General
The Waushara County Naturalization Records consist of Declarations of Intention, Petitions, Certificates of Naturalization, Orders Granting and Denying Petitions, Certificate of Naturalization Stub book, and Indexes to those records. All records are available both in original format and on microfilm.
Except for the indexes, which did not originally have identifying numbers assigned to them, the original system of numbering volumes is retained because this is the system to which the indexes are keyed. To eliminate confusion when requesting a particular volume, the researcher should specify not only the volume numbers, but also the type of volume and date (e.g., “Petitions, Vol. 1, 1906-1913”).
Indexes
There are four different indexes to the Waushara Naturalization Records: Index to Citizenship (1852-1929), Card Index to Petitions and Certificates (1854-1949), Index to Declarations of Intention (1852-1896), and Index to Certificates of Naturalization (1876-1902).
The most comprehensive is the INDEX TO CITIZENSHIP, 1852-1929. It indexes all Declarations, Petitions and Certificates of Naturalization, except for the time period of 1930-1949. Entries are arranged in alphabetical segments by first letter of surname and roughly chronologically thereunder.
- For Declarations , 1852-1880 (Box 2), the Index to Citizenship gives the date of filing and the county in which the Declaration was filed. Declarations are arranged alphabetically. For Declarations in Volume 1 (1876-1906), the Index gives the volume number and the page number. For Declarations in Volumes 2-3 (1907-1929), the Index gives the volume number, the page number and the Declaration document number. Declaration numbers are shown in parentheses ( ) on the Container List. For Declarations, 1932-1949, use the index in the front of Volume 6 of Declarations.
- Petitions filed prior to 1876 no longer exist, but the Index nevertheless lists them and gives the date of filing. For Petitions in Volume 1 (1876-1902) and in Volume A (1903-1906), the Index gives the date, volume number and page number. For Petitions in Volumes 1-3 (1906-1929), the date, volume number, page number, and Petition number are given. The Petition numbers are listed in parentheses ( ) on the Container List. The Petitions in Volumes 4-6 (1930-1947) are not indexed in the Index to Citizenship.
- The Index provides the date, volume number, page number, and Certificate number for Certificates of Naturalization in Volume O (1876-1902). Also, Certificate numbers are provided for later Certificates that are not included in this series.
The second most useful index is the alphabetical Card Index. It indexes Certificates of Naturalization (1879-1902), and Petitions (1854-1949).
- For Certificates of Naturalization contained in Volume O, the Card Index gives the Certificate number. A few of these numbers were repeated. Where this occurs, the Card Index also gives the page number.
- The Card Index gives only the date for Petitions filed prior to 1876, and does not index Volume 1 (1876-1902). The Petitions in Volume 1 (1876-1902) correspond to the Certificates in Volume O. However, the Petitions generally provide more information than the Certificates, listing the individual's age, port of arrival, and date of arrival. Thus, Petitions for this period should be sought in the Index to Citizenship. For Volume A (1903-1906) the Card Index gives the volume and page numbers. For Volumes 1-6, it gives the Petition number.
- Occasionally the Card Index will reference a “court order.” This actually refers to the few Oaths of Allegiance, which are scattered throughout the 1852-1880 Declarations (Box 2).
The INDEX TO DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION is arranged in alphabetical segments and roughly chronologically thereunder. Entries give the country of birth and the Declaration filing date. It does not appear to be as complete as the Index to Citizenship's list of Declarations, especially after 1876. Nevertheless, it is included in this series because of the possibility of omissions in the Index to Citizenship. The 1907-1949 volumes of declarations contain an index at the front of each volume.
The INDEX TO CERTIFICATES OF NATURALIZATION merely indexes Volume O by giving the date and the Certificate number. It is included in the collection only because of the possibility of omissions in the Index to Citizenship and the Card Index.
Records
DECLARATIONS, 1852-1880, are arranged alphabetically by last name. Occasionally an Oath of Allegiance is included with the Declaration. DECLARATIONS, 1876-1906, are arranged roughly by date filed. The volume does not include an index. DECLARATIONS, 1907-1949, are arranged chronologically by date filed, and both Volumes 2 and 3 include an index in the front of the volume. Volume 6 contains three different kinds of records: Declarations, Petitions, and Orders. However, only the declarations are indexed in the front of the volume.
PETITIONS, 1876-1947, are arranged by date filed. Volume 1, 1876-1902, and Volumes 5-6, 1938-1947, do not include an index while Volumes A and 1-4 do include indexes. All petitions filed since 1929 are indexed at the beginning of Volume 4. Most petitions, especially after 1906, have declarations attached.
The volumes of CERTIFICATES, ORDERS, and CERTIFICATE STUBS do not include volume indexes; documents in each volume are arranged by date filed.
