General
The Langlade County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, 1881-1952; Certificates of Naturalization, 1882-1903; Petitions, 1903-1954; Repatriations, 1940-1945; Orders Granting and Denying Petitions, 1929-1957; and indexes to these records. This series does not have a full run of Petitions: there are none prior to 1903. However, the Certificates of Naturalization, which often contain the same information as Petitions, fill this gap.
The original system of identifying volumes by number or letter was retained because the indexes are often keyed to this system. To eliminate confusion when requesting a particular volume, the researcher should specify not only the volume number but also the type of volume (e.g. Declarations or Petitions) and dates.
For preservation purposes some volumes have been dismantled and placed in boxes. For these volumes the list below gives the volume number in parentheses ( ) for identification purposes, and the box number for location purposes. Volume numbers that appear in brackets [ ] are numbers that were assigned by the archivist. All records are available in both original format and on microfilm.
Indexes
INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, 1882-1954 (Volume 1 of the indexes) indexes Certificates of Naturalization, 1882-1903; Petitions, 1903-1954; and Repatriations, 1940-1945. It is arranged in alphabetical segments by the first letter of the surname and therein by date of naturalization. For the certificates and petitions in Volumes 1-5, it gives the volume and page number; for petitions in Volumes 6-10, it gives the volume and petition number; for the Repatriations, it gives the number of the document.
If the individual being searched cannot be found in Volume 1 of the indexes, Volume 2, INDEX TO DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION, 1881-1906, should be examined. It is also arranged in alphabetical segments and therein roughly by date of filing the declaration. It indexes Volumes 1 and 2 of the Declarations by giving the declaration number.
Declarations filed after September 26, 1906, are contained in Volumes 3-6. There is no master index for these, but each volume has at its own alphabetical segment index which gives the page number (Volumes 3-4) or the Declaration number (Volumes 5-6).
The INDEX TO CERTIFICATES OF NATURALIZATION, 1882-1903 (Volume 3 of the indexes) is an index to Volume 1, Certificates of Naturalization. It is arranged in alphabetical segments and gives the page number. It is duplicated by Volume 1 of the indexes and is retained in this collection only in case a name was inadvertently omitted when Volume 1 was created.
Finally, the alphabetical CARD INDEX TO PETITIONS covers only the 1911-1952 period. The key field on the cards is the Petition number, which is usually noted in the space provided for “Certificate no.”
Records
The DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION date 1881-1952, and are arranged by date filed. Note that beginning in 1906, the court began a new numbering scheme for the declarations starting with “1.” Volumes 3-6 include an index at the beginning of the book.
PETITIONS, 1903-1954, are also arranged by filing date and each has a unique document number. A copy of the Declaration is usually attached. Other documents such as certificates of arrival, statements of military service, additional witnesses, depositions, and correspondence to the court may be attached. Each volume includes an index.
CERTIFICATES, 1882-1903, are arranged by date filed. The volume does not contain an index.
ANCILLARY RECORDS include Orders Granting and Denying Petitions, 1929-1957, and Repatriations, 1940-1945. Documents within each type of record are arranged chronologically by the date filed. The volume of Repatriations includes a name index.
