General
The Waupaca County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Certificates and Petitions, volume indexes to these records, and a card index to Petitions. Also included are Orders Granting and Denying Petitions and Repatriations.
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 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.
Most records are available both in original paper form and on microfilm.
Indexes
INDEX TO DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION, 1853-1906. This index is arranged in alphabetical segments by first letter of surname and thereunder by the order of appearance in the Declarations Volumes 1-6, 1853-1906. Since the dates in these volumes overlap considerably, it is necessary to carefully search this index.
This index also provides information for Volume 1 of the Certificates of Naturalization, 1876-1892 and for some Petitions filed in the 1906-1912 period, but these documents are indexed more usefully in the volumes described in in the next two paragraphs.
INDEX TO CERTIFICATES OF NATURALIZATION, 1853-1906. This index is arranged in alphabetical segments and chronologically thereunder. It gives the name and date for Certificates of Naturalization Volumes 1 and 2, 1853-1903. Since the documents in those volumes are arranged chronologically, the date from the index volume leads to the document. This index also provides information for a “Volume 3” that is not in archival custody.
INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, 1906-1948. This index is arranged in alphabetical segments and thereunder roughly by date of Petition. It gives the date, volume, page, and document number for Declarations, Petitions, and Certificates.
CARD INDEX TO PETITIONS, 1926-1948. This is an alphabetical card index for Volumes 10-13 of the Petitions. The Petition number is the key information.
The documents in PETITIONS (ADULTS), 1903-1906, and PETITIONS (MINORS), 1903-1906, are not indexed in any of the above cumulative indexes. These volumes, however, have indexes in the front of the volume, with entries arranged in alphabetical segments which provide the page number.
Records
The DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION date 1853-1947, and are arranged chronologically by date filed. Note that beginning in 1906 the court began a new numbering scheme for the volumes, starting with “1.” Therefore, when requesting a volume, include not only the volume number, but also the type of record (e.g., “Declaration”) and dates. Also beginning in 1906, each Declaration was assigned a unique number and each volume contains an index.
Pre-1906 CERTIFICATES are arranged by date filed. If an individual declared his intention to become a citizen in another state or county, that declaration is often attached. Each volume contains an index.
PETITIONS, 1903-1948, are also arranged by filing date and, beginning in 1906, assigned a unique number. A copy of the Declaration is usually attached. Other documents such as Certificates of Arrival, Statement of Military Service, additional Witnesses' Depositions, and correspondence to the Court may be attached. Each volume includes an index.
ANCILLARY RECORDS include Orders Granting and Denying Petitions, 1929-1948, and Repatriations, 1940-1944. Documents within each type of record are arranged chronologically by the date filed. The volume of Repatriations includes a name index.
