ILJODAVI-L Archives

Archiver > ILJODAVI > 1999-01 > 0917567061


From: Jean Hoffman <>
Subject: [ILJODAVI-L] Naturalization Records in Jo Daviess Co.
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 18:44:21 -0500


I was asked for information on naturalization records and while I am by
no means expert, I will share what I have learned so far. I hope those
of you with more experience will make corrections or additions to this
as needed.

First, I recommend an overview of Naturalization Records on the web page
of the National Archives and Records Administration at:
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/natural.html

I have a need to learn the village of origin of some immigrant ancestors
from Jo Daviess County and went looking for their Naturalization
Declaration of Intent ("first" papers) which provides the best source of
genealogical information.

I began my research at the Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (see
web page:
http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/data_loc.html
for Local Governmental Records in IRAD.) Jo Daviess County is in the
region at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and while the process
may be slow, there is no charge for their research and they do have
copies of some of the county's records. I have requested papers on four
men and gotten different results for each.
Address: Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Swen Parson Hall
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
Telephone: (815) 753-1779

1. For the most desired, my husband's Great Grandfather Hoffman, there
was no record found (see Cheryl's advice below), so I turned to his
relatives. At IRAD, they have access to a Soundex file which apparently
indexes only the final papers and those papers in turn give the date and
place of the first papers.
2. In the case of a brother, I got both records, but instead of a
village, there was only the Canton in Switzerland. [but, since family
lore said they were from Bern and this is the third reference I've found
to Zurich, it is helpful in building a case.]
3. In the case of a brother-in-law, I got the final papers, but IRAD
did not have the declaration of intent for the period needed (gap from
around 1866 to 1880) and so I have requested this from the county (see
below).
4. Switching to Bavaria, for a brother of the Great Grandmother who
lived in Pleasant Valley Twp., the Soundex revealed his records were in
Carroll County and IRAD had those holdings loose in a box!! The IRAD
intern kindly searched the box (as a separate request) and found both
papers, but, the form for the declaration from Carroll County had no
place for a local origin and so there was nothing of help in these
papers.

Requests from Jo Daviess County:
I recently spoke to someone in the office of the County Recorder who
told me they will search for an individual's name for a $5.00 charge.
As always, you need to have as much information and be as specific as
possible for them to find your ancestor. Their volumes of these
documents do have indexes, so if present they should be able to find a
record that is well defined.
Address: Jo Daviess County Courthouse, County Recorder's Office, 330 N.
Bench St., Galena, IL 61036

advice from Cheryl Hemingway:
If you have been unable to find a naturalization record in Jo Daviess
Co. for your ancestor, then it is possible that it is at the National
Archives - Great Lakes Region. They are the repository for all of the
US District Court Records in the Great Lakes Region (which includes
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), and many,
if not most, of the naturalizations were done in US District Courts.
They have a soundex of all names, so it would be worth writing to them.
The address is:

NARA - Great Lakes Region
7358 South Pulaski Road
Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898

Hope this will be of help.
Jean Hoffman

This thread: