General
Researchers should note that the Douglas County Naturalization Records are divided into the naturalization proceedings before the Superior Court and those before the Circuit Court. During the period from 1893 to 1906 the Superior Court, as a court of record with a seal and a clerk, was given concurrent jurisdiction with the Circuit Court to hear naturalization cases. After 1906, naturalization proceedings were to be handled only by the Circuit Court.
The original system of numbering volumes was retained when numbers existed, since the indexes are often keyed to this system. For preservation purposes, some volumes were dismantled and placed in boxes. For these volumes, the container list gives the volume number in parentheses ( ) for identification purposes, and the box and reel number for location purposes.
Most records are available both in original paper form and also on microfilm.
Indexes
The naturalization records in each court are indexed separately. The logical place for researchers to start when using the Douglas County Naturalization Records would be the Card Indexes to Naturalizations. These indexes are arranged alphabetically by surname.
Since the indexes often refer to the original volume numbers, the original numbers have been maintained. However, there is one exception: the Indexes to Declarations and Indexes to Certificates of Naturalization for both courts' naturalization records have been given consecutive numbers in order to make retrieval easier. The indexes' original volume numbers, when known, are also indicated. When requesting these records, researchers should specify what they wish to see and cite the specific volume number. These particular indexes should be used in conjunction with the card indexes. The Index to Declarations (1855-1906) is an index to Volumes 2-4 of the Declarations of Intentions filed in Circuit Court.
The individual volumes may also contain an index in the front of each volume. These indexes are arranged in alphabetical segments by the first letter of surname and more or less chronologicallly thereunder.
