General
The Waukesha County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, 1847-1954; Petitions, 1881-1955; Certificates of Naturalization, 1847-1906; and Indexes to these records, 1847-1955, Petitions Granted and Denied, 1930-1955, and Repatriations, 1932-1948.
This series is primarily available on microfilm only. Pre-1906 petitions are available in original form at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The remaining original records are at the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Indexes
Indexes to the records consist of those created by the court and those created by the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum. Court created indexes cover Declarations, 1847-1906 and Certificates, 1847-1906. The indexes created by the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum are more comprehensive covering all records except pre-1906 Petitions and Ancillary Documents. Note that there is no index to pre-1906 Petitions and Ancillary Documents.
Court Created Indexes
GENERAL INDEX TO DECLARATIONS, 1847-1906, is arranged by the first letter of the last name and chronologically thereunder. Entries list the name; birth country; date of declaration; and volume and page number. This index may overlap with the other declaration indexes of the same dates.
INDEX TO VOLUME 1 OF DECLARATIONS, 1847-1855, is arranged by the first letter of the last name and chronologically thereunder. Entries list the name; birth country; and date of declaration.
INDEXES TO DECLARATIONS, Volumes 2-6, 1855-1868, is arranged by the first letter of the last name and chronologically thereunder. Entries list the name and page number of the declaration.
GENERAL INDEX TO CERTIFICATES, 1847-1906, is arranged by the first letter of the last name and chronologically thereunder. It lists the name; birth country; date of naturalization; and volume and page number. This index overlaps with the other certificate indexes of the same dates.
INDEXES TO CERTIFICATES, Volumes 2-3, 1855-1875, are arranged by the first letter of the last name. They list the name and what appears to be the page number of the certificate.
Waukesha County Historical Society Created Indexes. These indexes are available at the Milwaukee Area Research Center.
DECLARATION OF INTENTION INDEX, 1847-1906, duplicates the court created indexes to the certificates for these years. It is arranged alphabetically by last name. Entries list the name, date of declaration, and volume and page number. This index does not refer to the loose declarations, which are attached to the Petitions in boxes 1-4 unless they happen to be duplicated in the declaration volumes. This index was not microfilmed because it duplicates the “General Index to Declarations” (Reel 1).
INDEX TO DECLARATIONS, 1906-1954, is a compilation of the post-1906 indexes that are in the front of the volumes. Entries are arranged by the first letter of the last name and give the name, date of declaration, and volume and page number.
CERTIFICATE INDEX, 1847-1906, duplicates the GENERAL INDEX TO CERTIFICATES (Reel 1) and therefore was not microfilmed. Entries are arranged alphabetically by last name and list the name, birth country, date of naturalization, and volume and page number.
INDEX TO PETITION, 1906-1955, appears to be a compilation of the post 1906 indexes that are in the front of the volumes. Entries are arranged by the first letter of the last name, and give the name, date of petition, and volume and page number.
Records
DECLARATIONS, 1847-1954, are arranged roughly chronologically. The loose declarations, 1847-1855, found at the beginning of this sequence, may be duplicated in the declaration volumes. Declaration Volume 1-C primarily dates 1854-1855, but some dates both before and after these years are included.
PETITIONS, 1881-1955, are arranged roughly chronologically. Petitions, 1881-1906 are arranged roughly chronologically by year and thereunder alphabetically by first letter of last name. Volumes 1-23, often contain an index at the front of the volume. Most of the petitions were filed in the Circuit Court but a few were submitted to the County Court.
CERTIFICATES, 1847-1906, are arranged roughly chronologically by date filed.
ANCILLARY DOCUMENTS, 1924-1955, consist of Petitions Granted and Denied, 1930-1955; Repatriations, 1932-1948; and Lists of Petitions to be Heard, 1924, 1926, 1928-1929, 1939. Petitions Granted and Denied are lists of petitioners that were either granted or denied citizenship. Repatriations are applications by persons wishing to have their United States citizenship restored. Most applications are by women who lost their citizenship through marriage to a non-citizen. Lists of Petitions to be Heard are arranged numerically by petition number. The lists consist of names of petitioners and witnesses, petition number, and sometimes written comments such as admitted or dismissed.
