General
The Sawyer County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Petitions, Certificates of Naturalization, an index to these records, and Ancillary Records including Depositions of Witnesses, lists of Citizenship Petitions Granted and Denied, Repatriation Applications, Affidavits of Native Americans, and unclaimed certificates.
For preservation purposes some volumes have been placed in boxes, and some dismantled and placed in boxes. The dismantled volume numbers are designated by parentheses in the contents list below for identification purposes; the box number is listed for retrieval purposes whenever relevant.
Records
Index
Researchers should begin by consulting the Card Index to Naturalizations. Cards are arranged alphabetically by last name of the applicant. For naturalizations occurring before 1907, the card gives the volume and page of the certificate volume, and for naturalizations for 1907 and later, gives the petition number.
To find petitions and declarations before 1907, use the index to that particular volume. Volume 2 of Declarations is an index to Volume 1 of Declarations; Volume 4 is an index to Volume 3. Volume 9 of Petitions is an index to Volume 8 of Petitions. Volume 16 of Certificates is an index to Volume 15 of Certificates. For post-1906 records, use the name index in the front of each volume of declarations and petitions. Volume 14 of petitions (Box 3) does not have an index.
Declarations
Declarations of Intention, 1885-1951, are arranged chronologically by date filed. There are two sequences of declaration volumes: 1885-1906 and 1907-1951. For the 1885-1906 time period, entries are transcribed from the original document which is attached to the petition (Box 7).
Petitions
The Petitions, 1896-1906 (Box 7), are the original documents with the original declarations attached and are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the applicant. Petitions for the same years (Volumes 7-10) are likely transcriptions of the originals. These are arranged chronologically by date filed. Volumes 7 and 10 include a name index while Volume 8 has a separate index.
Petitions, 1907-1954, are also arranged chronologically by date filed. Declarations are usually attached to the petitions as are some related documents such as Certificates of Arrival and Affidavits of Witnesses. If a petition was issued in 1929 or later, the researcher may wish to note the petition number and check the Depositions for additional witness depositions. All volumes contain a name index.
Certificates of Naturalization
The three volumes of Certificates, 1886-1906, summarize the petitioner's initial request to become a citizen and contain the court's order conferring citizenship. Certificate Volume 1 has a separate index and Volumes 2 and 3 have indexes in the front of the volumes.
The Certificate Stub Books, 1907-1927, 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.
Ancillary Records
Depositions of Witnesses, 1929-1954, are from additional witnesses required for applicants who lived outside the state during part of their required residency period. These are filed by petition number and no name index is included.
Lists of Petitions Granted, 1929-1954, are arranged chronologically, roughly by petition number. Each list summarizes the Court Orders granting citizenship for that time period. Each entry lists the petition number and name change if applicable. A few lists of Petitions Denied are included. There is no name index to these documents.
Repatriation Applications, 1940-1941, 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 the Married Woman's Act. These forms include information concerning how the applicant lost her citizenship, a court order repatriating her, and an oath of allegiance.
Affidavits of Native Americans, 1912-1915, are statements in which the individual (in this case primarily half and full members of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians) states he does not reside on a reservation, is not a member of any tribe, and makes no claim to the federal government for aid and assistance and relinquishes all tribal relation and right to any such aid. It is similar to the document that non-Native American applicants sign renouncing allegiance to a foreign ruler. Filed alphabetically by the last name of the applicant.
Certificates Unclaimed, 1890-1906, are a few presentation copies of the certificate that were never claimed by the citizen. The information duplicates that found in the volumes (e.g. the court's copy).
