General
The Pierce County Naturalization Records, 1857-1963, consist of Declarations of Intention, Petitions and Oaths, Certificates, and indexes to these records. Also included are ancillary documents such as lists of petition applications, depositions of witnesses, orders confirming citizenship, repatriation documents, a court journal, and administrative correspondence.
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 (e.g., Declarations of Intention) and dates.
For preservation purposes some volumes have been dismantled and placed in boxes. These volume numbers are designated by parentheses in the contents list for identification purposes; the box number is listed for circulation purposes.
All records except the Court Journal are available in both original format and on microfilm. The Court Journal is only available in paper form.
Records
Indexes
Researchers should begin with the CARD INDEX, circa 1858-1963, since it covers the widest time span. However, the card index is incomplete. If you cannot locate the person you are looking for in the card index, try the INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, 1907-1963, for individuals filing papers after 1906 and the indexes in the front of each volume of Declarations of Intention and Petitions and Oaths for papers filed before 1907. The INDEX TO DECLARATIONS, circa 1857-1900, indexes original Volume A of declarations and duplicates the index in the front of Volume A. Note that when using the indexes, the volume numbers or letters it refers to are the original volume numbers.
Declarations
The Declarations of Intention, 1857-1906 (archives volumes 1-3), are arranged chronologically by date filed. Each volume includes an alphabetical name index listing the applicant's name and page number of the Declaration.
The 1906-1962 Declarations (archives volumes 4-9) are arranged chronologically by date filed and each volume includes a name index. ALIENS' DECLARATIONS, 1854-1908, are filed alphabetically by initial letter of the last name. Although they cover the same years as the Declarations of Intention (archives volumes 1-4), they do not appear to duplicate entries in these volumes. If you cannot locate pre-1909 declarations in the volumes, try the box of loose Aliens' Declarations (Box 3).
Petitions and Oaths
PETITIONS are arranged chronologically by date filed. The documents in the series of Petitions, 1858-1906 (archives volumes 1-3) combine the second and third step in the naturalization process: an individual's record usually consists of the petition for citizenship and the final court order granting citizenship.
Documents attached to Petitions from 1906-1963 (archives volumes 13-21) usually include a copy of the Declaration and related documents such as the Certificate of Arrival, Affidavit of Witnesses, and correspondence. If the petition number is 549-802, the researcher should note the number and check the DEPOSITIONS OF WITNESSES (Box 3) for depositions given in support of the petitioner.
Ancillary Records
APPLICATIONS, 1907-1931, are copies (the original was sent to the INS) of a list of persons filing petitions in a given month. These are arranged chronologically by month. Each report lists the petitioner's name, place of birth, residence, arrival date, place of arrival, date of hearing, and name and residence of witnesses.
CERTIFICATE STUB BOOKS, 1907-1925, are the Clerk's portion of the Naturalization Certificate and are arranged by year. To find a Certificate Stub it is helpful to have the certificate number which can be found on the corresponding petition. Typically the Certificate repeats the information in the Petition. The original Certificates and all Certificates after 1925 must be obtained from the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service.
DEPOSITIONS OF WITNESSES, 1931-1963, are from the additional witnesses required for those applicants who lived outside the state during part of their required period of residency. These are filed by corresponding petition number.
The orders in the ORDER BOOK [OF PETITIONS GRANTED], 1930-1963, are arranged chronologically, which is roughly by petition number. The Orders list the petition number granted and name change if applicable. There is no name index to these documents.
REPATRIATIONS, 1940-1943, are arranged chronologically by date filed and include a name index. Repatriations are from women applying for citizenship who believed they had lost or never gained citizenship as a result of marriage prior to September 1922 to an alien, and whose marriage to such alien terminated on or after January 13, 1941.
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1952-1958, is administrative in nature and usually concerns procedures rather the particular cases of individuals.
The COURT JOURNAL, 1881-1897, contains records of naturalization cases as well as other court cases. Information likely duplicates that found in the Declarations of Intention and Petitions and Oaths.
