Re: Best approach to determining port of entry to US #general
Lisa Lepore <llepore@...>
Hi Judith -
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There is excellent information about the US naturalization process at the NARA website. http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/naturalization/naturalization.html Generally, a person had to live in the US for 2 yrs before being eligible to file a declaration of intent, then wait an additional 3 years before the process could be finalized. Over the years, these requirements were changed, and there were different rules for women and minors. A good book on the subject is They Became Americans, by Loretto Szucs. Not all people who filed a declaration of intent followed through to become a citizen. My 2nd great grandfather never became a citizen although he did file a declaration 1899. As far as the dates given by our ancestors in census and other records, we can't always rely on them to be correct. The best we can do is use these dates as a guideline to finding the passenger records, then branch out systematically to other years and other locations. Unfortunately, there were many ports in addition to Ellis Island where they could have arrived. Although there are many records on line now, there are also many that are only on film at NARA, and others which have been lost. My great grandmother arrived in Providence RI around 1908, but the records for the Port of Providence at this time do not exist [or at least they have not been found yet] Lisa
----- Original Message -----
From: "Judith Lipmanson" <lipmanson@...>
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