Used with permission from Ancestry.-com from their Ancestry Magazine of
November, 2005 by Brian Peterson
Fighting to Become American
Military naturalizations contain most of the same information as a standard neutralization, including the:
alien's name, address,
occupation, age, physical
description, race, place and date of birth, spouse's name,
marriage date, last foreign
residence, children's names and places of birth, and even some
times a photograph.
There are, however, a few aspects of military naturalizations that family historians should keep in mind: . . .
November, 2005 by Brian Peterson
Fighting to Become American
Military naturalizations contain most of the same information as a standard neutralization, including the:
alien's name, address,
occupation, age, physical
description, race, place and date of birth, spouse's name,
marriage date, last foreign
residence, children's names and places of birth, and even some
times a photograph.
There are, however, a few aspects of military naturalizations that family historians should keep in mind: . . .
- Immigrants may have changed their names or the spelling of their names, for a number of reasons.
- Prior to 1906, military naturalizations will be filed with a local court or jurisdiction where the naturalization took place. After that date, the naturalization process was standardized and a copy of all records are maintained by the USCIS (formerly the INS).
- When a military naturalization took place, the records were to be sent to the court that had jurisdiction over the alien's permanent residence. This left a predicament for individuals who joined the military before establishing a U.S. residence. In these situations, the the only copy of the naturalization is the one kept by the USCIS.
- During World War 1, busloads of soldiers would make the trek to the local courthouse to file for naturalization. These courts should still house the records associated with these naturalizations today.
Military naturalizations originated in 1862 when the U.S. government, in an effort to entice aliens to enlist in the Union Army during the Civil War, passed legislation waiving the need for aliens serving in the army to file a declaration of intention, thereby greatly reducing the amount of time required for an immigrant to become naturalized. To qualify for a military naturalization, the immigrant merely had to be a t least twenty-one years old, honorably discharged from U.S. military service, and prove at least one year of residency in the United States. Once these conditions were met, the immigrant could file a petition for naturalization.
Patriotism, fortunately, was at a high when America entered World War 1. Recognizing the value of this patriotism, the U.S. government passed the Act of 0 May 1918 to encourage U.S. servicemen and women who weren't American citizens to become naturalized. At the time, alien soldiers who wanted American citizenship were already exempt from filing a declaration of intent, but, as a result of this act, they were also cleared from filing a certificate of arrival or a proof of residence. To expedite the process further, soldiers were naturalized at military posts where they were stationed rather than waiting until they returned to their legal residences.
During World War 11, another modification to the naturalization procedure for people serving in the U.S. military was made. The Second War Powers Ace of 27 March 1942, dramatically sped up the process of naturalization for those aliens who were serving in the U.S. military, both within the United States, as well as overseas. Additional modification happened again in 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1968.
Patriotism, fortunately, was at a high when America entered World War 1. Recognizing the value of this patriotism, the U.S. government passed the Act of 0 May 1918 to encourage U.S. servicemen and women who weren't American citizens to become naturalized. At the time, alien soldiers who wanted American citizenship were already exempt from filing a declaration of intent, but, as a result of this act, they were also cleared from filing a certificate of arrival or a proof of residence. To expedite the process further, soldiers were naturalized at military posts where they were stationed rather than waiting until they returned to their legal residences.
During World War 11, another modification to the naturalization procedure for people serving in the U.S. military was made. The Second War Powers Ace of 27 March 1942, dramatically sped up the process of naturalization for those aliens who were serving in the U.S. military, both within the United States, as well as overseas. Additional modification happened again in 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1968.
To see the Google copy of the original article along with more outstanding military information from Ancestry.com, see a copy of the articles in the November -December, 2005 issue of Ancestry magazine.
Ancestry.com no longer publishes the Ancestry Magazine as of the March/ April issue of 2010. In the magazine's place they invite readers to go to their blog at Ancestry.com.blog. March/April 2010
Ancestry.com no longer publishes the Ancestry Magazine as of the March/ April issue of 2010. In the magazine's place they invite readers to go to their blog at Ancestry.com.blog. March/April 2010