The Eau Claire County Naturalization Records, 1854-1991, consist of the Card Index to Citizenship; Declarations of Intentions; Petitions for Naturalization; Certificates of Naturalization; Stub books of Certificates of Naturalization; lists of Citizenship petitons granted and denied; applications for transfers of petitions; and Repatriation (oaths of allegiance).
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 contents list below gives the volume number in parentheses ( ) for identification purposes, and the box number for location purposes. Volume numbers in brackets [ ] were assigned in the Archives.
Note that there is no reel number 3.
Researchers should begin by using the CARD INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP. It is an alphabetical index to Declarations of Intent, Petitions for Naturalization, and Certificates of Naturalization. The index cards provide name, residence, age, date of admission order, date certificate issued, and both certificate and petition numbers. A person will have an entry in the card index only if he/she completed the entire naturalization process. Individuals who filed declarations and/or petitions but never attained citizenship will not appear in the card index. Therefore, researchers should not solely rely on the Card Index to Citizenship.
If an entry does not appear in the card index, researchers should turn to the alphabetical index at the front of each volume of Petitions and Declarations. For the years indexed, each volume lists the petitioners and declarants included in that volume. The volume indexes are not created in exact alphabetical order. A typical arrangement is the grouping of names together alphabetically by the first letter of the last name and then listing them in chronological order after the declaration or petition was filed.
DECLARATIONS OF INTENTIONS date 1856-1980. Years 1856-1906 are bound while the years 1929-1980 were unbound and placed in archival folders and boxes. Declaration volumes contain an alphabetical index at the front of each volume. There is no volume index for Vol. 7.
Miscellaneous declarations, 1854-1893, are arranged in alphabetical order by surname in an archival box. It is believed that the court obtained these declarations from the individual when the person became involved in a court case and never returned them. Entry cards in the Index to Citizenship direct the researcher to the miscellaneous declarations of intentions.
The PETITIONS FOR NATURALIZATION date 1906-1991. The majority of these documents have the Declaration of Intent attached and some also have the Certificate of Arrival. Petitions for 1906 - June 1927 are bound; September 1927-1991 have been unbound and are in archival folders and boxes. The original system of numbering the volumes has been retained. Petitions can be located using the alphabetical index at the front of each volume. Petition number 1734, (Vol. 19), is missing.
The CERTIFICATES OF NATURALIZATION date December 1857 - 1906. All of the Certificates are bound. Certificates can be located using the card index or the alphabetical index at the front of each volume.
Additional records in this series are STUB BOOKS (1907-1928), LISTS OF CITIZENSHIP PETITIONS GRANTED AND DENIED (1929-1991), APPLICATIONS FOR TRANSFERS OF PETITIONS (1968-1972), and REPATRIATION (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE) (September 1940 - April 1944). The Stub Books, Lists of Citizenship Petitions Granted and Denied, and the Applications for Transfers of Petitions are indexed only by the card index, while the Repatriation records are indexed by both the card index and a volume index. The Stub Books are filed numerically by certificate number and provide individual's name; age; date of order of admission; declaration number; date declaration issued; name, age, and residence of wife and children; Petition number and signature. Lists of Citizenship Petitions Granted and Denied are official orders of the court conferring or denying citizenship. They list name, any change of name, and petition number for each individual. The Applications for Transfers of Petitions provide information about individuals applying for citizenship in Wisconsin after they have petitioned in another state. The individual's original Petition for Naturalization is included in this file. The Repatriation records list name, place and date of birth, date of marriage, spouse's name, and the date of the termination of marriage or continuous residency of any woman who believed she had lost her citizenship by virtue of her marriage to an alien prior to September 1922 and whose marriage with that alien had been terminated or who had lived continuously in the United States since her marriage. An oath of allegiance is also included in the Repatriation record.
