General
The Trempealeau County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Naturalization Petitions, Naturalization Certificates, Indexes to these records, and Ancillary Documents (1930-1953).
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 of Intention) and dates.
For preservation purposes some volumes have been dismantled and placed in boxes. These volume numbers are designated by parentheses ( ) in the Contents List below for identification purposes; the box number is listed for circulation purposes. Volume numbers that appear in brackets [ ] are numbers that were assigned by the archivist. All records are available in both paper format and on microfilm.
Indexes
The DECLARATION RECORD, 1852-1906, indexes Declarations in Box 2 and Volumes A-G. Entries give name, date of filing, country emigrated from, year of birth, and page number of document, and type of document. Even if type of document is listed as “certificate” the page number still refers to the declaration volume for that year. If no page number is indicated, the declaration will be found in “Declarations, circa 1852-1868” (Box 2).
The INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, VOLUME 1, 1867-1951, indexes certificate Volumes A-G and petition volumes 1-10. Note that Volumes A and C, to which this index refers, are missing. There may be duplicate certificates from Volume C in Box 1.
The INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, VOLUME 2, 1907-1926, is primarily an index to certificate stub books which are not in archival custody. Although the stub books are not present, the index entry does prove that a court order granting citizenship was issued and gives the date. Entries also give the volume and page number of the declaration (Volumes 1-5).
Records
DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION, circa 1852-1868, are arranged alphabetically by last name of the individual. A few declarations after 1868 are included, most of which appear to be duplicates of those in Declaration Volumes A-F. DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION, 1906-1952, are arranged by date filed. Volumes 1-5 include a name index in the front of each volume.
NATURALIZATION PETITIONS, 1906-1954, are arranged chronologically by date filed with Declarations and Certificates of Arrival usually attached. Each volume contains a name index. Note that the primary index, Index to Citizenship, Volume 1, ends in 1951 and Volume 10 of petitions continues through 1954. Researchers seeking petitions filed in 1951-1954 should consult the index at the front of Volume 10.
NATURALIZATION CERTIFICATES, 1871-1906, are in volumes titled either “Naturalization Record” or “Certificates of Naturalization.” Entries are arranged chronologically by date filed. These certificates act as petitions as well as certificates. In this time period, an individual's petition for citizenship was usually granted shortly after filing, thus certificates are part of the petition papers.
Access is through the Index to Citizenship, Volume 1, 1867-1951. Volume B includes a name index compiled by volunteers, volumes D and E do not have a volume index, volumes F and G do.
ANCILLARY DOCUMENTS: PETITIONS GRANTED, 1930-1952, are arranged chronologically, which is also roughly by petition number. They serve as another check that citizenship was/was not granted to individuals in part of the time period for which there are no certificate stub books. There is no name index to these documents. Other ancillary documents include a few OATH APPLICATIONS, and a small quantity of DEPOSITIONS OF WITNESSES, CERTIFICATES OF LOYALTY, and correspondence.
