Genealogical Gems

The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer announced that the naturalization papers for four men are available at the paper on 21 October1880 . The four men, now able to vote in the upcoming election, are: Ulrich Keller, August Krueger, Christian Haettler, and Philip Straub. So who were these men and what became of them? Today, I decided to look more closely at Ulrich Keller.   Ulrich Keller is a more common name than I anticipated. That said, there is a 50 year old laborer named Ulrich Keller living in West Hempfield, Lancaster County on the 1880 Census. He was born in Germany , as was his wife Barbara. Their five children were all born in Pennsylvania . The children listed are: Frederick, Matilda, Annie, Louisa, and George. Other than place of birth, the 1880 census gave no indication of from where or when Ulrich and Barbara arrived.   Jumping ahead to 1910, that census provides more information. Ulrich and Barbara are now living in Columbia with their daughter Matilda,...

On This Day in 1880 The Lancaster Daily Intelligencer announced that the naturalization papers for four men are available at the paper. The four men, now able to vote in the upcoming election, are: Ulrich Keller, August Krueger, Christian Haettler, and Philip Straub. Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 21 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress. On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Even naturalization officers found themselves in trouble, it seems. On This Day in 1880, a warrant application was made for the arrest of William Hilt, Jr. The alleged cause was larceny of naturalization certificates from John Walsh. Judge Blatchford did not grant the warrant but did return the paper in question to the inspector of election. Blatchford heard a second case this same day concerning the seizure of 1868 naturalization papers. The motion, made by E. Ellery Anderson, also argued that Chief Supervisor Davenport should not be removed from office.   Source Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. ( Lancaster , PA ), 9 October 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress.      On This Day is a prompt to further explore historical events.                  © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Naturalization – that is, the process of becoming a naturalized citizen – was explained On This Day in 1880 by the Lancaster Daily Intelligencer.    If one arrived in the US after the age of 18, he had to make a declaration of intent to become a citizen. After a waiting period, he was entitled to his papers for the court. The rules were slightly different for those who were not yet 18 upon arrival. While they still had papers to file, they did not have to make a declaration of intent.   A declaration was then required stating that the applicant supports the US Constitution and that he renounces any and all former allegiances. This means the immigrant no longer supported the country of their birth.   The court also required witnesses. This was supposed to be someone who knew the person and could vouch for their person. Supposed to be and was are two different things here. It is known now – and it probably was then too – that people stood up for others beca...

C-Files are naturalization certificate files. These files came into existence with the Basic Naturalization Act of 1906 and the creation of the Federal Naturalization Service (FNS). The job of the FNS was to collect and maintain duplicate copies of all court naturalization records. Everyone who was naturalized between 1906 and 1956 has a C-File, which includes a copy of the declaration, petition and certificate of naturalization. How to Request Copies of C-Files for Genealogy Research | eHow.com