The Calumet County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations, Petitions, Certificate of Naturalization Stub Books, various indexes to these records, and a volume of Orders Granting and Denying Petitions. Note that the unbound Declarations and Petitions, 1850-1892, are interfiled with each other, more or less alphabetically, in Boxes 2-4; most of the Petitions, however, are duplicated in Volume 2 (1855-1899).
Note also that in Calumet County, as in all counties, the record keeping method was standardized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service on September 27, 1906. On that date, the numbering of volumes and individual documents started over with Volume 1, Declaration No. 1, and Petition No. 1.
The original system of identifying volumes by number or letter has been 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 Contents List gives the volume in parentheses ( ) for identification purposes, and the box number for circulation purposes.
All records are available in both original format and on microfilm. The Contents List lists all the records and indicates both the paper and microfilm locations. However, when using the microfilm, the researcher may wish to consult the appendix which lists the items on each reel in the order that they appear.
Indexes
1. The starting place for using the Calumet County Naturalizations is the Card Index to Petitions (1855-1906; 1929-1955). It is an alphabetical index for the pre-September 27, 1906 Petitions contained in Volumes 2-4 (1855-1906), and for those post- 1906 Petitions contained in Volumes 4-5 (1929-1955). For the first set of Petitions, it gives the volume and page number; for the second set, it also gives the Petition number (Petition numbers are listed in parentheses on the Contents List).
2. Because the Card Index does not list Petitions in Volumes 1-3 (1906-1929), Petitions filed in that time period must be found through the bound Index to Citizenship (1906-1955). This index provides information for individuals who filed Declarations or Petitions after September 26, 1906. It is arranged in alphabetical segments by first letter of surname and therein by Petition number. It provides the following information for the following types of documents:
Declarations. Declarations in Boxes 2-4 are referred to as “O.R. Volume 1,” with the “O.R.” apparently referring to “old record.” Volume 2 (1881-1906) is referenced as “O.R. Volume 2;” and the index gives the page number. For Declarations in Volumes 1-3 (1906-1949), the volume number, page number, and Declaration number are given.
Petitions. This index gives the date, volume number, page number, and the Petition number for all Petitions in Volumes 1-5 (1906-1955).
Certificates of Naturalization. The index gives the date and Certificate number. This Certificate number will lead the researcher to the desired document in the Certificate of Naturalization Stub Books, Volumes 1-7. Also, the Certificate number is necessary if one wishes to acquire a copy of the actual Certificate from the federal authorities.
3. There are two other indexes in this collection, Volumes 2 and 3, both titled “Index to Petitions and Declarations, 1850-1882.” These are basically the same except that Volume 2 is alphabetical and Volume 3 is arranged in alphabetical index segments by first letter of surname and roughly chronologically therein. Both, give the filing date of the Declaration, the country of origin, and the date of “full citizenship” (that is, the date of filing the petition). For the purposes of finding a particular Declaration, none of this information is necessary, since the documents indexed are filed roughly alphabetically (boxes 2-4). For Petitions, the date is useful when searching Volume 2 (1855-1899); but, like the Declarations, the name is all that is necessary for searching Boxes 2-4.
Despite the similarity of these two indexes, both are included in this collection as checks against each other because of spelling variations and other potential irregularities. They are also included because they are the only indexes to Declarations, albeit for a limited time period.
