1989/094
Part 3 (C1989/094): Additions, 1844-1932
Physical Description: 3 reels of microfilm (35 mm) 
Scope and Content Note: See GSU Microfilm Operator's Report for reel contents.