General
The Oneida County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Petitions, Naturalization Certificates, Certificate Stub Books, Orders Granting and Denying Petitions, Repatriations, and Indexes to Declarations, Petitions, Certificates, and Certificate Stubs.
Originally the records contained several volumes identified by the same volume number and some volumes which were not numbered. In an attempt to simplify their use, all volumes have been renumbered consecutively.
Records
Petitions, Certificates, and Certificate Stub Books
The beginning place for using the Oneida County Naturalization Records is the alphabetical Card Index to Petitions, Certificates, and Certificate Stubs, 1891-1954, contained in Boxes 1 and 2. Generally, if the index card for a Petition is found, the back of that index card indexes the Declaration. The latter, however, will seldom be needed because copies of the Declarations almost always accompany the Petitions. There are several pieces of information provided on each index card, but the key information is the Petition number and/or the Certificate number and the date. While all these documents are assigned a number, which is listed on the labels, the Container List, and the documents themselves, the numbering system starts over three different times. Hence, the date, as well as the number, is important.
Petitions are contained in Volume 1, 1891-1903, Boxes 3 and 4, 1903-1906, and Volumes 4-16, 1906-1954.
The Petitions in Volume 1 correspond to the Certificates in Volume 2. The number given by the Card Index as the “Petition No.” is actually the Certificate number. The Certificate number is always one less than the Petition number. Thus, if the Card Index says the Petition number is “68”, this individual's Petition number is actually “69” and his Certificate number is “68”.
Petitions in Boxes 3 and 4 correspond to Certificates in Volume 3. The Card Index gives the Certificate number. This same number for the corresponding Petition is given on the back of the Petition, but is called a “page number.”
Petitions in Volumes 4-16 are numbered consecutively, 1-1052. There are no Certificates for these years, but there are Certificate Stub Books for 1907-1926, which are assigned numbers 17131-2093400, which are the Certificate numbers issued by the federal government. The Card Index gives both the Petition number and the Certificate number. For Certificates issued after 1926, however, the Certificate number provided is not a useful finding aid for any records in this collection.
Declarations of Intention
The Declarations are contained in Volumes 31-39, 1887-1952. They are indexed by the alphabetical Card Index in Boxes 5 and 6. Like the Petitions, the number assigned each Declaration and the date of the Declaration are the key finding aids. There are two sequences of numbers -- 1-1538 contained in Volumes 31 and 32, and 1-952 in Volumes 33-39. Volumes 33 and 39, because of deteriorating condition, were placed in Box 7.
Miscellaneous Indexes
In addition to the Card Indexes, there are several other, less useful, indexes: (1) Volume 40, Index to Declarations, 1887-1906, which gives the name, date, and Declaration number and is arranged chronologically in alphabetical segments (by first letter of surname). It is an index to Volumes 31 and 32. (2) Volume 41, Index to Certificates of Naturalization, 1891-1903, provides the same information and is arranged the same way as the Index to Declarations (Volume 40). It is an index to Volume 2. (3) Volume 42, Index to Citizenship, which gives the name, volume and page, and number for Declarations, Petitions, and Certificates. It is arranged in alphabetical segments, but by no apparent chronology. It indexes naturalization steps taken by individuals who filed Petitions in the 1922-1938 period. Further, at the end of each letter of the alphabet, there is listed for that letter what appears to be an index to declarations exactly like that found in Volume 40. (4) Except for Volumes 2, 31, 32, and 43 and also the Certificate Stub Books, all volumes are indexed individually by alphabetical segment indexes at the front of each volume.
In general, none of the indexes listed above need be consulted. The Card Index should be complete, and is, of course, handier than the other indexes. These indexes are included in the collection only because it is possible that a card may be missing from the Card Index.
