The naturalization records for Dane County include those of the Municipal Court for Dane County for the years 1875-1906 as well as those of the Circuit Court from 1841-1955. Except as specifically noted, they are identical in function, content, and arrangement to those generally found for Wisconsin counties.
Records of the Municipal Court for Dane County consist of Declarations of Intention and Certificates of Naturalization. Volumes one and two of the Certificates of Naturalization are actually the Minute Books of the Municipal Court into which the clerk attached copies of Declarations, Petitions, and Certificates at the point in the record where those proceedings were recorded. Beginning in March 1887, the Declarations are filed separately in alphabetical order while copies of the Certificates are entered chronologically in the Certificates of Naturalization volumes.
Most naturalization proceedings occurred in the Circuit Court for which the original copies of both the Declarations of Intention and the Petitions may be found. Both groups are arranged roughly chronologically with the documents filed since October 1906 bound into volumes.
The ancillary records include one folder of copies of Declarations of Intention filed in other counties, Court Orders and Repatriation Records filed together in a single chronological sequence, and Depositions arranged alphabetically by the petitioner's name. The microfilm reel containing the ancillary records also includes miscellaneous Declarations of Intention. The originals of these Declarations are interfiled in their correct locations but these documents are not included on the microfilm reels with the other Declarations.
Indexes
The card index is the principal finding aid to the records. Each Declaration and Petition is listed separately in the index, the former on orange colored cards and the latter on white cards. Information included varies with the type of document and the period, but in all cases sufficient information is included to direct the researcher to the original document or entry in a volume which is being indexed. The arrangement of the card index is not strictly alphabetical. Surnames with common spellings, such as Olson, Olsen, Olason, have been grouped together. The card index also contains entries for naturalizations that took place before the State Supreme Court (see note on Related Records).
Several bound volumes of indexes for specific types of records for specific periods were also kept by the clerk of courts. Entries in these are presumed to be all contained in the card index. Additionally, many bound volumes of records contain Individual indexes in the front of the volume. At the time the card index was microfilmed, a separate file existed for some petitions and certificates issued between 1921 and 1939. These subsequently have been interfiled into the main index but exist as a separate grouping at the end of reel 7 in the microfilm copy.
