Series 85178

DESCRIPTION: To become a citizen of the United States, an individual normally filed a "declaration of intention to become a citizen" at least two years prior to applying for citizenship. The next step was the naturalization hearing at which the candidate and witnesses either made oral statements or filed written petitions and affidavits attesting to the applicant's character, worthiness to become a citizen, and the validity of statements made to the court. If the judge found the applicant eligible to become a citizen, an oath was administered and the individual renounced his former citizenship. At this point a certificate of citizenship was issued documenting the fact. These volumes contain documentation of the final steps of becoming a United States citizen. They include petitions for naturalization, certificates of citizenship, and accompanying documentation.

The first preprinted application forms consisted of an applicant's affidavit and witness affidavits, as well as a certificate of citizenship. The applicant's affidavit gave his name, birthplace, court and date of declaration of intention, sovereign, and date of admission to the United States. The affidavit included an oath of renunciation of allegiance to his former sovereign and a declaration that the applicant is not insane, epileptic, a pauper, begger, contagious, a felon, guilty of moral turpitude, a polygamist, anarchist, or pimp. The affidavits of two witnesses confirmed the applicant's statements and declared his worthiness to become a citizen. A copy of a certificate of citizenship form was then completed reiterating this information and ordering his admittance as a citizen.

After 1906, courts were required to use pre-printed forms in volumes furnished by the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization of the Department of Commerce and Labor (later the Naturalization Service of the U.S. Dept. of Labor). Each volume was to be indexed and the petitions numbered consecutively beginning with number 1 in volume 1. A duplicate copy was to be sent to the Bureau of Naturalization.

The petitions include the individual's name, residence, occupation, birthdate, and birthplace; the place from which he emigrated, the date, port of arrival, and vessel name; the date on which he declared his intention of becoming a citizen and the name of the court involved; his wife's name, birthplace, and residence; and any previous petitions filed. Later there were blanks to record his children's names, birthdates, birthplaces, and residences. The applicant was also required to take an oath that he was not an anarchist or a polygamist and to renounce his former sovereign. An applicant had to be able to speak English and have resided continuously in the United States for five years and in the state for one year.

Also included on the petition form were the affidavit of two citizen witnesses who validated the individual's petition information and declared that he was of good moral character. The printed oath of allegiance and court order admitting the petitioner to citizenship are also included. Later space was added for memoranda of continuances in the proceedings, names of substitute witnesses, and space to record the denial, not just the acceptance, of the petiton.

In 1941, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was moved to the U.S. Department of Justice. A sentence was added to the applicant's affidavit regarding any departures from the United States with a table in which to record dates of departure and return, the ports used, and the vessel name. The anti-polygamy clause was dropped from the oath, but the statement regarding anarchy was expanded.

Various corroborating documents had to be produced at the time of application and hearing. These are usually bound into the volumes along with the petitions. They include declarations of intention, filed earlier in a variety of courts in several states, of the individual's desire to become a citizen. Certificates of U.S. military service may also be included, as they could be used in lieu of a declaration of intention or to shorten residency requirements. The volumes also include certificates of arrival, required of those who entered the country after 1906, from the Bureau of Naturalization showing the individual's name, date, place and manner of arrival in the United States. If the witnesses who could vouch for his length of residency lived out of state, depositions could be mailed in. The depositions, which describe how long the witness had known the applicant and confirm his moral character, were then bound in with the petition and other forms. Correspondence is sometimes included, usually from the Bureau of Naturalization, detailing changes in naturalization law and procedures. Occassionally court orders revoking citizenship are included. CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE STUBS appear in the last volume instead of being filed separately (cf. series 85180).

The series was begun at statehood in 1896 when Juab County moved to the fifth judicial district, and the district courts began keeping records separately in each county. In 1977, the county was moved to the fourth judicial district.

ARRANGEMENT: Entries are chronological by petition date. Volumes have been arranged in chronological order, by volume and petition number after 1906.

RELATED RECORDS: Declarations of intention for those whose naturalization papers are in this series can be found in series 85224, DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION RECORD BOOKS. PRELIMINARY CITIZENSHIP EXAMINATION LISTS of applicants for citizenship after 1930 from Juab County are logged in series 85179. CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE STUBS are located in series 85180 until 1928. The minutes for the District Court will also discuss the naturalization hearings in more detail.

Some declarations of intention for those whose naturalization papers are filed here may have been recorded in other series. Until 1906 Juab County residents could have filed them in any county. Consult the series catalog for specific series. Prior to 1896 declarations of intention could have been filed in the records of any of the district courts, the Supreme Court, or the Juab County Probate Court. Since Juab County was in the Second District until 1859, then the First District until 1896, series created by these two courts would be most likely to contain citizenship records of Juab County residents.

In particular, the researcher may want to consult the DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION RECORD BOOKS for the First District Court, series 85113; the Second District Court, series 85174; the Third District Court, series 85111; and the Fourth District Court, series 85169. The CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE RECORD BOOKS for the same courts in the territorial period are in series 83895, 85175, 85110, and 85170. In addition, the Supreme Court kept DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION AND CERTIFICATES OF CITIZENSHIP RECORD BOOKS, series 3942. For other possible sources consult the Research Guide to Naturalization records.

FINDING AIDS: All except the first volume have indices at the beginning. Entries are alphabetic by the first letter of the petitioner's surname.

PROCESSING NOTE: Other series are sometimes intermingled on the same reel. Materials on the reel which are not part of this series appear in brackets on the container list. Entries are sometimes out of sequence as well. The records were microfilmed by the court clerk in 1985. Archival processing was completed by A.C. Cone in 1989.

CONTAINER LIST