Advise on census

Cathy · V.I.P. Joined: Jul 10, 2007 Posts: 2681

I am posting my grandparents census records. Look at them and tell me what you think. What I want you to look at is their citizenship info (I have my grandfather's naturalization papers - is it possible they were not completed?) and also look at their arrival year in the US. My grandmother arrived on Thanksgiving day, 1905. So could my grandfather not have gone through with his naturalization? Were they allowed to lie on the census? Any ideas why he would lie? Perhaps I can obtain my Italian citizenship after all? When would you guess my grandfather came in?
1920 CENSUS

1930 CENSUS

Biff83 · V.I.P. Joined: Jul 10, 2007 Posts: 1263 Location: Florida

Cathy,
I don't think it was a matter of lying. I believe that a lot of immigrants may not have understood the process to becoming naturalized. If I'm correct, and please if I'm not someone correct me, naturalization was a multiple step process. Filing first papers or a Declaration of Intention to become a citizen, then after a wait of five? years filing a Petition for Naturalization and finally shortly after the acceptance of the Petition signing an Oath of Allegiance. Having written all that, I believe you said your father served in the Army in WWI as the personal chef to a general at one of the military installations in the south. Military service would have fast tracked him for naturalization. The 1920 census shows his naturalization year as 1919 which seems reasonable. Can you scan and post his naturalization records?

Biff

Cathy · V.I.P. Joined: Jul 10, 2007 Posts: 2681

What? I missed that... it showed he natualized? I must have looked at the wrong column. Embarassed

Anyway here is a copy of a copy of his papers.
Naturalization Paper

criscioa · New Member Joined: Dec 29, 2007 Posts: 1

how did you find his naturalization papers?

Cathy · V.I.P. Joined: Jul 10, 2007 Posts: 2681

My father kept his father and mother's papers. I have their death records, cemetary plot receipts, etc.

BillieDeKid · V.I.P. Joined: Oct 26, 2007 Posts: 1221 Location: Illinois

Hi Cathy,

I have the same problem on my census info for my grandfather. 1910 alien, 1920 nat. and 1930 alien. And I haven't been able to find naturalization papers anywhere so far. My last step is to write the dreaded letter and wait for 18 months to either get a letter stating they have no records of him naturalizing or I'll get his papers.

I cringe every time I think about writing that letter!

Billie

charliemis · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:53 am Post subject: Re: Advise on census

I have heard that the Census takers were not always very careful or thorough. Supposedly they sometimes asked neighbors for the info if people were not home, made a lot of clerical errors and there were also language issues in some cases. Keep in mind that these were "temporary government workers" taking the census data.